永远的大祭司
希伯来书七章1至3节，17至21节
1这麦基洗德就是撒冷王，又是至高神的祭司，本是长远为祭司的。他当亚伯拉罕杀败诸王回来的时候，就迎接他，给他祝福。
2亚伯拉罕也将自己所得来的，取十分之一给他。他头一个名繙出来就是仁义王，他又名撒冷王，就是平安王的意思。
3他无父，无母，无族谱，无生之始，无命之终，乃是与神的儿子相似。
17因为有给他作见证的说：你是照着麦基洗德的等次永远为祭司。
18先前的条例，因软弱无益，所以废掉了，
19（律法原来一无所成）就引进了更美的指望；靠这指望，我们便可以进到神面前。
20再者，耶稣为祭司，并不是不起誓立的。
21至于那些祭司，原不是起誓立的，只有耶稣是起誓立的；因为那立他的对他说：主起了誓，决不后悔，你是永远为祭司。
信息分享
我们接着读到的几章经文，便是整卷希伯来书的中心要旨──指出基督是我们的大祭司。
耶稣并非属于作祭司的利未支派，祂是生于作王的犹大支派。除耶稣以外，还有谁人既是祭司，又是作王的呢？
答案是麦基洗德。「麦基洗德」这个名字，在旧约只出现过两次，可是，对犹太人而言，他却是一个重要人物。创世记十四章18至20节，以及诗篇一一零篇4节都提及他。「麦基洗德」的名意是「仁义王」，而由他作王的城名叫「撒冷城」，「撒冷」的意思是平安。
我们对他所知甚少。我们不知道他来自何处，或他的身份背景。然而，他的出现，却奇妙地预表了永远作祭司的基督。
旧约的祭司离世之后，便要由另一位祭司接替。但基督却死而复活，此后便永远长存；因此，祂便可以永远作我们的大祭司。
终有一天，基督要作全地的王。在神的眼中，基督如今已作了王，可是，世上还有许多人拒绝认祂是王。然而，到那天，当祂亲自来到世上作王的时候，万膝都要向祂跪拜，众口都要承认耶稣基督是主，将荣耀归予父神。当祂还在在天上的这段期间，祂便一直以大祭司的身份，在神的宝座面前为信徒代求。明天选读的经文将会继续告诉我们，基督今天如何以大祭司的身份来帮助我们。
A TRUE PRIEST FOR EVER
Hebrews 7:1-3 and 17-21
1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”
3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
17 For He testifies:
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
20 And in as much as He was not made priest without an oath
21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
“The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
‘You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek’”),
Message
The next three or four chapters of Hebrews all centre around the main theme of the book, which is that Christ is our great High Priest.
Jesus was not born into the tribe of Levi which was the priestly tribe of Israel. He was born into Judah, the tribe from which all the kings came. Who else was both a priest and a king?
The answer is Melchizedek. His name only appears twice in the Old Testament but he was very important to the Jews. He is mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20 and Psalm 110:4. His name means 'King of Righteousness' and he was king of the city of Salem which means peace.
We know very little about him. We don't know where he came from or who he was, but he has become a wonderful type or picture of Christ, our continuing High Priest.
The priests of the Old Testament had to be replaced when they passed away. Christ died once but is alive forevermore. Therefore he can always be relied on to continue his work as our High Priest.
One day Christ will be seen as king over all the earth. In God's sight he is king now but there are many who refuse to recognise him. One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In the meantime he is there in heaven before the throne of God as our great High Priest. Our next reading will tell us about his wonderful work for us today.