Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 23:1 (Spring 2019)
Article: You Are Priest Forever: Psalm 110 And The Melchizedekian Priesthood Of Christ
Author: Matthew Emadi

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You Are Priest Forever: Psalm 110 And The Melchizedekian Priesthood Of Christ

Matthew Emadi

Matthew Emadi is the pastor of Crossroads Church in Sandy, Utah. He earned his PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He is currently working on a book on Psalm 110 for IVP’s New Studies in Biblical Theology series. Matthew and his wife, Brittany, are the parents of five children.

Introduction

I recently attended a funeral where the man presiding over the graveside service announced his authority to perform his ministerial duties by holding the office of the Melchizedekian priesthood. While such a statement might have been a shock to many Christians, I was not surprised by his claim. Many of my neighbors also believe they are either Aaronic or Melchizedekian priests.1 I live in Utah, the mecca of Mormonism, and Mormons are passionate about the priesthood. Sadly, their zeal is without knowledge. The LDS theology of priesthood is unbiblical and built on a different foundation than the inspired text of the Bible.

While Mormons are zealous, though misguided, about the Melchizedekian priesthood (and Aaronic for that matter), many Christians struggle to make sense out of the enigmatic figure Melchizedek. Even for diligent students of the Bible, Melchizedek remains a mystery. His name appears only twice in the Old Testament (OT) (Gen 14:18; Ps 110:4). He arrives on the scene in Genesis 14 only to disappear from the narrative as quickly as he appeared—in

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the span of three verses (Gen 14:18–20)! Nevertheless, the Melchizedekian priesthood, not the Aaronic, is fundamental to David’s messianic hope and essential to the saving work of Christ (cf. Ps 110:4; Heb 7).

With such meager time on the stage in the drama of redemption, why did Melchizedek occupy a central place of importance in David’s messianic expectation? Answers to this question in the modern period vary widely. Critical scholars generally reject Davidic authorship of Psalm 110 and attempt to interpret this psalm by reconstructing the historical events surrounding the rise of Israel’s monarchy. In their view, Psalm 110 was politically charged, attempting to unite Jerusalem’s Jebusite cult with...