Melchizedek was priest of the most high God in the Old Testament, and he brought forth bread and wine. Jesus Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek in the New Testament, and brought forth the bread and wine of His body and blood. Does this reveal the sacrament of Holy Communion? Though this may sound like a stretch, there are still some very interesting parallels between Jesus, Melchizedek, and the bread and wine that they both brought forth.
Upon returning from the slaughter of the kings, in order to rescue his nephew Lot, Abraham was met by Melchizedek who was the priest of the most high God (Genesis 14:18). Melchizedek then blessed Abraham, and in return for this spiritual gift Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of all the spoils of which he acquired after the Battle of Siddim. Now the word tithe means tenth, so Abraham gave Melchizedek ten percent of all his earnings. In the Church era the concept of tithing comes from this meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek. Going further, the Bible also states that Melchizedek provided Abraham with bread and wine which parallels The Last Supper where Jesus provides bread and wine to His disciples.
According to the New Testament the name Melchizedek means: King of righteousness and also King of peace. Now the name Jerusalem translates to “foundation of peace” or “city of peace,” and since Melchizedek is known as the King of peace, then the area of what we know today as Jerusalem may have been the ancient abode of Melchizedek. Also, in the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews are we presented with the most insight into the person of Melchizedek and at the same time faced with his enigma. As described in the Bible Melchizedek is, “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days not end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.” (Hebrews 7:3). Though these characteristics are similar to those of Jesus Christ, I believe Melchizedek and Jesus are indeed two separate persons.
It is broadly believed that the Melchizedek as described in the Old Testament was a manifestation of Jesus Christ before His incarnation. For as the Bible states, Melchizedek is without father or mother and has no genealogy. However, in the Syriac/Peshitta translation on Hebrews 7:3 we find the following about Melchizedek, “…neither his father nor his mother are written in genealogies; nor the commencement of his days, nor the end of his life; but, after the likeness of the Son of God, his priesthood remaineth forever.” So here we see that Melchizedek’s genealogy was just simply not written down, nor were his actions in life recorded apart from the verses concerning him in Geneses chapter 14. This does not make Melchizedek an immortal being like Christ, but the priesthood of Melchizedek remains forever along with Jesus Christ who is a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Returning to communion we see how Jesus brought forth bread and wine and then sanctified it and gave it to His disciples as His body and blood, which would grant them the remission of their sins and bless them. Being of the tribe of Judah, Christ was not a priest after the lineage of Aaron. However, Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek who also brought forth bread and wine as a blessing to Abraham: the father of faith. Also, if it can be backed by scripture that Melchizedek was made like the Son of God, then I believe it can be argued that the bread and wine brought forth by a man like Christ could be a foreshadowing of things to come, namely that of the Mystical Supper of Jesus Christ who abides a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
References:
Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).
Strong, J. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2010).
Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).