Hebrews 7:3
Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.
Without father or mother or genealogy
This phrase emphasizes the mysterious and unique nature of Melchizedek, the king-priest of Salem. In the context of ancient Jewish culture, genealogy was crucial for establishing one's identity and legitimacy, especially in the priesthood, which was traditionally passed down through the Levitical line. The Greek words used here, "ἀπάτωρ" (apatōr) and "ἀμήτωρ" (amētōr), suggest a deliberate absence of recorded lineage, which sets Melchizedek apart from the Levitical priests. This absence of genealogy is not to be taken literally but symbolically, highlighting Melchizedek's role as a type of Christ, whose priesthood is not based on earthly descent but on divine appointment.

Without beginning of days or end of life
This phrase further underscores the eternal and timeless nature of Melchizedek's priesthood. The Greek words "ἀνάρχοσ" (anarchos) and "ἀτελεύτητος" (ateleutētos) convey the idea of having no origin or conclusion, which is a stark contrast to the temporal and finite nature of human life and priesthood. In a historical context, this suggests that Melchizedek's priesthood is a foreshadowing of the eternal priesthood of Christ, who, as the Son of God, transcends time and mortality. This eternal aspect is crucial for understanding the superiority of Christ's priesthood over the Levitical priesthood.

Like the Son of God
Here, the author of Hebrews draws a direct parallel between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ. The Greek word "ἀφομοιόω" (aphomoioō) means "to be made like" or "to resemble," indicating that Melchizedek serves as a type or foreshadowing of Christ. This typology is significant in conservative Christian theology, as it highlights the prefiguration of Christ's eternal priesthood in the Old Testament. Melchizedek's likeness to the Son of God points to the divine nature and eternal priesthood of Jesus, who is both King and Priest, fulfilling the roles perfectly and eternally.

He remains a priest forever
This concluding phrase emphasizes the perpetual and unending nature of Melchizedek's priesthood, which is a direct reflection of Christ's eternal priesthood. The Greek word "μένω" (menō) means "to remain" or "to abide," suggesting permanence and continuity. In the context of the New Testament, this eternal priesthood is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who, through His death and resurrection, has become the ultimate High Priest, interceding for humanity forever. This assurance of an eternal priesthood provides believers with confidence in the unchanging and everlasting nature of Christ's intercession and salvation.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Melchizedek
A mysterious figure in the Bible, Melchizedek is described as the king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He appears in Genesis 14, where he blesses Abram. His lack of genealogy and eternal priesthood are highlighted in Hebrews 7:3.

2. Jesus Christ
Referred to as "like the Son of God" in this verse, Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the priesthood that Melchizedek represents. His eternal priesthood is a central theme in the book of Hebrews.

3. Salem
The ancient city over which Melchizedek reigned as king. It is often identified with Jerusalem, a significant city in biblical history.

4. Abram (Abraham)
The patriarch who encounters Melchizedek in Genesis 14. This meeting is significant for establishing the priestly order that prefigures Christ's eternal priesthood.

5. Priesthood
The concept of priesthood is central to this passage, contrasting the temporary Levitical priesthood with the eternal priesthood of Melchizedek and ultimately, Jesus.
Teaching Points
Eternal Priesthood
The priesthood of Melchizedek, and ultimately Jesus, is eternal. Unlike the Levitical priests, whose service was temporary, Jesus' priesthood is forever, offering believers eternal access to God.

Typology of Christ
Melchizedek serves as a type of Christ, prefiguring Jesus' role as both king and priest. This typology helps us understand the multifaceted role of Jesus in our salvation.

Genealogy and Spiritual Heritage
The absence of genealogy for Melchizedek highlights the spiritual nature of his priesthood. Believers are reminded that their spiritual heritage in Christ transcends earthly lineage.

Christ's Sufficiency
Jesus, like Melchizedek, is sufficient for all our spiritual needs. His eternal priesthood assures us of His continual intercession and presence in our lives.

Faith and Obedience
Just as Abram responded to Melchizedek with faith and obedience, believers are called to respond to Jesus with faith, recognizing His authority and provision.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the description of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:3 enhance our understanding of Jesus' eternal priesthood?

