Christ and Melchizedek St. Paul talked to the Christians, of Hebrew origin, not to console them about the privileges that they had lost by accepting the Christian faith, but rather to declare to them what they have tremendously enjoyed. He compared the Lord Christ and His service with the angels and their services to the old fathers, between the Lord Christ and Moses the Prophet, Joshua, Aaron, and now between Him and Abraham, the Patriarch and the man of faith. He excerpted a part of Abraham's life, which may seem mysterious to all the Jews, which is his meeting with Melchizedek, his submission to him and offering him the tithes. Though all the Jewish nation, including the Levite tribe from which Aaron and the priests came, came out of the loins of Abraham, yet he belittled himself before Melchizedek, who was a symbol of the Lord Christ. 1. Melchizedek, a symbol of Christ 1-10. 2. The promise of a new priesthood 11-17. 3. Between the old priesthood and the new one 18-28. 1. MELCHIZEDEK, A SYMBOL OF CHRIST The story of Melchizedek was mentioned in the book of Genesis in chapter 14. Abraham welcomed him, as the king and priest, after his victory over Chedorlaomer, and rescuing his nephew Lot. Abraham offered the tithes to Melchizedek who offered a strange sacrifice, of bread and wine. This story represents a mystery to the Jews, who still cannot explain it. How can Abraham the Patriarch who had the Levitical priesthood in his seed, offer the tithes to a strange man? And why did this king and priest appear in the Holy Bible and suddenly disappear, and nobody knows anything about his father or mother or his genealogy? Why did he not offer a bloody sacrifice as it was the custom at that time? The Jews cannot find an answer to all these questions. However, the apostle Paul reveals its mystery by declaring that Melchizedek being the symbol of the Lord Christ, has surpassed even Abraham who is carrying the priesthood in himself. He was the symbol of the Lord Christ, thus considered for more better than the one who obtained the promises. St. John Chrysostom says, [He could not offer the tithes to a stranger unless that stranger is greater than him1.] Abraham, offering the tithes to Melchizedek, means that he wants his blessing, or in other words Melchizedek is blessing the one who has the promises. As the Apostle says, "Now beyond all contradictions the lesser is blessed by the better" [7]. Truly it is surprising that Abraham who accepts the tithes, in the person of Levi who came out of his loins, pays tithes to a stranger who is Melchizedek, as if the Levitical priesthood itself, who is supposed to accept tithes and offerings, in the person of Abraham, has bent down in the person of Abraham to pay tithes to the one who is the symbol of the Lord Jesus, the great heavenly High Priest. Melchizedek was a symbol in these aspects: 1 In Hebr. hom., 12:4. Chapter 1 2 First: His name "Melchizedek" linguistically means “the king of righteousness,” who is a symbol of the Lord Christ who reigns over the hearts by His righteousness. He rules the soul, so that she may hide in Him to appear in the eyes of the Father bearing His righteousness. In other words, when the Lord Jesus reigns spiritually over the person, all his weakness will disappear, and the Lord Jesus will appear with His righteousness and glory! As the Apostle says, "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 3:24) Second: His work is "King of Salem," that is king of peace. The Lord Jesus reigned over His Church granting His believers peace with the Father, with their brothers, and with themselves. Humanity has reconciled with the heavens, humans with one another, and also the person with himself: between the soul and the body where everything in the person became spiritual abiding by the one spirit. Truly the Lord Christ is the true king of Salem spreading his peace over each soul that seeks Him. The Lord Christ has concluded his farewell speech with His disciples before His arrest, by proclaiming that the purpose of His talk with them was that they enjoy peace in Him. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). St. Augustine comments on this divine saying, by these words, [The purpose of His speech was that the disciples may find peace in Him. This peace is the purpose of every righteous deed we perform nowadays, for while we are full of His peace, we are well prepared to enjoy His mysteries, His teachings, works, true faith and hope in Christ Jesus. We are comforted in all our tribulations and are delivered from them by His peace. For His sake, we endure afflictions happily till we conquer tribulations in Him and live joyfully beyond pain2.] St. Augustine commented on the Lord's words: "My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you" (John 14:27) by saying, [He left us His peace before departing to the heavens, and will give us His private peace when He comes at the end. He leaves us His peace while we are in the world, and will grant us His private peace in the world to come. He leaves us His peace so that we may conquer the devil and will grant us His private peace when there is no more devil to fight us, so we may reign as kings... He leaves us His peace so that we may love each other, and will grant us His peace when we are above all divisions and quarrels. He leaves us His peace so no one may condemn the other; for