¹⁵ And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶ who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷ For it is attested of Him, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

Coming to the last of eight specifically named references to Melchizedek in the letter to the Hebrews, it is abundantly clear that Jesus is a priest “according to the order of Melchizedek.” For modern day readers this may seem laborious, but to the seeker of truth the emphasis is important. Remember the letter was originally targeted to Christians from a Jewish background. There was pressure to return to their previous way of life and religion. If anything is certain from what we have read so far, we must embrace the truth that believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and His sacrifice on the cross for sinners, places the Christian faith in a far superior position to Judaism or any other religion. This is absolutely core to faith in Christ.

One cannot believe in Christ the way we see Him presented in Hebrews and continue to embrace the legalistic and ritualistic requirements of other religions! This, in fact, is laced throughout the New Testament writings. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Christianity is exclusive to the core; there is no possibility of syncretism or ecumenism apart from the unique and exclusive priesthood of Jesus Christ. Are Christians bigoted or arrogant for holding to this? No, our core documents (i.e. the NT) of the Christian faith insist on it!

Concluding the discussion about Melchizedek, we discover that entry into that order of priesthood was not based on genetic connection, like the physical, hereditary requirement of the Levitical priesthood. Jesus (“another priest”) was qualified to be a Melchizedekian priest by virtue of the nature of His life. It was indestructible; it was eternal. Whereas a Levitical priesthood lasted only as long as the priest was alive, the priesthood of Jesus lasts forever. Death could not terminate His function as priest. So Jesus is not only the eternal sacrifice for our sins, He is also the eternal priest interceding for us with God!

In an interesting aside, we note that three times Psalm 110:4 has been quoted, reflecting a convention common to Hebrews. This could reflect that the letter may have originally been delivered as a spoken sermon, where repetition would be employed more frequently than in strictly written communication.

Lord, I praise You for giving us an eternal Priest, whose sacrifice is eternally satisfactory to You. I can rest on this truth with complete confidence.