2. In what ways does the absence of genealogy for Melchizedek challenge our understanding of spiritual heritage and identity in Christ?

3. How can the eternal nature of Jesus' priesthood provide comfort and assurance in your daily walk with God?

4. What are some practical ways you can respond in faith and obedience to Jesus, recognizing His role as both king and priest in your life?

5. How does the typology of Melchizedek as a precursor to Christ deepen your appreciation for the interconnectedness of Scripture?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 14:18-20
This passage introduces Melchizedek, who blesses Abram and receives a tithe from him, establishing his role as a priest of God Most High.

Psalm 110:4
This verse prophesies about a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek, directly connecting to the eternal priesthood of Jesus.

Hebrews 5:6
This verse quotes Psalm 110:4, emphasizing Jesus' eternal priesthood in the order of Melchizedek.

John 1:1-3
These verses speak to the eternal nature of Jesus, paralleling the description of Melchizedek as "without beginning of days or end of life."
Melchizedek a Type of ChristW. Jones Hebrews 7:1-3
Melchizedek a Typical PriestJ.S. Bright Hebrews 7:1-3
Christ a Priest After the Order of MelchizedekC. New Hebrews 7:1-10
Christ a Prince of PeaceW. Gouge.Hebrews 7:1-10
First King of Righteousness, and After that King of PeaceC. H. Spurgeon.Hebrews 7:1-10
Human GreatnessA. S. Patterson.Hebrews 7:1-10
King and PriestR. A. Griffin.Hebrews 7:1-10
MelchisedecA. S. Patterson.Hebrews 7:1-10
Melchisedec a Type of GreatnessB. Dale, M. A.Hebrews 7:1-10
Melchisedec, King of RighteousnessJ. Vaughan, M. A.Hebrews 7:1-10
Our MelchisedecJames Wells, M. A.Hebrews 7:1-10
Righteousness First, Then PeaceA. Maclaren, D. D.Hebrews 7:1-10
The Greatness of CharacterT C. Edwards, D. D.Hebrews 7:1-10
The Greatness of the Man Christ JesusC. H. Spurgeon.Hebrews 7:1-10
The King of PeaceJ. Vaughan, M. A.Hebrews 7:1-10
The Parallel Between Christ and MelchisedecD. Moore, M. A.Hebrews 7:1-10
The Priesthood Forever After the Order of MelchizedekD. Young Hebrews 7:1-17
People
Aaron, Hebrews, Levi, Melchisedec, Melchizedek
Places
Jerusalem, Salem
Topics
Abides, Abideth, Ancestry, Assimilated, Beginning, Birth, Continually, Continues, Descent, Family, Forever, Genealogy, Melchizedek, Perpetually, Priest, Record, Remains, Resembling, Type
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Hebrews 7:3

     2018   Christ, divinity
     4909   beginning
     7230   genealogies

Hebrews 7:1-3

     1680   types
     5100   Melchizedek
     8488   tithing

Hebrews 7:1-4

     2306   Christ, high priest

Hebrews 7:1-10

     1657   numbers, fractions
     5076   Abraham, life of

Library
Salvation to the Uttermost
Well, then it is salvation I desire to preach to you. We have, in our text, two or three things. In the first place, we are told who they are who will be saved, "them that come into God by Jesus Christ;" in the second place we are told the extent of the Saviour's ability to save, "He is able to save to the uttermost;" and in the third place, we have the reason given why he can save, "seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." I. First, we are told THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TO BE SAVED. And the
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Man Christ Jesus
"Consider how great this man was" in the combination of his offices. He was duly appointed both priest and king: king of righteousness and peace, and at the same time priest of the Most High God. It may be said of him that he sat as a priest upon his throne. He exercised the double office to the great blessedness of those who were with him; for his one act towards Abraham would seem to be typical of his whole life; he blessed him in the name of the Most High God. "Consider how great this man was"
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 31: 1885

Priest and victim
"He offered up himself."--Hebrews 7:27. I DO NOT KNOW when I have ever felt a more decided conflict of emotions in my own heart than I do just now. Happy is the man who has such a message as that in my text to deliver to his fellow-men; but burdened is the man who feels that the message is far too great for his lips, or, indeed, for any human tongue to convey. To be allowed to announce to men that our Lord Jesus Christ "offered up himself" on their behalf is, indeed, an errand which angels might
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 46: 1900

