We often explain the order of Melchizedek as a priestly, prophetic and kingly role as described in Gen 14:17-24, where Abraham returned after rescuing his nephew Lot. The story mostly talks about the priestly and kingly aspects of Melchizedek’s order. Psalm 110 vs 4, “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,“You are a priest forever. According to the order of Melchizedek.”” Here we see a priestly order, not of Aaron’s Levitical priesthood, but of an order of righteousness related not to a person’s effort to keep the law by their own willpower, but based upon the perfect work of Christ. This new law is called the law of faith (Romans 3:27), the law of perfect liberty (James 1:25), and the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2). According to Hebrews chapter 7 Jesus is our High Priest of the Order of Melchizedek, and in Luke 4 Jesus declares the Isaiah 61 reading as the role of his appointment. In that Isaiah 61 section we see the kingly role in verse 1 “The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted, bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners”. And the prophetic in verse 2, “To proclaim the favourable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God”, and the priestly in verse 3, “To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The cloak of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified”(NASB). Jesus fulfilled the kingly and the prophetic, but the part from Is 61, “day of vengeance”, was still to be fulfilled on the cross where satan was defeated, and thus the rest of the priestly, “comfort all who mourn”, would follow.
We are in Christ: co-crucified, co-resurrected and co-seated, so we also are of the Order of Melchizedek and we are anointed as kings to proclaim liberty to the oppressed, bind up the broken hearted, proclaiming liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners. Jesus appointed and made us a kingdom and priests to our God by His own sacrifice, and we reign on earth. What is it that we do in our kingly role on the earth? We are reigning and ruling with Christ, as ambassadors manifesting the Kingdom to others and redeeming creation. As Romans 8:19 describes, “For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed”. We all need to be awakened to our Kingdom reality. Prophetically we are proclaiming the favourable year of the Lord, sharing God’s good news for all humanity, foretelling (future events as revealed by the Holy Spirit), and as creators declaring into being what God has revealed. And as priests comforting those who mourn and interceding for those oppressed.