while we are on earth, everything is vague. And He will grant us His peace when "He reveals the counsels of the hearts and then each one's praise will come from God" (1 Cor. 4:5). Yet in Him, and through Him we may constantly receive peace, whether on our departure to the Father, or whether when we lastly approach to be between the hands of the Father (in those fearful moments, His peace never departs from us, as His believers)3.] Third: We notice in the first chapter that a division took place in the old Testament, between the prophecy and the priesthood, or more precisely between the prophets and the priests. The latter could not accept the word of truth, being satisfied with practicing the rituals of worship outwardly without any spirit. Then the Lord of Truth Himself, and the High Priest came carrying the prophecy with the eternal, heavenly priesthood, re- 2 In Ioan. tr. 104:1. 3 Ibid, tr. 78:3. Chapter 1 3 conciling the knowledge with the worship, and the truth with the ritual! Here the Lord combined the kingdom with the priesthood, for He is the King of righteousness and peace and in the same time the Priest according to the order of Melchizedek forever. In the mean time He is the King and Priest; whereas His royal work cannot be separated from His priesthood service. While He reigns over the heart through His unique Sacrifice, He offers this sacrifice as the heavenly High Priest, for He is the King of authority, who through His sacrificing practical love, declares His intercession in propitiation of our sins to raise all the believers with Him and in Him as spiritual kings and priests. Fourth: The Bible did not mention anything about the parents nor the genealogy of Melchizedek who is a symbol of the Lord Christ who has no beginning nor end. The Lord Christ has no father according to the flesh, nor mother according to the divinity; He is the eternal Priest, immaculate and omnipotent. Fifth: The sacrifice of Melchizedek of bread and wine has no meaning except that it is a symbol of the Eucharist sacrifice, which is the Body and Blood of the Lord Christ. The Lord Himself transformed the bread and wine to establish the sacrament. St. Jerome says, [You are a Priest forever, not through offering Jewish sacrifices, but rather on the order of Melchizedek. As Melchizedek, King of Salem, offered bread and wine (Gen. 14: 18), You also offer Your Body and Blood as the true Body and the True Blood. This is our Melchizedek who granted us the divine Sacrifice, for He said, "He who eats my Body and drinks my Blood..." (John 6:55), according to the order of Melchizedek, granting us His mysteries4.] 2. THE PROMISE OF NEW PRIESTHOOD After God chose Aaron and his sons to serve Him as priests in His temple, and to offer sacrifices in the name of the holy congregation, He promised a new priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek, and not according to Aaron. He said, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" [17]. The apostle Paul sees three changes in this promise: first, in the nature of the priesthood, second in the tribe who was consecrated for this job, third in the Law connected with it. First: The nature of the priesthood: The promise came of a priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek and not according to the order of Aaron or Levi. This means there is an alteration of the features and nature of priesthood. Also it reveals the weakness of the first priesthood and its being unperfected, or why then is there a need for a different rite? "Therefore if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the Law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?" [11] The Levitical priesthood was established according to a divine call, and was connected to the Law of God, but it was only to prepare the minds to understand another priesthood, which is the priesthood of the Lord Jesus. This is the subject of the epistle to the Hebrews, which the Apostle explains clearly in the following chapters. Second: Change in the Tribe: The priesthood was transferred from the tribe of Levi to the tribe of Judah. "For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. And it is 4 On Ps. Hom., 36. Chapter 1 4 yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest" [13- 15]. This change in the tribe was not without a purpose, for the tribe of Judah is the royal tribe from whom the kings of Judah came. This is to point out that in Christ only, the new priesthood has met with the royal work, which has never happened before. The prophecy of our Patriarch Jacob was fulfilled; he has blessed his son Judah saying, "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to Him shall be the obedience of the people" (Gen. 49:8-10). This prophecy has been completely fulfilled in the Person of the Lord Jesus, whom His brothers praise and thank for He became our Firstborn Brother, who destroyed his enemy, Satan, by the cross, and His hand was on the neck of His enemies. The children of His heavenly Father worship Him, the Lion who was nailed to the cross and rose to raise us with Him. He reigns by the cross granting peace to His people, and all nations from every tribe and tongue worship Him. Third: Change of the Law: The change of priesthood requires change of the Law, for there are certain regulations and commandments for each priesthood. The Levitical priesthood serves through the