Twenty-Fifth Day for More Conversions
WHAT TO PRAY.--For more Conversions "He is able to save completely, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession."--HEB. vii. 25. "We will give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry of the word.... And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied exceedingly."--ACTS vi. 4, 7. Christ's power to save, and save completely, depends on His unceasing intercession. The apostles withdrawing themselves from other work to give themselves continually to prayer was followed
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Guiltless and Without Sin.
"For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens."--Heb. vii. 26. Throughout the ages the Church has confessed that Christ took upon Himself real human nature from the virgin Mary, not as it was before the fall, but such as it had become, by and after the fall. This is clearly stated in Heb. ii. 14, 17: "Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself took part of the same . . . . Wherefore in
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Power of an Endless Life
Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. --Hebrews 7:16. The message and hope of immortality are nowhere more distinctly conveyed to our minds than in connection with that resurrection morn when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. The anniversary of that day will ever be the festival of the human soul. Even those who do not clearly understand or fully accept its meaning in history and religion,--even children and ignorant folk and doubters and
Henry Van Dyke—What Peace Means

Christ Our High Priest.
"Now, if there was perfection through the Levitical priesthood (for under it hath the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should arise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be reckoned after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom these things are said belongeth to another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung
Frank G. Allen—Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel

The Great High Priest
T. P. Heb. vii. 24, 25 Sweet to trace His toiling footsteps Here amidst the desert sands; Bear in memory all His sorrow, Thorn-clad head and pierced hands! Learn His love beside the manger, Learn it on the stormy wave, By the well, and in the garden-- Learn it by the Cross and grave. Yet not only in remembrance Do we watch that stream of love-- Still a mighty torrent flowing From the throne of God above. Still a treasure all uncounted-- Still a story half untold-- Unexhausted and unfathomed, Fresh
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

The Doctrine
OF THE LAW AND GRACE UNFOLDED; OR, A DISCOURSE TOUCHING THE LAW AND GRACE; THE NATURE OF THE ONE, AND THE NATURE OF THE OTHER; SHOWING WHAT THEY ARE, AS THEY ARE THE TWO COVENANTS; AND LIKEWISE, WHO THEY BE, AND WHAT THEIR CONDITIONS ARE, THAT BE UNDER EITHER OF THESE TWO COVENANTS: Wherein, for the better understanding of the reader, there are several questions answered touching the law and grace, very easy to be read, and as easy to be understood, by those that are the sons of wisdom, the children
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Christ a Complete Saviour:
OR, THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, AND WHO ARE PRIVILEGED IN IT. BY JOHN BUNYAN Advertisement by the Editor. However strange it may appear, it is a solemn fact, that the heart of man, unless prepared by a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, rejects Christ as a complete Saviour. The pride of human nature will not suffer it to fall, as helpless and utterly undone, into the arms of Divine mercy. Man prefers a partial Saviour; one who had done so much, that, with the sinner's aid, the work might be
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Early Years of Jesus
Matt. i. 1 to ii. 23; Luke i. 5 to ii. 52; iii. 23-38 58. It is surprising that within a century of the life of the apostles, Christian imagination could have so completely mistaken the real greatness of Jesus as to let its thirst for wonder fill his early years with scenes in which his conduct is as unlovely as it is shocking. That he who in manhood was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb. vii. 26), could in youth, in a fit of ill-temper, strike a companion with death and then
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Waiting on God
Psalms 62:5.--My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. The solemn question comes to us, "Is the God I have, a God that is to me above all circumstances, nearer to me than any circumstance can be?" Brother, have you learned to live your life having God so really with you every moment, that in circumstances the most difficult He is always more present and nearer than anything around you? All our knowledge of God's Word will help us very little, unless that comes to be the question
Andrew Murray—The Master's Indwelling

