The 8th Old Testament Prophecy that Jesus fulfilled is found in the Book of Genesis chapter 14. Here we see Melchizedek acting as “The Priest of God Most High”.
Genesis 14:18-20 “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.”
Interesting that Melchizedek, the Priest of God Most High, is bearing Bread and Wine; the emblems of Jesus’ body and His blood at The Last Supper.
Matthew 26:26 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Paul later commented that Jesus was our “Great High Priest”
Hebrews 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”
In the Old Testament, a person was required to bring a sacrifice for their sins to the Priest, who acted as a bridge between God and the sinner. In Jesus’ Sacrifice upon the Cross, His body and His blood become the method by which all of our sins are removed forever. In making this one sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, Jesus becomes the Great High Priest of everyone who believes in and trust in Him and becomes the only acceptable bride between God and man.
In Genesis 14 where Melchizedek is bringing Bread and Wine to Abraham, notice that Melchizedek blesses Abraham. In response, Abraham pays a tenth or “A Tithe” of all he possesses, to Melchizedek. Tithes are only to be paid to God and not to man. Who then is Melchizedek? By the context, it is obvious that he represents Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
The fulfillment of this 8th Old Testament Prophecy is found in Hebrews 7:1
Hebrews 7:1 “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all…”
This is remarkable when you consider that it is from Abraham that Jesus will later be descended from to be the Great High Priest and author of our Salvation. Here we see Abraham giving honor to Jesus through Melchizedek all the way back in Genesis chapter 14.
The beauty and design of all 365 of the Old Testament Prophecies is that each is designed by God to be a future picture of Jesus Christ. When we see how each of these prophecies were fulfilled in the New Testament we are reminded that the Bible is the Word of God and the validating factor for Jesus being the only Savior of the world.
