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One of the humbling truths of Christianity is that we cannot approach God on our own. Ever since our ancestors were barred from the garden by a flaming sword and cherubim, our access to the divine presence must be mediated by another. But this raises another question, who is a sufficient mediator? What kind of mediator do we need? We need a mediator who is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (Heb. 7:26). The Bible identifies this mediator, this high priest, as Jesus. He fulfills the requirements to be our mediator. And the pattern of his priestly mediatorship follows that of an ancient and mysterious king/priest, Melchizedek. Just who was Melchizedek and how is he the pattern for Jesus’ high priestly ministry? Let’s see how Charles Spurgeon connects Melchizedek and Jesus with some of his sermon notes from the Spurgeon Study Bible.

The Mysterious Melchizedek

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, met Abraham and blessed him as he returned from defeating the kings…Without father, mother, or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” -Hebrews 7:1, 3

“Resembling the Son of God.” Melchizedek was duly appointed both priest and king. But he had no predecessor in his priesthood, and he had no successor. He was not one who took a holy office and then laid it down. As far as the historic pages of Scripture are concerned, we have no note of his quitting this mortal scene. He disappears, but we do not read of his death any more than of his birth. We see but little of him, yet we see nothing little in him.

He is thus a type of our Lord.

This great man blessed the blessed Abraham, and the victorious patriarch bowed before Melchizedek and gave him tithes. If Melchizedek was so great, how much greater is that man whom Melchizedek represents? If the type is so wonderful, what must the antitype be? Consider the greatness of Jesus Christ about whom the Lord said, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4).

Melchizedek – King of Righteousness and Peace

“To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace.” -Hebrews 7:2

Various opinions as to Melchizedek. Some supposing him to have been Christ incarnate chiefly on the ground of his superiority to Abram, his being “without father or mother,” etc. Most, however, agree that he was a king of a town in this country, and that the sense of the passage is that he had no predecessor in the priestly office. And that, as no time of birth or death is mentioned, he is thus a type of our Lord. And that his superiority arose out of his priestly office.

His name and title are here referred typically to Christ.

1. As to his nature. Jesus is righteous and peaceful. We are apt to conceive of him as all love and the Father as all Justice, but they are both infinite in each. Jesus has every attribute in infinite perfection.
2. In the plan of salvation. He had due regard to justice. The wisdom of the plan is its wise provision both for the justice of God and the happiness of man.
3. In the execution of the plan. Jesus satisfied law both by his life and sufferings. He remitted not one farthing of the debt, but paid it all and also worked out peace by reconciling men to God.
4. In his application of salvation. He first pardons, justifies, and purifies before he plants peace. Purity, piety, peace all go together.
5. In his general dealing with the world. To the wicked he will display his justice, but to his saints, his peace in heaven’s profound peace.

Handwritten sermon notes from Spurgeon on Hebrews 7:2

The Superior Salvation of the Greater Melchizedek

“Therefore, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.” -Hebrews 7:25

“He is able to save completely those who come to God through him.” Where do these people come? They come to God, which implies leaving something else. If a man comes to God, he must leave his sins and his righteousness. He must leave both his bad works and his good ones. How do they come? They come by Jesus Christ. Do not consider that any will be heard and saved by God apart from the merits of his Son. If you would be at peace with God, you must come to him through Christ, the mediator. Why do they come? The poor sinner, in coming to Christ, has only one objective. He comes for salvation. If the entire world were offered to him, he would not think it worth his acceptance if he could not have the gift for which he asks—salvation by Jesus Christ the Lord.

More from Spurgeon Study Bible

Charles Spurgeon was one of the most famous preachers in church history. His sermons are still in print today and now you can read thousands of excerpts from them with the Spurgeon Study Bible. Pick up a copy today and read Scripture along with notes from the “Prince of Preachers”!

Spurgeon Study Bible

Good evening, everyone, I want to talk about having faith in adversity. We all go through adversity at some point, there’s no way around it. We all have illnesses that come upon us when we least expect them, but when that happens, we panic. We ask every question we can think of to try to understand why things are the way they are. We question ourselves about every thought that comes to mind about how we are feeling when we become ill. We may even ask the question “Am I being punished for something?” We may say, “What did I do to deserve this?” The questions are endless, but the point is, we all go through adversity at some point in our lives.

