How Is Jesus the Priest in the Order of Melchizedek?

The Bible says something unusual about Jesus Christ: He is a priest, but He is not a priest after the order of Aaron. He is a priest “after the order of Melchisedec.” Hebrews 5:6 says, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.” But who was Melchizedek, and what does it mean for Jesus to be a priest after his order?

To understand this, we have to go back to Genesis 14. After Abraham rescued Lot and defeated the kings who had taken him captive, a mysterious man named Melchizedek appeared. Genesis 14:18 says, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.” He blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him tithes of all.

Melchizedek was both king and priest. His name means “king of righteousness,” and he was the king of Salem, which means peace. Hebrews later points this out when explaining his significance: “first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace” (Hebrews 7:2).

That is already significant because under the Old Testament law, Israel's king and priest were normally separate offices. The priests came from the tribe of Levi, while the kings came from the tribe of Judah. But Melchizedek held both offices. He was a king who was also a priest of God.

And that points directly to Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the King of righteousness and the King of peace, and He is also our great High Priest. Isaiah prophesied of Him as the righteous King, and the New Testament repeatedly identifies Him as both King and Priest. Revelation 19:16 calls Him “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Romans 5:1 says that believers have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Christ is the perfect fulfillment of what Melchizedek represented.

But there is another important distinction. The Levitical priesthood depended upon genealogy. A man could not simply decide to become a priest. He had to come from the tribe of Levi and specifically from the priestly family of Aaron. Numbers 18 establishes the priestly responsibilities of Aaron and his sons.

Jesus, however, came from the tribe of Judah, not Levi.

That creates a problem if we try to understand Christ's priesthood as merely another Levitical priesthood. Jesus could not be a priest according to the Law's genealogical requirements because He was not descended from Aaron. Hebrews therefore explains that His priesthood is of a completely different order.

Hebrews 7:14 says, “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.”

So how can Jesus be a priest?

Because His priesthood is not after the order of Aaron. It is after the order of Melchizedek.

Psalm 110 gives us the key. David wrote prophetically about the coming Messiah: “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4).

This is remarkable because the Messiah would be David's descendant, yet He would also be a priest. The Old Testament Law separated the offices of king and priest, but Psalm 110 foretold a coming King who would also possess an everlasting priesthood.

Hebrews identifies that promised Priest-King as Jesus Christ.

The greatest difference between Jesus and the Levitical priests is that the Levitical priests eventually died and were replaced. Jesus never needs to be replaced. Hebrews 7:23-24 says, “And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”

Jesus' priesthood is permanent because Jesus Himself is eternal.

The Levitical priests offered sacrifices repeatedly because their work was never finished. Day after day, year after year, sacrifices were offered. But Jesus offered Himself once.

Hebrews 10:11-12 contrasts the two priesthoods: “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”

That phrase, “sat down,” is important. The Old Testament priests stood because their sacrificial work continued. Jesus sat down because His sacrifice was finished.

Melchizedek's appearance in Genesis also has an unusual feature. Scripture gives no record of his father, mother, genealogy, birth, or death. Hebrews 7:3 describes him as “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life.”

This does not necessarily mean Melchizedek was literally an eternal being. Scripture does not say that he was an eternal deity. Rather, Hebrews is explaining that the biblical record gives no genealogy or recorded beginning and ending for his priesthood. His appearance in Scripture provides a fitting picture of an everlasting priesthood.

Jesus, however, is the reality behind the picture. Melchizedek was a historical king and priest whose recorded appearance foreshadowed something greater. Jesus actually possesses the everlasting priesthood that Melchizedek's priesthood pictured.

There is another beautiful connection. Melchizedek brought Abraham “bread and wine” (Genesis 14:18). Christians should be careful not to turn that into something the passage itself does not say, but the imagery is striking when we remember that Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper using bread and the cup as symbols of His body and blood (Matthew 26:26-28).

The central point, however, is not the bread and wine. The central point is the Priest who blesses and the sacrifice He offers.

Jesus is greater than every Old Testament priest because He does not merely offer the blood of an animal. He offers Himself.

He is also greater than Melchizedek. Hebrews 7 does not teach that Jesus merely belongs to the same category as Melchizedek. It shows that Melchizedek's priesthood points forward to Christ's superior priesthood. Hebrews 7:17 says, “For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”

And because Christ is our everlasting High Priest, believers have something the Old Testament saints could only look forward to: a permanent representative before God.

Hebrews 7:25 says, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Think about that. Jesus did not merely die for our sins and then disappear from the story. He rose again, ascended into heaven, and ever liveth to make intercession for us.

The priesthood of Jesus is therefore central to the believer's assurance. Our salvation does not rest upon the faithfulness of an earthly priest. It rests upon the finished sacrifice and continuing ministry of the risen Christ.

We do not need another priest to give us access to God. We have one Mediator, Jesus Christ. First Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Melchizedek was a remarkable figure in Genesis, but he was pointing beyond himself. He was the king of righteousness, the king of peace, and the priest of the Most High God. Yet his recorded ministry was temporary and his identity remained mysterious.

Jesus is the fulfillment.

He is the true King of righteousness. He is the true King of peace. He is the everlasting Priest. He offered the perfect sacrifice. He rose from the dead. He sits at the right hand of God. And He ever lives to make intercession for those who come to God through Him.

That is what it means that Jesus is “a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.”