So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; as he says also in another place, "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek." In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek. Say it out loudly: Melchizedek.

It's one of those intriguing Old Testament names, like Belshazzar, Artaxerxes, and Nebuchadnezzar. It sounds so foreign, so mysterious - full of harsh consonants and short vowels - as if it were something out of the Arabian Nights. And Melchizedek is truly a mysterious character. He appears for four verses in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis, sharing a meal and receiving a tithe from Abram. He pops up again in Psalm 110 for one verse. And then in Hebrews, seemingly out of nowhere, Melchizedek explodes into importance as a forerunner and archetype for Jesus Christ! That's quite a second act for a minor character from the middle of Genesis.

The writer of Hebrews reminds me of some of my favorite preachers, who can spend an hour preaching about a person who is barely mentioned in Scripture but who, in the preacher's words and by the power of the Spirit, come to life in ways that inspire, admonish, comfort, or challenge us in our own lives. So what is it that the writer of Hebrews would have us understand from Melchizedek? Simply this: in Jesus Christ, God was doing something fundamentally new and different from the existing religious system: the priests and temple worship, the sacrifices and the Mosaic law. No longer would we need priests, descended from a family of priests, to offer sacrifices in the Temple for our sins. Our sins have been completely and forever put aside through the suffering of Jesus Christ on our behalf. No longer would access to God's presence be restricted to a particular clan and hierarchy. But in Jesus Christ, God has come and continues to come to us where we are, into our lives and into this world, adopting us as his children no matter who we are or what we have done. Jesus Christ is not just an update on an existing religion, a fresh coat of paint in a dingy room - God is entering into a new kind of relationship with the world and with each one of us. The example of Melchizedek underscores the radical shift God has made in Jesus Christ.