Who in the World Is Melchizedek?
October 23, 2024
Fr. John Riccardo
Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son: this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek
(Hebrews 5:1-6).
The Bible, it has been said, is a library. That is not to say there isn’t one sacred Author of all the books – God – who is revealing both in word and deed. It is to say that the Bible is not a single genre but is rather made up of many different genres. Within the Bible is poetry, historical narrative, apocalyptic, psalms, and many other styles of literature. What genre is The Letter to the Hebrews?
Hebrews was originally more than likely an extended homily. The primary focal point of the homily is the priesthood of Jesus. This, as we saw last week, is startling, daring even, since nowhere else in the New Testament is Jesus spoken of as a priest. This makes Hebrews more challenging than it might appear. The Jewish world of the priesthood, sacrifices, and the Temple is a foreign world to us. It takes some effort to enter into this world and to understand it, which is necessary if we are to better see Jesus and all He has done for us. The words of Saint Jerome in a commentary on Isaiah are very apropos here: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Jerome’s point was that we can only understand Jesus, what He came to do and how He fulfilled everything God promised to the degree that we understand the Old Testament. Gulp. How many of us understand the Old Testament? How many of us understand the purpose of the priesthood and sacrifice? Next week we will concentrate our attention on the purpose of the priesthood and of sacrifice. Today, let’s concentrate on an obscure figure who features so prominently in Hebrews. Who in the world is Melchizedek?
Melchizedek shows up in all of two places in the entire Old Testament: Genesis 14:17-20 and Psalm 110:4. In fact, there’s more written about him in the Letter to the Hebrews than in the entire Old Testament! Melchizedek is the first person to be called a priest in the Old Testament, and this happens long before God instituted the order of priests from the Tribe of Levi and the descendants of Aaron. Genesis further identifies him as the King of Salem. Abram encountered Melchizedek just after he rescued his nephew, Lot. We’re told that Melchizedek brought out bread and wine and then blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” Abram responded to this by giving him a tenth of the spoils he had brought along with him in the rescue of Lot (cf. Gen 14:17-20). In Psalm 110, we have a prophetic announcement of a figure to come who will be both king and priest, two offices in the Old Testament that were not only distinct but more from different Jewish tribes: “The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’” (Ps 110:4).
From these two passages we can note a number of things. First, the bread and wine Melchizedek brings out have been seen from the beginnings of the Church as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. Second, Melchizedek blesses Abram, meaning he is superior to both Abram and to the priests that will descend from Abram in the future. Third, Abram pays tithes to Melchizedek, once again showing the latter’s superiority to even a figure as momentous as Abram. Fourth, Melchizedek is “a priest forever.” This is because, as Hebrews 7:3 says, “He is without father and mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”
Long before the birth of Levi and the priests that will serve in the Temple to come, the Bible speaks of a priest who is both different from the Levites and superior to them. This priest is Melchizedek. And Melchizedek foreshadows Jesus, the one, true, great and merciful high priest.
And with that, we can turn our attention next week to what exactly a priest’s role is and the ultimate purpose of sacrifice.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
October 2024
For the clergy and lay leaders coming from Ireland, Archdiocese of Chicago, Oklahoma City, Detroit, Los Angeles, Saskatoon, Canada, Sankt Polen, Austria, that they would catch a vision for renewal and be mobilized for mission.
For our benefactors and prayer partners, that the Lord would richly bless them for the manner in which they make the mission of ACTS XXIX possible.