Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever. – Hebrews 7:3

Today's Scripture Reading (May 14, 2021): Hebrews 7

Erwin Schrödinger proposed the thought experiment. The idea is that if you lock a cat inside a metal box with a small amount of poison that may or may not be released as a result of a subatomic reaction, the cat could be considered both alive and dead. The only way to know for sure is to open the box. Schrödinger's cat is supposed to illustrate the paradox of quantum superposition. Put more simply; it is an explanation of describing the things that we cannot know.

In Hebrews, Melchizedek is considered to be a type of Christ. And here, the author explains why. In the story of Abraham, Melchizedek is without a father or mother; he has no genealogy, is without a beginning or end, and remains a priest forever. Scholars struggle over the words. What exactly is the author trying to tell us? Some believe that we shouldn't look beyond the literal meaning of the words. Melchizedek is not a type of Christ; he was Christ. When Melchizedek met Abraham, and Abraham gave him a tithe, he was actually giving his honor to God through the literal person of Christ.

But others are not so sure. Another interpretation is that Melchizedek simply appears amid the story of Abraham and then disappears again. Other than in his interaction with Abraham, we know nothing else about him. No genealogy is given. We are not introduced to his parents. We are not told when he is born or when he was commissioned as a priest. And we are not told that he retired, or, more importantly, the day on which he died. We don't know anything outside of the moment when he interacts with Abraham. And, therefore, he is essentially Schrödinger's priest. It is not that he wasn't born and never died; we are just not aware of when those events took place. We have locked Melchizedek inside the metal box of the story of Abraham, and locked inside the box; he is a priest forever.

And inside the box, Melchizedek reflects what Jesus is outside of the box. Jesus was involved in the creation of the world. He was present when the foundations of the universe were laid. Jesus has ministered to the world through the prophets, and he was physically present in Judea during his physical ministry. He died on a cross, but three days later, he rose again and ministered to the world through his people and his church.

But Melchizedek was a forerunner, a model of what was to come. F. B. Meyer phrases it this way; "It was as if the Father could not await the day of His Son's priestly entrance within the veil; but must needs anticipate the marvels of His ministry, by embodying its leading features in miniature."

But it is Jesus who is really a priest forever. He remains our priest today, and he will be our priest for all eternity.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hebrews 8