Read Genesis 14:18-20 and Hebrews 7:1-3. Who was Melchizedek, and how did he prefigure Jesus?

Melchizedek was both a king and priest. He was also superior to Abraham, since Abraham paid him tithe. Likewise, Jesus is king and priest (Hebrews 1:3); unlike Melchizedek, however, Jesus was sinless (Hebrews 7:26-28).

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Hebrews 7:15 explains that Jesus was priest “in the likeness of Melchizedek” (NKJV). This is what the earlier expression in Hebrews, “according to the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:6, NKJV), means. Jesus was not a successor of Melchizedek, but His priesthood was similar to his.

For instance, Paul says that Melchizedek was without father, mother, genealogy, birth, and death. Some have suggested that Melchizedek was an incarnation of Jesus in the time of Abraham. But this thought does not fit the argument of Hebrews. Melchizedek “resembles” Jesus (see ESV), which implies that He was different from Jesus (Hebrews 7:3).

It has also been suggested that Melchizedek was a heavenly being, but this would destroy the argument of Hebrews. If Melchizedek were without father, mother, beginning, or end, he would be God Himself. This poses a problem. Melchizedek’s heavenly, fully divine priesthood would have preceded the ministry of Jesus. If this were the case, as Hebrews says, “what further need would there have been for another priest to arise” (Hebrews 7:11, ESV)?

Instead, Hebrews uses the silence of Scripture regarding Melchizedek’s birth, death, and genealogy to build a typology, symbol, for Jesus’ priestly ministry (Genesis 14:18-20) and reveals that Jesus Himself was eternal. In short, Melchizedek was a Canaanite king-priest who served as a type of Christ.

“It was Christ that spoke through Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God. Melchizedek was not Christ, but he was the voice of God in the world, the representative of the Father. And all through the generations of the past, Christ has spoken; Christ has led His people, and has been the light of the world.” — Ellen G. White,  Selected Messages, book 1, p. 409.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Read Hebrews 5:1-10. What is the role of the priesthood and, according to this passage, how does Jesus fulfill that role?

The basic purpose of the Levitical priesthood was to mediate between sinful people and God. Priests were appointed by God in order to minister in behalf of human beings; therefore, they needed to be merciful and understanding of human weaknesses.

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In Hebrews 5:5-10, Paul shows that Jesus perfectly fulfills those purposes: God appointed Him (Hebrews 5:5-6, ), and also Jesus understands us because He also has suffered (Hebrews 5:7-8, ).

There are some important differences, however. Jesus was not “chosen from among men” (Hebrews 5:1, ESV). Instead, Jesus adopted human nature in order, among other things, to serve as a priest in our behalf. Jesus did not offer sacrifices for His own sins (Hebrews 5:3) but only for our sins, because He was sinless (Hebrews 4:15, Hebrews 7:26-28).

Hebrews says that Jesus prayed “to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard” (Hebrews 5:7, NKJV). Hebrews was referring to the second death, from which God saved Jesus when He resurrected Him (Hebrews 13:20). Hebrews also says that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8, ESV). Obedience was new to Jesus, not because He was disobedient but because He was God. As sovereign over the universe, Jesus did not obey anyone; instead, everyone obeyed Him.

Jesus’ sufferings and death on the cross are an essential part of His priestly ministry. Sufferings did not perfect Jesus in the sense that He improved morally or ethically. Sufferings did not make Him merciful. To the contrary, Jesus came to this earth because He always was merciful, which is why He had compassion on us (Hebrews 2:17). What Hebrews means is that it was through sufferings that the reality of Jesus’ brotherly love, the authenticity of His human nature, and the depth of His submission as representative of humanity to the will of the Father were truly expressed and revealed. He was “perfected” in the sense that His sufferings qualified Him to be our High Priest. It was His life of perfect obedience, and then His death on the cross, which constitute the sacrificial offering that Jesus presented before the Father as our priest.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Sabbath Afternoon,

Read for This Week’s Study: Hebrews 5:1–10; Genesis 14:18–20; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 7:1–3; Hebrews 7:11–16, Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 7:26.

Memory Text: “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26, NKJV).

The gulf that existed between God and us was caused by sin. The problem was compounded because sin also implied the corruption of our nature. God is holy, and sin cannot exist in His presence; so, our own corrupted nature separated us from God, just as two magnets in the wrong orientation repel each other. In addition, our corrupted nature made it impossible for human beings to obey God’s law. Sin also involves misunderstanding. Human beings lost sight of the love and mercy of God and came to see Him as wrathful and demanding.

This week, we are going to study the amazing things the Father and the Son did to bridge that gulf. Hebrews 5-7 provides a careful analysis of Jesus’ priesthood. The author analyzes its origin and purpose (Hebrews 5:1-10) and then exhorts readers not to disregard it (Hebrews 5:11-6:8) but rather to hold fast to the assurance of hope it provides (Hebrews 6:9-20). He also explains the characteristics of His priesthood (Hebrews 7:1-10) and its implications for God’s relationship to believers (Hebrews 7:11-28). This week we will focus specifically on Hebrews 5:1-10 and Hebrews 7:1-28.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, February 5.

Sunday–>

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Support for the mission activities of the Seventh-day Adventist church has always been part of the Sabbath School program. This video is Mission Spotlight for this week.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQUII3lFFL4&w=560&h=315]

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Finding Peace

By Andrew McChesney

It was the worst day of Yean’s life.

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The witch doctor approached him in their village in southern Laos and announced that he was going to die.

“And there is no one who can help you,” the witch doctor said, solemnly.

Yean was scared. People in his village believed that the witch doctor always spoke the truth. He could not lie.

Yean did not want to die. He was so frightened that he could not eat or sleep.

Soon his wife noticed that something was terribly wrong.

“What happened?” she asked.

Yean told her about his encounter with the witch doctor.

“I am going to die,” he said.

He didn’t know what to do. His wife didn’t know what to do.

Then he heard about a small group of Christians who gathered on Saturdays to worship. He had never been inside a Christian church, but he decided to find out whether the Christians could ask their God to help him.

Next Sabbath, Yean and his wife showed up at the Seventh-day Adventist church. He told the church members about the witch doctor and his fear of dying.

After listening, the members told him about a God named Jesus. They said Jesus had the power to not only save him from the witch doctor’s prediction of death but also to offer him eternal life. In their Bibles was the promise: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; NKJV).

Yean was overjoyed when he heard about Jesus! He could claim the peace that only Jesus offers: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

When he left the church, he was so happy that he could not keep the good news to himself. He eagerly shared the peace that Jesus had given him with other villagers. He walked home with a big smile on his face. It was the best day of his life!

Today, Yean is alive and well, and he is attending the church where he first found Jesus.

Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the gospel to people in Laos and other countries of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, which will receive this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering.

This mission story illustrates Mission Objective No. 2 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go” strategic plan: “To strengthen and diversify Adventist outreach … among unreached and under-reached people groups, and to non-Christian religions.” Learn more at IWillGo2020.org.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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