Christian Standing and Christian Progress
PHILIPPIANS iii. 12-16 Christian exultation--Christian confidence--"Not in the flesh"--"In Jesus Christ"--The prize in view--No finality in the progress--"Not already perfect"--The recompense of reward--What the prize will be In a certain sense we have completed our study of the first section of the third chapter of the Epistle. But the treatment has been so extremely imperfect, in view of the importance of that section, that a few further remarks must be made. Let us ponder one weighty verse,
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies

Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant
"I give thee for a covenant of the people."--ISA. xlii. 6, xlix. 8. "The Lord shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in."--MAL. iii. 1. "Jesus was made Surety of a better covenant."--HEB. vii. 22. "The Mediator of the Better Covenant, established upon better promises . . . The Mediator of the New Covenant. . . Ye are come to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant."--HEB. viii. 6, ix. 15, xii. 24. WE have here four titles given to our Lord Jesus in
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

Twenty-Sixth Lesson. I have Prayed for Thee;'
I have prayed for thee;' Or, Christ the Intercessor. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.'--Luke xxii. 32. I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you.'--John xvi. 26. He ever liveth to make intercession.'--Heb. vii. 25. ALL growth in the spiritual life is connected with the clearer insight into what Jesus is to us. The more I realize that Christ must be all to me and in me, that all in Christ is indeed for me, the more I learn to live the real life of faith, which,
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! T he Redemption of the soul is precious. Fools make mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9) . But they will not think lightly of it, who duly consider the majesty, authority, and goodness of Him, against whom it is committed; and who are taught, by what God actually has done, what sin rendered necessary to be done, before a sinner could have a well-grounded
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

How Christ is to be Made Use Of, in Reference to Growing in Grace.
I come now to speak a little to the other part of sanctification, which concerneth the change of our nature and frame, and is called vivification, or quickening of the new man of grace; which is called the new man, as having all its several members and parts, as well as the old man; and called new, because posterior to the other; and after regeneration is upon the growing hand, this duty of growing in grace, as it is called, 2 Pet. iii. &c. is variously expressed and held forth to us in Scripture;
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Epistle to the Hebrews
THE Epistle to the Hebrews is in many ways one of the most perplexing books of the New Testament. It stands quite alone and is peculiarly independent, yet it has affinities with almost every strain of thought to be found elsewhere in primitive Christianity, and points of historical attachment for it have been sought all round the compass. [60] Thus there are those who think its true line of descent is to be traced to James, Cephas, and John -- the three apostles who seemed to be pillars in the mother
James Denney—The Death of Christ

The Right Understanding of the Law
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Before I come to the commandments, I shall answer questions, and lay down rules respecting the moral law. What is the difference between the moral laud and the gospel? (1) The law requires that we worship God as our Creator; the gospel, that we worship him in and through Christ. God in Christ is propitious; out of him we may see God's power, justice, and holiness: in him we see his mercy displayed. (2) The moral law requires obedience, but gives
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

The Copies of Things in the Heavens
'And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. 4. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Meditations of the True Manner of Practising Piety on the Sabbath-Day.
Almighty God will have himself worshipped, not only in a private manner by private persons and families, but also in a more public sort, of all the godly joined together in a visible church; that by this means he may be known not only to be the God and Lord of every Singular person, but also of the creatures of the whole universal world. Question--But why do not we Christians under the New, keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day on which it was kept under the Old Testament? I answer--Because our
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

An Admonition to them who Come to visit the Sick.
They who come to visit ihe sick, must have a special care not to stand dumb and staring in the sick person's face to disquiet him, nor yet to speak idly and ask unprofitable questions, as most do. If they see, therefore, that the sick party is like to die, let them not dissemble, but lovingly and discreetly admonish him of his weakness, and to prepare for eternal life. One hour well spent, when a man's life is almost out-spent, may gain a man the assurance of eternal life. Soothe him not with the
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

He is Lovely in his Relations.
First, He is a lovely Redeemer, Isa. 61:1. He came to open the prison-doors to them that are bound. Needs must this Redeemer be a lovely one, if we consider the depth of misery from which he redeemed us, even "from the wrath to come," 1 Thess. 1:10. Consider the numbers redeemed, and the means of their redemption. Rev. 5:9, "And they sang a new song, saying, 'You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood, out of every
John Flavel—Christ Altogether Lovely

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