(1) His Lordship and victory: Matt. 22:43 ff. and parallels ( ei\pen kuvrio" tw'/ kurivw/ mou ... Eij ou\n Dauei;d kalei' aujto;n kuvrion ...); 1 Cor. 15:25; Heb. 10:12 f.
(2) His Exaltation at the right hand of God ( kavqou ejk dexiw'n mou ...): Acts 2:34 f.; Heb. 1:13.
And this phrase underlies the many references to Christ's sitting (Matt. 26:64) and taking His seat (Mark 16:19 ejkavqisen ) at the right hand of God.
(3) His Priesthood (
Su; iJereu;" eij" to;n aijw'na
): Heb. 5:10 and in chs. 6,
7.
kata; th;n tavxin M. ] Vulg. secundum ordinem. Syr. after the likeness (cf. 7:15 kata; th;n oJmoiovthta ) after the order , to occupy the same position,
as priest at once and king (Heb. ytir:b]DIAl[' ). For tavxi" see 2 Macc. 9:18; the
word is used very widely in classical Greek for the position, station of a slave, an enemy & c. Comp. Philo, de vit. Mos. iii. § 21 (ii. p. 161 M.) ouj miva tavxi" tw'n iJerwmevnwn .
It is worth while to summarise the characteristic note in which Primasius enumerates three main points in which the High-priesthood of Christ was, like that of Melchizedek, contrasted with the High-priesthood of Aaron:
(1) It was not for the fulfilment of legal sacrifices, sacrifices of bulls and goats; but for the offering of bread and wine, answering to Christ's Body and Blood. Animal offerings have ceased: these remain.
(2) Melchizedek combined the kingly with the priestly dignity: he was anointed not with oil but with the Holy Spirit.
(3) Melchizedek appeared once: so Christ offered Himself once. OEcumenius, in almost the same form, marks the following points of resemblance in Melchizedek to Christ: o{ti ouj dij ejlaivou eij" iJerwsuvnhn ejcrivsqh oJ Melcisede;k wJ" jAarwvn, kai; o{ti ouj ta;" dij ai{mato" proshvgage qusiva", kai; o{ti tw'n ejqnw'n h\n ajrciereuv", kai; o{ti dij a[rtou kai; oi[nou hujlovghsen to;n jAbraavm .
Two features in Melchizedek's priesthood appear to be specially present to the mind of the writer, (1) that it was connected with the kingly office, and (2) that it was not made dependent on any fleshly descent, or limited by conditions of time. Melchizedek had no recorded ancestry and no privileged line of descendants. He represented a non-Jewish, a universal priesthood. In relation to the Priesthood he occupies the position which Abraham occupies in relation to the Covenant. Comp. Zech. 6:13.
No early Jewish writer applies this promise of the priesthood to Messiah. Justin (
Dial.
cc. 33, 83) and Tertullian (
adv. Marc.
5.9) mention that the Psalm was referred by the Jews to Hezekiah. Compare Schoettgen,
2.645. The
Aboth R. Nathan
from which he quotes an application of the words to Messiah is in its present form probably of post-Talmudical date (Zunz
Gottesd. Vort.
108 f.; Steinschneider
Jewish Literature
, 40).
The Chaldee paraphrase of the verse (referring it to David) is
remarkable: The Lord has determined that thou shalt be set Prince ( aB;r"l] )
over the world to come, for thy desert, because thou art an innocent king. eij" to;n aijw'na ] Christ is a Priest for ever, because He has no successor, nor any need of a successor. His High-priestly Sacrifice, His High-