Hebrews 7:1-10

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.  He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.  See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils!  And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.  But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.  It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.  In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives.  One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus is greater than Abraham is the argument that the author of Hebrews continues to demonstrate.  He has referred to Melchizedek several times prior to this text, but now he digs down into the argument so as to prove his point of the superiority of Jesus.  We will learn about the identity of this unique priest and then see why he is considered to be superior to Abraham.  This information will then give proof as to why Jesus is also superior to Abraham.

THE IDENTITY OF MELCHIZEDEK: The title given to Melchizedek is priest of the Most High God.  He is also identified as the king of Salem.  This name translates as king of righteousness and Salem means peace, so he is also king of peace. So, he is both a priest and a king of peace.  This should demonstrate a similarity to Jesus who is also King that was fully righteous, makes us righteous, and is described as the Prince of Peace, and High Priest seated at the right hand of the Father.  We don’t know where Melchizedek came from as we have no genealogy that reveals his parents, we don’t know the date of his birth nor his death.  We do have the genealogy of Jesus, but it is unlike any other because He was conceived of the Holy Spirit.  It is easy to see these similarities between Jesus and Melchizedek and why the author uses him to illustrate the superiority of Jesus.   

THE SUPERIORITY OF MELCHIZEDEK: Abraham meets Melchizedek when he had just defeated the kings who invaded Sodom and Gomorrah and taken Lot and his family captive.  Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of the plunder from this military victory.  As a result, Melchizedek blesses Abraham.  The argument in this passage is that Melchizedek is superior to Abraham because the lesser tithes to the greater and the greater blesses the lesser.  So, if Aaron, a descendent of Levi, was the high priest; Levi and Aaron are descendants of Abraham and are therefore also inferior to Melchizedek.  Jesus is clearly greater than Melchizedek so it can only be concluded that Jesus is also greater than Abraham.

APPLICATION: Trust in Jesus as our only source of righteousness and peace.  Don’t look to traditions or religion as a source of hope.  Our only hope needs to be placed on Jesus no matter what circumstances we might face in life.

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