Leadership Jesus Style:

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Gen 14:18-20

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:

"Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Possessor of heaven and earth;

20 And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your enemies into your hand."

And he gave him a tithe of all.

NKJV

We know little about Melchizedek but from this account in Genesis 14, we can surmise that he left quite an impression on Abram for Abram gave him a tithe of all.  Besides a mention in Psalms 110:4 there is no other mention of Melchizedek in the Old Testament.  However, in the book of Hebrews he is mentioned nine times (Hebrews 5:6, 5:10, 6:20, 7:1, 7:10, 7:11, 7:15, 7:17, 7:21) where he is compared to our High Priest, Jesus Christ.  Perhaps what Abram saw in Melchizedek was a unique leadership style that pointed forward to how Jesus would lead those choosing to follow him.  Whereas Abram had to look forward to how Messiah would lead, we have the opportunity to look back at how Jesus led while on earth. 

With election year approaching and several candidates now announcing their candidacy for President of the United States, I believe we need a different kind of leadership.  I therefore believe we can learn much from how Jesus led while on earth and use that standard when seeking which candidate to vote for in 2016. 

Jesus was unique in that he was

1)      Courageous even when facing death – As the Son of God, Jesus had foreknowledge and knew the cruel manner in which he would die.  All he would have had to do was read Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 to see a graphic prophetic picture of death by crucifixion.  Most earthly leaders having such foreknowledge would have made an effort to avoid their death.  They might have hired extra security and arrested or killed those planning their death.  However, Jesus came with a special purpose accomplished only by his death according to the prophecies in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 as well as His resurrection demonstrating His victory over the ultimate enemy, death.  In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus even asked His Heavenly Father if it were possible to escape his death but, with no other option possible that would provide salvation for fallen man, Jesus courageously surrendered to his greater purpose (Matthew 26:39).  

2)      Loving of those putting him to death – On the cross, Jesus asked his Father to forgive those that put him there (Luke 23:34).  Most of us, me included would have probably reacted out of anger at those causing us so much pain and sentencing us to death.  However, Jesus was not like anyone of us for he knew the purpose for which he came and had foreknowledge that his death was not the final chapter in his ministry but just a beginning.  Earthly leaders do not have the benefit of foreknowledge as Jesus did but if they truly love those they lead, they would be willing to do whatever is necessary to insure their safety and security.  For the President of the United States this means leading in accordance to the U.S. Constitution, which for the President means leading as commander in chief protecting citizens and protecting the God given rights of those citizens.  

3)      Selfless and humble – Jesus left the glory of heaven, became flesh and blood so He could relate to how we live.  Jesus also endured unspeakable pain through crucifixion on a cross (Philippians 2:8).  Perhaps Abram witnessed this humility in Melchizedek and is why he worshiped him by giving him his tithe, and why we who have given our lives to Christ now worship him, for such humility is rare.  The founders of the United States saw firsthand in King George how power in the hands of one individual corrupts and leads to tyranny.  As such, when authoring the U.S. Constitution, they established a government divided into three parts, the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch.  They also established a system of checks and balances designed to insure no one branch of the government would hold all of the power, leading to tyranny.  They also placed limits on the power of government by adding the first 10 amendments, now known as the Bill of Rights, placing further limits on what government could do.  The hope was the creation of a system of government insuring humility of leadership. 

Citizens of the United States and other nations of the world yearn for leadership that is courageous, loving of the nation and people they lead, selfless, and humble.  In the United States and other democratic nations, we the people have the opportunity to select those that lead us.  Let us not take this opportunity lightly by taking the time to search the hearts of candidates for office, seeking leaders that exhibit the leadership style of Jesus Christ, a leader in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:11).