Melchizedek Rising: When Wisdom Was Only Twelve
By: Carson C. Day
Luke records an astonishing account of Jesus’s first teaching moment in the Temple. Luke chapter 2 goes out of its way to summarize the lesson learned from a brief visit of the young Lord Jesus to the Temple this way: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” This is clearly a copycat maneuver on the part of Luke. Here he mimicked a description of the prophet Samuel found in the second chapter of the book by the same name (2:26). It reads, “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.”
A brief comparison of these two verses shows the target at which Luke takes careful aim.
Luke: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Samuel: And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.”
Now the phrase “grew on” in the Samuel passage matches Lukes phrase “in stature” — meaning that Jesus was getting taller, which happens most markedly at what we today call “puberty.” But this is incidental to Luke’s point. And this means that the only real difference between the two passages is one word — “wisdom.”
Luke has added “wisdom” to the original passage to highlight an extraordinary feature of Jesus. More specifically, Luke is bragging. He was showing off the Wisdom of Christ as superior to the wisdom of those in the Temple (not named in the immediate text, but we are told who they were later — priests and scribes), even when he was only twelve. Luke’s justified boasting — for it says “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” — would have come across as a fairly hard slap in the face of the Jerusalem establishment. And Luke knows this. In fact, he’s counting on it.
It reads roughly: Our twelve-year old is smarter than all your best guys put together. To be sure, Luke is rejoicing in the greatness of Jesus. But what he hasn’t told you, I will. To make it a bit more relevant, let’s put it this way: He has written a very masterful apologetic, and he is making fun of the politicians of his day at the same time. Oh yes, says Luke, “they smoked.” But they never inhaled [wink].
Now back in 1 Samuel 2, we find that the backdrop to Luke’s imitated passage is this — the little boy Samuel - who was wearing the linen ephod (meaning serving as a priestly apprentice to Eli), was prophesied by God as a “faithful priest” whom God would raise up to replace Eli’s two wicked sons, who had made a mockery of the priesthood by deliberately and violently oppressing others in the commission of their holy duties.
Also recall that Samuel was not of the line of Levi — as was required of priests in the Older Testament — a peculiar, and usually unnoticed feature of that Older Testamental narrative. He became a priest by way of his mother’s (Hannah’s) vow. Samuel’s priesthood was odd then for two reasons: 1. this priest was also a prophet, and 2. God established him in this role by way of an oath, not by tribal lineage.
The implications of this should arrest the reader’s attention. Samuel could not have been a Levitical priest, and yet he was a priest. This leaves only one possibility: Samuel was a priest after the order of Melchizedek. So was Jesus. Now we know why Luke chose to imitate a passage from 1 Samuel and apply it to Jesus (and not from some other book). Samuel and Jesus were uniquely comparable because they prayed, sacrificed and taught — the three major priestly duties — according to the authority of the same priesthood, a priesthood which was not by tribal lineage, but one established by an oath. In Jesus, as with little Samuel, we see Melchizedek rising.
We have found him out. Luke intends then a broader contrast between priesthoods, not merely a well-managed kick in the political kneecap. This assessment finds sure confirmation when we compare the previous chapter of Luke’s transposed passage with the earlier chapter in Luke’s gospel. In 1 Samuel 1 we see Hannah’s faithful obedient vow and petition. In Luke 1, we see Mary’s extraordinary obedience. Not only does Luke intend Samuel as a type of Christ, but Hannah also proves an earlier version of Mary. The literary parallel is striking.
The summit of the parallel between these two extraordinarily godly women finds its origin in their singing. Both break forth into divinely-inspired song upon God’s great promises to them. In the case of Luke’s gospel, we find another feature related to this singing that ought to grab our interest. The same angel appears to two persons (to announce Christ’s birth), a levitical priest named “Zacharias,” and to Mary, who is of the tribe of Judah. It is Mary — or rather the tribe of Judah — no wait — it is the priesthood of Judah which believes the promise and sings forth in divinely-inspired song. For Mary carries in her womb the Great Priest to come. Zacharias, on the other hand (read “The levitical priesthood”) fails to believe, and is muted (silenced) by God. Only with Zacharias, the silence lasts only a while, for he was a faithful man, having a bad day. But with the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, the silenced priesthood of Levi remains muted forever.
With this background information now firmly in hand, we can better appreciate what Luke meant to accomplish with his audience when he said, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” As with that moment when Jesus had finished teaching in the Temple for the first time, this Lukan passage doubtless had the same effect on his audience — you could have heard a pin drop. This was no ordinary boy. And this was no ordinary day. This was Melchizedek rising — when Wisdom was only twelve.
Carson has written a great many articles touching a wide variety of topics. These aim to glorify God and help others to live wisely and well. Want to see Carson’s website? carsonsomniblog.blogspot.com