Psalm 110:4;
The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’
Melchizedek first appears in Genesis 14:18-20 as both king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blessing Abraham and receiving tithes from him.
Melchizedek’s priesthood predates the Mosaic Law and the establishment of the Levitical priesthood. He is presented without genealogy, without a record of beginning or end. Hebrews interprets this portrayal as a foreshadowing of Christ, who truly possesses an eternal priesthood. Hebrews 7:3 describes Melchizedek as without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but MADE LIKE THE SON OF GOD, REMAINS A PRIEST CONTINUALLY.
This priesthood is established by divine oath: The LORD has sworn and will not relent. Unlike the Levitical priests, who were appointed by law and succession, Christ’s priesthood rests on God’s irrevocable promise. Hebrews 7:20-22 asserts, And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not relent, ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’ ”), by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant. Here we see the certainty, permanence, and superiority of Christ’s priesthood. What God swears, He fulfills.
We also see the eternality of Christ’s priesthood. You are a priest forever. Hebrews 7:23-25 contrasts the many Levitical priests, whose ministries were interrupted by death, with Jesus: Also, there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore, He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. As a result of the permanence of His priesthood, Jesus Christ is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
The Levitical priests offered repeated sacrifices that could never fully remove sin. In contrast, Jesus, as the priest according to the order of Melchizedek, offers a once-for-all sacrifice. Hebrews 7:27 states that Jesus Christ does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Christ is both priest and sacrifice, and His self-offering fulfills what the old system could only symbolize.
The priesthood ‘according to the order of Melchizedek’ also signifies a priesthood based on divine life, not on ancestry or law. Hebrews 7:16 explains that Jesus became priest, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. Jesus, from the tribe of Judah rather than Levi, could never have been a priest under the Mosaic Law. In Christ, the limitations of the Law are surpassed, and access to God is secured through a living and victorious High Priest.
Because Christ is the eternal High Priest, we are invited to draw near with assurance. Hebrews 4:14-16 urges us to hold fast to our confession, seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
As the priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ embodies an eternal, divinely sworn, and fully effective priesthood. Through His once-for-all sacrifice, ongoing intercession, and resurrection life, He accomplishes what no Levitical priest could achieve. We live under the gracious ministry of a perfect High Priest who reigns forever.
Ask God to:
- help you to rest in the assurance that Jesus Christ is continually praying for you.
- teach you to trust that God’s purposes and promises will never fail.
- give you courage to approach God boldly in every time of need.
