[The text below represents an edited version of this Tomorrow’s World whiteboard.]

Who Is Melchizedek in the Bible?

The book of Hebrews tells of a King by the name of Melchizedek, who blessed Abraham and was priest of the Most High God.

And Hebrews 6:20 explains that Jesus has become “High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

So, who was Melchizedek?

And how is He connected to Jesus?

The first reference to Melchizedek is found in Genesis 14:18–20.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.

Three Clues: A King of Peace, a City of Peace, and a High Priest

Now, let’s examine three clues that will reveal the tie between the mysterious Melchizedek and Jesus Christ.

Clue #1: Melchizedek and Jesus Christ are both exalted kings

The name “Melchizedek” is translated literally as “king of righteousness,” a fact that is brought out in Hebrews 7:1–2.

For this Melchizedek, 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 translated “king of righteousness….”

The rest of verse 2 also explains that the meaning of the title “king of Salem” found in Genesis 14:18 means “king of peace.”

Jesus also has the title of king. Jesus, who was born to be king (John 18:37), is called:

• The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)
• The Branch of righteousness (Jeremiah 33:15) executing judgment and righteousness in the earth
• His coming reign in Jerusalem gives the city the name “THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 33:16)
• And He is also called the “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16)

So clue number one was Melchizedek and Christ are both exalted kings.

Clue #2: Melchizedek and Christ share a special connection to Jerusalem

Melchizedek was called “King of Salem” or “King of peace” as we just saw. But Salem was also a city.

Salem was actually an ancient name for Jerusalem and is even sometimes called by that name in the Bible.

In Psalm 76:2 we read:

In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion.

And just like the word Salem is translated as peace, the word Jerusalem means city of peace.

So Melchizedek, King of Salem, has a direct connection to Jerusalem.

Jesus Christ will rule from the same place. He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords from Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is called “the city of the great King” in Matthew 5:35—of course, speaking of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus came to Jerusalem before His last Passover, it fulfilled the words of a prophecy in Zechariah.

See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey (Matthew 21:4–5, NIV; Zechariah 9:9).

And in Jeremiah we’re told about the time when Jesus returns to earth that:

Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 3:17).

So we see Melchizedek was king of the city that became known as Jerusalem, and Jesus will reign as King of Jerusalem. But not only that, He will reign over the whole earth (Revelation 11:15).

Finally, clue #3: Melchizedek and Christ are both exalted priests

In Hebrews 7:3, we see Melchizedek is “without father, without mother, without genealogy,” meaning his existence did not begin with a physical birth, “having neither beginning of days nor end of life”—that is, He possesses eternal life—“but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.”

Then the next verse says:

Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils (Hebrews 7:4).

In ancient Israel, the children of Israel were to pay their tithes to the tribe of Levi, all of whom came from Abraham. But verse 6 explains that Melchizedek, who did not come from the Levites, “received tithes from Abraham,” so that:

Even Levi…paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him (Hebrews 7:9–10).

In other words, this Melchizedek was the priest to whom even the patriarch Abraham, and thereby all the children of Israel, paid tithes to.

It was a priesthood that was different from and superior to the priesthood of Aaron and the Levites established during the time of Ancient Israel.

Now, going back to verse 3, it says he was “made like the Son of God,” that is, Jesus Christ, and that he “remains a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3).

Verse 17 quotes Psalm 110:4, saying Jesus Christ is “a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

And in Chapter 6, verse 20, Jesus is called the:

High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:20).

Other passages also point to Jesus Christ as High Priest. One of those passages is in Hebrews 4:14. It says:

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God...

So we have seen both Melchizedek and Jesus Christ:

• Have the same royal titles: King of Peace and King of Righteousness
• Are profoundly associated with the same location: Jerusalem
• And hold the same office of High Priest in the same order

Who Is Melchizedek? He Is Jesus Christ

Examining these three clues lead[s] to only one conclusion: Melchizedek IS Jesus Christ.

In other words, Melchizedek is the one who became Jesus Christ.

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