” . . . and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 5:10
Every generation has that one person over whom people just go crazy. In my parents’ generation, it was Frank Sinatra followed by Elvis Presley. For my generation, it was the Beatles. Next was Michael Jackson. And as I type these words the world has lost its mind over Taylor Swift.
What makes these people worthy of being on this list is that everyone, and I mean everyone, would run to them. They’d drop everything to buy tickets to see them live at a concert. If they arrived at some city, the airport would be jammed with people yelling and screaming for them.
In the history of the Hebrews, there also was a list. But this list wasn’t because they could sing. They made it on this list because of how they lived by faith. They took their belief in God and chose to make decisions each and every day based on who God was and all he’d done for us.
If you’re looking for a list of names somewhere in the Bible for all these people, I’m sorry to disappoint you. There’s no bullet list anywhere that I can find. However, there are two places you can look to see who lived a life of faith.
- Table of Contents. If you look at the list of books in the Bible, you’ll see that some of them are named after the writer or main character. The books of Daniel and Ruth are examples.
- Hall of Faith. In Hebrews 11, you’ll find the closest thing to a list of people of faith. Some are individually named while the faithful actions of others are written out while the people remain nameless.
The reason I went through all this is because these are designated as people of faith. When they were put on the list, they were identified and separated from the rest of the crowd. They are highlighted and made special. Who they are, their life, and their accomplishments stand above everyone else.
And that’s exactly what the writer is telling the Hebrews about Jesus. He’s so far above and beyond everyone else that he’s in a separate category. He’s not just a rabbi. He’s more than any old priest. He’s even above the high priest who made the yearly sacrifice for the nation. He’s following in the footsteps of Melchizedek, and that makes Jesus very, very, very unique. Here are a few of the ways that Melchizedek was special, making him worthy of being designated.
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The First. Melchizedek is the first priest mentioned in the Bible. This makes him great and all other priests are compared to him.
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Family. All other Jewish priests came from the family of Aaron while Melchizedek didn’t.
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Forever. Melchizedek’s priesthood didn’t die when he did, it went on forever while other high priests ended when they got to a certain age or died.
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King. Melchizedek was the King of Salem while all other priests were forbidden to rule as a king.
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Appearance. Melchizedek came out of nowhere while all other priests could trace their family heritage, proving where they came from.
So, why was it so important for the writer to make such a big deal out of Jesus being designated in the order of Melchizedek? Why go to all the trouble and use up so much ink over this detail? It seems like a waste of time and ink.
Yes, it does to us, but not to the Hebrews. Remember, they are under the heavy weight of persecution. Some are being treated really badly in their hometowns. Some are being forced to leave the place where they’ve put down roots and go somewhere else. And there were no guarantees that they’d be able to start life over again.
While Rome was one of the causes of their persecution, so were other Jews. Their own people were treating them badly. Making life hard for them. Arresting them. Having them executed for their faith. (Acts 8:3, 9:2)
Because Jesus lived in the unfriendly and pain-filled real world, so can the Hebrews. And so can we. Jesus went through more than we can possibly know. He did it to please his Father and to pay the price for us. This puts him on the ultimate short-list. The one and only great high priest. The list starts and ends with him.
And when it comes to the person that we follow, Jesus is on his own list. Everyone else is on the other list. Jesus stands alone in all of history with the greatest designation of all time. He’s the Son of God. He’s God the Son. He’s the one and only creator and savior of the world. He alone is worthy of all our worship and praise.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Christian Grandfather Magazine
Featured Image by Roger Casco from Pixabay
