Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Melchizedek - International Man of Mystery
For those of us 'pomo' believers who like to embrace the mystery around us, there is no bigger 'international man of mystery' than the enigmatic Melchizedek. Popping up in the middle of Abraham's story in Genesis, he gives a blessing, receives a tithe, and other than his significant titles that is it. The preacher in Hebrews takes this scant information and runs with it, creating a robust theology out of the paucity. And yet, recently discovered (in the last 50 years) ancient texts from the Qumran community shed some interesting light on the context in which Hebrews may have been written.
Professor Barry Smith at Atlantic Baptist University offers some insight into the understanding of Melchizedek as an angelic high priest held by contemporaries of the early Christians in his web post entitled, Melchizedek in Second-Temple Interpretation. The Qumran community had a rather elaborate understanding of Melchizedek as God's ruling angel and Heaven's high priest. They also seemed to have held an eschatological (dealing with endtime events) understanding of Melchi-zedek/Michael/Prince of Light as one who would one day become judge and remove the right to rule from Melchi-resha/Belial/Prince of Darkness. This understanding of Melchizedek may have been widely known and perhaps even accepted at the time and if so, this provides an interesting and helpful context for the statements made by the preacher regarding the supremacy of Christ in relation to angels and the type/anti-type discussion of Melchizedek and Jesus in Hebrews.
The opinions on who Melchizedek actually was are rather diverse ranging from a theophany of God himself, to the Qumran communities ruling angel, to a local Caananite ruler, the King of Salem (Salem would eventually become Jerusalem, demsonstrating another level of significance). My favorite theory is that he was a local ruler who Abraham knew and apparently respected. Whoever he was, we do know the titles applied to him: Priest and King. The Aaronic line of priests was just that, priests. Although at times the priests and especially the high priest wielded power and influence, there was a separation of religious leadership and secular rulership. These were brought together once again in Jesus who is a "Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek".
The significance of all this for us today is a bit obscure until we go to Peter for some help. He writes in I Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." As a 'pomo' believer, I get really excited right about now because I see in this text a call for us as a royal preisthood to drop the false dichotomy between the secular and sacred. On a personal and relational level I see this as necessary to understand what it means to be fully human in community (see Rob Bell's presentation Everything is Spiritual). As followers of Christ, we are all about proclaiming, realizing, living, and sharing the Kingdom of God which is here.
Rob Bell re-tells the story of the Good Samaritan and uses it to make the following point. The Priest and the Levite couldn't touch the dying man because of their Holiness Code. They had spent a lifetime ministering to God and man but they were useless in a time of great need. The Samaritan on the other hand takes the very same tools the Priest and Levite used in their temple rituals, Oil and Wine, and he uses them to do good for another human being. The scorned and hated outsider breaks the priestly ministry out of the temple and takes it into the street, blessing one in need. The Kingdom of God is here.
Professor Barry Smith at Atlantic Baptist University offers some insight into the understanding of Melchizedek as an angelic high priest held by contemporaries of the early Christians in his web post entitled, Melchizedek in Second-Temple Interpretation. The Qumran community had a rather elaborate understanding of Melchizedek as God's ruling angel and Heaven's high priest. They also seemed to have held an eschatological (dealing with endtime events) understanding of Melchi-zedek/Michael/Prince of Light as one who would one day become judge and remove the right to rule from Melchi-resha/Belial/Prince of Darkness. This understanding of Melchizedek may have been widely known and perhaps even accepted at the time and if so, this provides an interesting and helpful context for the statements made by the preacher regarding the supremacy of Christ in relation to angels and the type/anti-type discussion of Melchizedek and Jesus in Hebrews.
The opinions on who Melchizedek actually was are rather diverse ranging from a theophany of God himself, to the Qumran communities ruling angel, to a local Caananite ruler, the King of Salem (Salem would eventually become Jerusalem, demsonstrating another level of significance). My favorite theory is that he was a local ruler who Abraham knew and apparently respected. Whoever he was, we do know the titles applied to him: Priest and King. The Aaronic line of priests was just that, priests. Although at times the priests and especially the high priest wielded power and influence, there was a separation of religious leadership and secular rulership. These were brought together once again in Jesus who is a "Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek".
The significance of all this for us today is a bit obscure until we go to Peter for some help. He writes in I Peter 2:9, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." As a 'pomo' believer, I get really excited right about now because I see in this text a call for us as a royal preisthood to drop the false dichotomy between the secular and sacred. On a personal and relational level I see this as necessary to understand what it means to be fully human in community (see Rob Bell's presentation Everything is Spiritual). As followers of Christ, we are all about proclaiming, realizing, living, and sharing the Kingdom of God which is here.
Rob Bell re-tells the story of the Good Samaritan and uses it to make the following point. The Priest and the Levite couldn't touch the dying man because of their Holiness Code. They had spent a lifetime ministering to God and man but they were useless in a time of great need. The Samaritan on the other hand takes the very same tools the Priest and Levite used in their temple rituals, Oil and Wine, and he uses them to do good for another human being. The scorned and hated outsider breaks the priestly ministry out of the temple and takes it into the street, blessing one in need. The Kingdom of God is here.
Labels: community, Epicenter, Hebrews, Melchizedek, postmodernity, religion
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Don't listen to "Rob Bell", whoever he is.
"The Priest and the Levite couldn't touch the dying man because of their Holiness Code." is a false statement. They would have had as much contact with the dying as anyone else, and like others they needed to purify themselves after contact with a -dead- person.
Remember, we're all dying, some just sooner.
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"The Priest and the Levite couldn't touch the dying man because of their Holiness Code." is a false statement. They would have had as much contact with the dying as anyone else, and like others they needed to purify themselves after contact with a -dead- person.
Remember, we're all dying, some just sooner.
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