Fifth Sunday in Lent
March 29, 2009
Melchizedek
Hebrews 5:5-10
One Grand Week
Holy Week is just one week away. For us Christians it is the most important time of year. And each service that we have is moving and dramatic.
We begin with our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and the reading of the Passion. And we continue with our Lord’s institution of Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday and his saving death on Good Friday.
And then, of course, it all culminates with his resurrection, his wonderful resurrection, on Easter Day. The whole story of salvation is told in one Grand Week.
The Tenebrae, a Service of Darkness
My favorite worship service out of that entire week is the Tenebrae, the Service of Darkness, on Good Friday night. And if you have never been to a Tenebrae, you really need to give this service a try. It is fantastic. I’ve always loved this service from when I was a little kid on.
The service begins in light. And there are 14 candles up here in front around one central Christ candle. But during the course of the service, the candles are gradually extinguished one-by-one. And there is a growing darkness. And you feel in your bones, the falling away of the disciples one-by-one.
And over the course of the service, three sets of lessons are read. The first from Lamentations and Israel’s loud lament over the fall of Jerusalem. And the second from the Gospel of Mark and Jesus’ loud, agonizing prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane.
And the last come from the book of Hebrews including the words that were read as our first lesson. And we hear how through his obedient sufferings and death Jesus has become our great high priest “according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Meet Melchizedek
And as a kid, I always wondered, “Melchizedek? Who in the world is Melchizedek! And what exactly does it mean that Jesus is our great high priest according to the order of Melchizedek?”
Melchizedek, King of Salem
His name means “King of Righteousness” and he is the king of a city by the name of Salem, which like Shalom is the Hebrew word for “peace.” And so, he is the “King of Righteousness” and the “King of Peace.”
And not only is he a king, but he also is a priest of God Most High, whom the Israelites would later know as Yahweh.
And this priest-king by the name of Melchizedek meets Abraham as Abraham is returning from a great victory over a bunch of war lords who had raided the cities around the Jordan River and captured Abraham’s nephew Lot. After the raids, Abraham raised an army of armed men and defeated them all in a surprising night attack.
And on his return Abraham is greeted by the priest-king of Salem who feeds Abraham a meal of bread and wine and who blesses Abraham in the name of God Most High. Whereupon Abraham joyfully gave Melchizedek a tithe, 10% of all his booty from the battle.
Jesus Like Melchizedek
About 2000 years later after the death and resurrection of Jesus, some genius (whoever wrote the book of Hebrews) makes the connection between Jesus and Melchizedek.
Jesus is a lot like Melchizedek. He is the “King of Righteousness” and the “King of Peace.” Jesus is the king. Our king. He was crowned upon the cross.
But he is also our high priest. That is what Good Friday accomplished.
Through his reverent suffering and death, Jesus passed through the “veil,” the “curtain,” the “cloth,” that separates us from God. And Jesus entered the heavenly temple.
And now Jesus takes all of our “loud cries and tears,” our sufferings and our sorrows. And Jesus turns them into prayers. His true, faithful prayer.
And Jesus addresses to the God who can save us all from death. And Jesus is heard. The prayers of Jesus are always heard. Because of his “reverent submission” to the Father’s will.
Jesus is our Great High Priest
Jesus is a priest. And a priest is a “bridge” who allows us to “draw near” to God through his “sacrificial offerings.” But Jesus is no ordinary priest. That’s what it means when the bible says Jesus is “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” It means that Jesus is no ordinary priest.
Biologically, Jesus doesn’t come from the “normal priestly bloodline.” Jesus is the royal Son of God who comes “before” and who “remains after” any Jewish priesthood, just like Melchizedek did. This means his blood line is far better. His blood comes from God.
And Jesus is the “sinless” Son of God, who does not need to make any sacrifices for his own sins first like any other ordinary priest did. And so, every ounce of his saving energy goes into us and our salvation.
And his loving sacrifice is good “once and for all.” And so, we have no need for any more animal sacrifices and temple rituals like Abraham and his descendents once did. What counts now is our faith in Christ our great high priest.
And Jesus is a “compassionate high priest.” That is what makes him so good at what he does. He has been tempted in every way that we are—yet without sin. And so, he is able to sympathize with us in our weakness.
Jesus is our Compassionate Savior
That’s what struck me as a kid. A teen age kid. This is what made Jesus such a powerful and important figure. There was no temptation, no test, no struggle that I was ever to go through that Jesus didn’t have too.
And so, he could be “gentle” with my weakness, because he has been tested in every way that we are.
This week in confirmation we talked about the 6th and 7th petitions of the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.” And I told the kids that youth of today have to face greater temptations and evils than we adults ever had to face as children. What about you? Do you think this is true?
What a great gospel this is to know that Jesus is with us every step of the way. And that there isn’t any temptation of evil we have to face, that he hasn’t already faced for us.
This is what Jesus chose to do upon the cross. To take our world of struggle and lift it up to God in prayer and to have God heal it and change it.
This is what makes Jesus what he is—our high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
© 2009 Pastor Paul Jaster