Scripture to Read: Hebrews 7:4-10
As we continue our walk through He- brews 7, we need to “pause and consider,” as God
tells us in Hebrews 7:4, how great Melchizedek was as God’s high priest. We need to understand that being a priest in Israel was dependent on your family line. All the priests of Israel came from the tribe of Levi. But Melchizedek was “without father, without mother, with- out genealogy,” according to Hebrew 7:3. God led the writer of Hebrews to deliberately leave out Melchize- dek’s family line to make Melchizedek an appropriate type of Jesus Christ. That’s why God’s Word says that Melchizedek was “made like the Son of God” in Hebrews 7:3. It is not that Melchizedek never died, but instead,
in what Genesis 14:18-20 leaves out, Melchizedek then “remains a priest perpetually.” So, this is how Scripture ties in with Scripture. Jesus’ human lineage is record- ed in both Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Jesus did NOT come from the priestly tribe of Levi, but Jesus came from the line from Judah, as noted in Hebrews 7:14. To be our High Priest forever, Jesus had to be of a different priest- ly order, namely, the order of Melchizedek. As the Son of God (this title is used intentionally to focus on Jesus’ deity), Jesus has no human lineage and therefore fulfills the type of Melchizedek as reported in Genesis 14:18- 20. One more thing, the Levitical priests died and had to be replaced, but Jesus is our eternal High Priest who lives forever, as noted in Hebrews 7:23-24.
Challenge & Application
1. What did you learn today about Jesus as our High Priest?
2. Who will you share this good news with today, that Jesus is our eternal High Priest whose blood sacri- fice pays for all sin, for all time, for all mankind?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!