bloody sacrifices and the washing of the bodies as a symbol, and its law agrees with it. However, while leaving a priesthood remarked by symbols, on the way to a heaven spiritual priesthood, there appeared a new covenant, a new Law, and new teachings, not to contradict the past, but to complement it. It reveals Its depth, and we are carried from childhood to spiritual maturity, from the promise of earthly blessings like the promised land which overflows with milk and honey to heavenly promises and union with the Father in His Son. Therefore, the Lord emphasized that He did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17). The Apostle compares between the Law of the Levitical priesthood and the Law of the Heavenly Priest by saying, "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the Law... For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment, because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the Law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God" [12,18,19]. The old commandment was annulled not through its destruction but through its fulfillment in the new commandment, which complement it and which opened a new hope for us when we approach the Father through the unity with His Son. Thus, the Apostle talks to us about better sacrifices and a better priesthood, better promises and a better hope through the Lord Jesus Christ. As St. Athanasius of Alexandria says, [The sacrifice through Him, the hope in Him, and the promises through Him are much better, not because the former ones were less, but because the new ones are different in nature than the former ones, for the One who officiates them is greater5.] 3. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN THE OLD PRIESTHOOD AND THE NEW PRIESTHOOD The Apostle presented us a comparison between the Levitical priesthood and the 5 Against Arians, Discourse 1:60. Chapter 1 5 priesthood of the Lord Jesus. The following are the important points: First: Annulling the Levitical priesthood and establishing the new priesthood means annulling the former commandment for it is unable to draw us near to God and unite us with Him [18,19]. Second: The Levitical priesthood was through a divine call, but without an oath, for it is temporary, whose goal is achieved by the new eternal priesthood with an oath. He said, "And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath (for they have become priests without an oath, but 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." [20] The Lord Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant [22]. The former one was unable to cleanse sins nor sanctify the soul, however the second fulfills what the first one was unable to accomplish. Third: In the old priesthood, many priests were called, so that if one dies, the other succeeds him. "And there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has unchangeable priesthood" [23,24]. The reason for the weakness of the former priesthood is that it was not connected to one priest, but to many priests from the sons of Kohath, the sons of Levi. The high priest used to rejoice when his son succeeds him, for he cannot stay forever. However, the priesthood of the Lord Jesus is eternal, for death cannot overpower Him. Through His incarnation, He declared His priesthood; and when He died, He did not lose His priesthood, for death cannot defile Him, nor stop His intercession as an Advocate. On the contrary, His death was the foundation of His priesthood, for He offered Himself a Sacrifice of love to the Father, thus, He became the Priest and the Sacrifice at the same time. The Lord rose to declare the eternity of His priesthood and His heavenly Sacrifice. Hence, His priesthood remains permanent and His Sacrifice effective and cannot be repeated! His priesthood is still effective in His Church and His Sacrifice present and does not perish, nor gets old. Through this surpassing Priesthood and unique Sacrifice, the Church enjoys priesthood and sacrificial services, in the Lord Christ, the Priest and Sacrifice! The Apostle declared the power of this act by saying, "Therefore, He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them" [25]. He did not die till the end, nor His sacrifice was consumed, but He ever lives before the Father, offering Himself a Sacrifice, the mystery of our sanctification. This is the fountain of power from which the priests derive their work and offerings, for they practice the priesthood by putting on the Lord Christ, the High Priest, and what they offer is the sacrifice of Christ which cannot be repeated! Fourth: The high priest and priests in the Old Testament were sinners like the rest of the people, who need to be sanctified. However, The High Priest, the Lord Christ is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" [26]. Since He became one of us, yet He is the only holy One, separated from sinners, who is higher than the heavens. In Him we are sanctified in the bosom of the Heavenly Father. The priests of the Old Testament need to offer sacrifices first for themselves, then for the sins of the people, repeating this act continuously. But the High Priest the Lord Jesus "did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever" [27,28]. What a great difference Chapter 1 6 between the men who have weaknesses and the eternal perfect Son!
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