Melchizedek and the Eucharist
The enigmatic Old Testament character Melchizedek (Melchisedech) and the father of the Jewish and Christian faith, Abraham, feature in panel 5.
Melchizedek holds bread and wine in his hands as he blesses Abram – as Abraham was initially known – following Abram’s victory over King Chedorlaomer of Elam (a kingdom in the west of modern-day Iraq).
Panel 6, meanwhile, shows Christ, blessing bread and wine at the Last Supper to institute the Christian Eucharist, meaning ‘Thanksgiving’ also known as ‘Holy Communion’ and the ‘Lord’s Supper.’
Melchizedek appears in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis (Genesis 14:18-20).
In Hebrew, his name means ‘King of Righteousness.’ Melchizedek is also described as King of Salem – which means ‘shalom’ or ‘Peace’ and can also be interpreted as an earlier name for Jerusalem.
Last, but no means least, Melchizedek is also a priest of El Elyon – often translated as “Most High God,” a description used in the Book of Psalms to refer to the God of Israel.
Melchizedek blesses Abram and receives tribute from him – a tenth of the spoils from the defeat of King Chedorlaomer and his supporters – a sign that Melchizedek is Abram’s superior.
The priest makes his second Biblical appearance in the Book of Psalms (Psalm 110: 4).
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament uses this to link Christ and Melchizedek (Hebrews Chapters 5 to 7), asserting that Melchizedek was “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest for ever.”
His conclusion is that Melchizedek’s priesthood precedes and is superior to the Jewish priesthood and that King David’s royal line – which included Jesus – was directly linked to the priest-kingship of Melchizedek.
Melchisedech is interpreted as a model for Christ and his blessing pre-figures Christ’s action at the Last Supper, as described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. (Matthew 26: 26-28, Mark 14: 22-24 and Luke 22: 19-20)
Genesis 14:18-20
And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.
He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
Melchizedek makes his second Biblical appearance in Psalm 110, where one verse states:
Psalm 110: 4
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’
Melchizedek is interpreted as a model for Christ and his blessing pre-figures Christ’s action at the Last Supper, as described in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Matthew 26: 26-28
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Mark 14: 22-24
While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.
He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
Luke 22: 19-20
Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews also links Christ and Melchizedek, by quoting Psalm 110.
Hebrews 5: 5-6
So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.’
Sacrifice – Isaac as a ‘model’ for Jesus
The parallels between Abraham offering to prove his faith in God by sacrificing his only son (Panel 7) and Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice himself to save humanity (Panel 8) are more numerous and complex than any of the other Typological connections illustrated in the West Window.
The Sacrifice of Isaac can be found in Genesis 22: 1-19. In summary, God tests Abraham by telling him to take his only son, Isaac, to the land of Moriah, kill him and offer him to God as a burnt offering.
When they reach the place God has chosen, Abraham builds an altar, ties up his son and prepares to sacrifice him, whereupon the Angel of the Lord tells Abraham not to kill his son.
Abraham looks up, sees a ram caught in a thicket, which he kills and offers as a burnt offering in the place of his son.
Panel 7 shows the scene described in Genesis 22: 6.
“Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.
So the two of them walked on together.“The neighbouring panel shows Christ carrying his cross to the place of crucifixion and illustrates an apocryphal meeting with Saint Veronica, who, according to tradition, gave Christ her veil so that he might wipe his forehead.
Christ is said to have accepted the offering, held the cloth to his face and, when he handed it back an image of his face miraculously appeared on the material.
The panel also includes images of his mother, the Virgin Mary and the Disciple who stood at the foot of the cross with her and afterwards took her into his home to care for her. Although the event depicted is not mentioned in the Bible, the Gospel of Luke offers the most detailed description of Christ’s journey. Luke 23: 26-32.
So what are the connections between Isaac and Jesus? The most obvious is that both were to be sacrificed. Of course, God stops the sacrifice of Isaac, but provides an alternative – a ram – while Jesus is referred to – initially by John the Baptist – as the “Lamb of God” who takes away the sins of the world.
The birth of both Isaac and Jesus were miraculous – Isaac was born to a woman thought to be in her 90s (Genesis 21:2) while Christ was born to a virgin.
Both Isaac and Jesus were named by God: Genesis 17:19 – Sarah… shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.” and Matthew 1:21 – “[Mary] shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus.”
Isaac and Jesus also carry the wood necessary for the sacrificial offering – firewood for a burnt offering in the case of Isaac and the cross beam of the crucifix in Jesus’ case.
Both were also loved by their fathers and submitted to their fathers’ will and even the location of their death – Moriah and Golgotha/Calvary are claimed to be the same place.
The parallels are said not to end there. Some will quote 30 or more ways in which Isaac’s experience foreshadows Jesus’ death on the cross, although some of the claimed links are of a more tenuous or speculative nature – Jesus goes to his crucifixion with two companions – the two thieves – while Isaac goes to be sacrificed with two servants, being one example.
Genesis 22: 6-14:
Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together.
Isaac said to his father Abraham, ‘Father!’ And he said, ‘Here I am, my son.’ He said, ‘The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?’
Abraham said, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ So the two of them walked on together.
When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order.
He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.
But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, ‘Abraham, Abraham!’
And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.’
And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt-offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.
Luke 23: 26-32
As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
For the days are surely coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us”; and to the hills, “Cover us.”For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’
Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.
