July 13

The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who ministers in the sanctuary and true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. — Heb 8:1-2 BSB

Our blessed Lord is described as “a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.” We remember that Melchizedek met Abraham as he returned from defeating the kings and blessed him (Gen. 14:19). In the same way, our great High Priest blesses the descendants of Abraham, for “those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” As believers in Jesus Christ, they follow in the footsteps of Abraham, who “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

However, Melchizedek, as a type, could only ask God to bless Abraham. He could not himself confer the blessing. But Jesus, our great Melchizedek, whose priesthood is based on “the power of an indestructible life,” blesses his people not merely by asking God to bless them but by personally showering blessings upon them, communicating from his own fullness every grace that sanctifies as well as saves.

Even before his incarnation, when he appeared in human form, anticipating the body of flesh he would later take on, he had the power to bless. We read that when Jacob wrestled with the angel (not a created angel, but the Angel of the covenant, the Son of God in human form), Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And in response to his persistent request, we read, “He blessed him there.” Jacob knew no created angel could bless him, so he said, after receiving the blessing, “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” Jacob later referred to this blessing when, in blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, he said, “The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys.” In the same way, just before his ascension, our gracious Lord lifted up his hands and blessed his disciples. As if to show that he would continue blessing them, even as he ascended, “he was parted from them and carried up into heaven” while he was still blessing them, as though blessing them all the way to heaven before taking his place on his mediatorial throne (Luke 24:50-51).