Hebrews 5:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The second psalm clearly applies everything to Christ. Therefore "You are a priest forever" is also said of Christ. Let the Jews say who else was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, apart from Christ. Were not all under the Law? Did not all keep the Sabbath and offer sacrifices? Therefore it is entirely clear that this was said of Christ. He alone sanctified the sacrifice by bread and wine, as Melchizedek did. In what sense did he say "forever"? In this sense: even now, with the body which He offered for us before God and the Father, He presents His sufferings for us as a great plea. Without words He says to the Father: Your Son underwent this for human nature. Have mercy, then, on those for whom I condescended to suffer. Or it means this: the offering that is performed daily, and will be performed through God's ministers, has the Lord Himself as High Priest, Priest, and Sacrifice. He sanctifies Himself for us, is slain, and is distributed. Whenever this is performed, the Lord's death is proclaimed.

The Hebrew high priests received the hierarchal title by inheritance from Aaron. But Christ is the High Priest, the eternal Hierarch, according to the order of Melchizedek. Who is Melchizedek, and what do the words "according to the order of Melchizedek" mean? Melchizedek is a mysterious person. By the few known features of his life, he reminds us of the ministry of our Great Hierarch, the Son of God. Specifically, Melchizedek was high priest and at the same time king of the city of Salem. Jesus Christ is the eternal King and High Priest. The Hebrew word "Melchizedek" means "king of righteousness." Christ is the King of Righteousness, Righteousness itself. Melchizedek is king of Salem, that is, of peace, and Christ is the King of Peace (Isa 9:6). Of Melchizedek it is not known where, when, or from whom he was born, or when he died. Christ our Savior is begotten before the ages. He is eternal, and of His Kingdom there is no end. Abraham gives Melchizedek a tithe and bows before him. Melchizedek blesses Abraham, and the lesser receives blessing from the greater. Thus the Old Testament world, in the person of its representative Abraham, receives blessedness and blessing from Christ, Whose type Melchizedek was. Therefore everything, the name, person, and ministry of Melchizedek, is a type of Christ and His ministry. This means that Christ is higher than all the Old Testament ecclesiastical authorities. Indeed, He Himself is the Head of the Church, the Author and Finisher of our faith. He entered the sanctuary once, not with the blood of sacrificial goats and calves, but with His own Blood. He obtained eternal redemption for us, for our descendants, and for all generations (Heb 9:12). After all that the Son of God has done for us, passing through the heavens, descending from heaven, becoming man, suffering, and dying for us, let us Orthodox hold fast our Orthodox confession (Heb 4:14). It brings joy to the heart and satisfies the perplexities of our soul. Let our light so shine before men that others may see our good works and glorify our heavenly Father and His Son, our Great High Priest and Savior. With our life bright and God-fearing, you may approach the throne of grace more boldly. There you will obtain mercy and find grace for timely and higher help, so necessary to us (Heb 4:16).

He also proclaims Him Priest: "Thou art a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 109:4). The name priest in the Old Testament indicates Aaron himself and every other high priest.

Therefore this name, priest, in relation to Jesus Christ, means High Priest. For this reason Paul, applying it to Jesus Christ, does not say priest, but "High Priest."

"Called," he says, "by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek" (Heb 5:10). The phrase "according to the order of Melchizedek" means according to the likeness of Melchizedek.

It means according to the likeness of Melchizedek, as the same Paul explained when he said, "And it is still more evident that another Priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek" (Heb 7:15).

With this he also taught concerning Melchizedek: "Made like the Son of God, he remains continually" (Heb 7:3). Notice the resemblance.

First, it is said of Melchizedek that he is "without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life." Divine Scripture, by God's providence, kept silence about his parents, lineage, time of birth, and death.

Jesus Christ, as man, is without father. As God, He is without mother, without genealogy, without beginning, and without end. For "Who shall declare His generation?" (Is 53:8).

Or who shall proclaim the timelessness and everlasting being of His divine nature?

Second, Melchizedek was king and priest. "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High" (Gen 14:18).

Jesus Christ also was King, as the Angel declared to the Most Holy Virgin, saying: "The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Lk 1:32-33).

Christ Himself confessed the same before Pilate. "My kingdom," He said, "is not of this world" (Jn 18:36). Christ was also Priest, as God His Father witnessed and swore.

He said: "From the womb before the morning star I begot Thee. The Lord has sworn and will not repent: Thou art a Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 109:3-4).

Third, the ordination of both Melchizedek and Jesus Christ was directly from God, invisibly and mysteriously.

Fourth, Melchizedek "brought out bread and wine when he blessed Abraham" (Gen 14:18). Christ, by His almighty blessing, changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood.

Having given them to His divine disciples, He sanctified them. Fifth, Melchizedek "remains a priest continually" (Heb 7:3), because divine Scripture is silent about his death.

"But this One," that is, Christ, "because He remains forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:24-25).

According to these resemblances, therefore, Christ is Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

As Melchizedek was a mysterious person, so the order of Melchizedek seemed mysterious and incomprehensible to the Hebrews. It was higher than the high-priestly ministry known among the Jews. Intending later to unfold the mysterious relation between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ in chapter 7, the apostle now cites only the words of the psalmist, or rather of God Himself, concerning Christ's priesthood: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Ps 109:4). The apostle Paul himself explains the words "according to the order" as "according to the likeness" (Heb 7:15).

Here are the apostle's words: He, that is, Christ, "in the days of His flesh, offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him Who was able to save Him from death" (Heb 5:7). Clearly, St. Paul points here to those tearful cries for help which the Lord Jesus Christ poured out before His Father in the garden of Gethsemane. He asked that, if possible, the cup of sufferings might pass from Him. These cries testified that Christ the High Priest shared in human infirmities.