Answer: Melchisedec—A Pattern of Christ

“For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:1-3, KJV).

Who was Melchisedec? There have been many speculations about him, but one thing is sure—we don’t know. When we come across something in the Bible that is not clear, it is likely because it is not vital for us to know. This is the case with Melchisedec. His identity is not the focus of his inclusion in the book of Hebrews. It is the priesthood of Melchisedec that is important and that is clearly outlined in the context of this chapter. One reason why Melchisedec is important is because he, as a priest, represented Jesus. (Additionally, he was the king of Salem which represents Christ as King of kings. In these two things he is a pattern of Christ.)

“Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises” (Hebrews 7:4-6, KJV).

This is where Christ’s priesthood is identified. He was not of the tribe of Levi, the chosen tribe for the priesthood. Christ’s priesthood is before Levi was even chosen to be priest. We find that Christ’s priesthood is patterned about Melchisedec, the one to who even Abraham paid tithe. And because the Levites came from Abraham, then in Abraham the Levites paid tithe to Melchisedec. Because Melchisedec was the first priest and Abraham first paid tithe to him, Melchisedec is the greater priesthood. We should take note that Melchisedec blessed Abraham. What does the Scripture say about this blessing?

“And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better” (Hebrews 7:7).

Here again we see the “something better” theme that runs through the entire book of Hebrews. Once again it is something vitally better. The priesthood of Melchisedec is without beginning and without end. This is something substantially better because Melchisedec is a pattern of Christ. The conclusion then is that Christ offers us a better priesthood than Levi.