Going through adversity is hard. It is stressful and depressing; it robs you of your joy, peace, and happiness. What can we do about it? When adversity comes, we can try to fight it on our own, or we can fight it with faith and give it to God.

A state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortunes. Adversity.

When we are facing adversity of any kind it can be very frightening. We don’t know what to think. All we know is we do not want to be in whatever situation it is that’s causing us adversity. This is why we must pray about everything. We can’t fight our battles on our own, we need help, and that help can only come from God. He is the only one who has the power to solve our problems for us. If you are going through adversity, you still must have faith and trust God to give you strength to not faint while you are going through the adversity you are facing. Yes, life happens every day, but we can’t run and hide from it. We can’t hide from the known or the unknown, we have to face every challenge that we encounter. Whether it is good or bad, we have to face it and move on from it, but we don’t have to do it alone. We have someone who will never leave us nor forsake us. We have someone who is with us every minute, of every second, of every hour, of every day who sticks to us closer than a brother, and His name is Jesus Christ! Do you know Him? Do you want to know Him? He is the only One who can save your soul from the adversity of burning in a Devil’s Hell for all eternity.

You all know me who’s been following me for a good long time know that I speak the truth in love. Those of you who have just started following me will get to know me the more you read my messages. I can only preach the truth that’s in the Word of God. I can only explain things so they will be understood by the reader. Sometimes I will start out telling a story, or I may start out explaining something, or I will get right to the matter at hand. See, I have been writing for a very long time, longer than I have been preaching God’s Word, and now that I am an author, yes, I am a published professional author, all I do is write. I love writing and talking about the LORD. I enjoy sharing my faith with others because I never know whose life will be changed because of it.

Now, back to the subject at hand. Adversity of your eternal life matters. If you were to leave this earth right now, would you be certain that your soul would go to heaven to spend eternity with Jesus? If you don’t know, I am inviting you right now to repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your LORD and SAVIOR. He loves you so much. The love He has for all of us will never change. He never will change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is ready to accept you just as you are. You do not have to clean yourself up first before you repent of your sins, He said to come as you are. He wants to change your life for the better. I am a living witness to what He can and will do when we surrender to Him. My life was a complete mess. He changed my life when I got saved. I could not do what I do if His Spirit were not living within me. He has blessed me so much. If I had a thousand tongues I could not tell it all, I can’t even thank Him enough for what He has done for me.

Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone, not even our next breath, but the point is this, Jesus wants to give you a new life, and that new life is in Him. Every day is a blessing to be on this side of heaven. God is giving us time to get our lives right before His Son returns, so use your time wisely. Don’t get caught with your work undone. Do it while the blood is still running warm in your veins because once the blood stops flowing, that’s it and that’s all, there will not be any more chances to get your life right. The Bible tells us that Jesus is coming like a thief in the night, which means that we do not know when He is going to return, the angels in heaven don’t even know, only the Father so, how can we be prepared for His return? We must be watching and praying without ceasing. This is very important for every human being. If you know someone you would like to talk to about getting saved, go to them, call them, send them an email but whatever you do listen to them. They can help you understand what it means to get Baptized, and what the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus mean. If you still don’t understand, go to the local church in your community and talk to a pastor about it. Ask for prayer so God can show you through the Word. I can truly say that when I first learned about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I was lost. I didn’t understand anything about it, but when I finally understood, I got Baptized that Saturday night being four months pregnant with my son. It was raining that Saturday night when my husband and I went to that revival, we both got saved that night.

I can admit that things were not perfect in the beginning. It took me a long time to read my Bible without falling asleep reading Scripture. God is good all of the time. You never will know just how much until you start living your life for Him. With that being said, may God bless you, keep you, and may He smile upon you and give you peace. As always this was said in love. Thank you for continuing to join me on my journey with Food for the Soul. S.L.S.