Hebrews 7 (NIV)
Melchizedek the Priest
This Melchizedek was king of
Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of
the kings and blessed him, and
Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of
righteousness;" then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without
genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he
remains a priest forever.
Just think how great he was:
Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants
of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, their
brothers—even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his
descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had
the promises. And without doubt the
lesser person is blessed by the greater. In
the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by
him who is declared to be living. One
might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through
Abraham, because when Melchizedek
met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.
Jesus Like Melchizedek
If perfection could have been
attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was
given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in
the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the
priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. He of whom these things are said
belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the
altar. For it is clear that our
Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about
priests. And what we have said is
even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on
the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an
indestructible life. For it is
declared:
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."[a]
The former regulation is set
aside because it was weak and useless 19(for
the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw
near to God.
And it was not without an oath!
Others became priests without any oath, 21but
he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:
"The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
'You are a priest forever.' "[b] Because of this oath, Jesus has
become the guarantee of a better covenant.
Now there have been many of
those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he
has a permanent priesthood. Therefore
he is able to save completely[c]
those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for
them.
6Such a high priest meets our
need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the
heavens. Unlike the other high
priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own
sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for
all when he offered himself. For
the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came
after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
Footnotes:
- Hebrews 7:17 Psalm 110:4
- Hebrews 7:21 Psalm 110:4
- Hebrews 7:25 Or forever
