Psalm 110:3-4
The Bible calls Jesus “a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” Priests stood between God and man, to connect the two. Pagan priests tried to reach up into heaven to grab the attention of one god or another. They used sacrifices to try to bribe a god to bring them some sort of good thing. They tried to get the god of rain to send rain. The god of fertility would get someone pregnant.
Old Testament priests were different, though, because God wanted to be with his people. He yearned for a close relationship, but sinful humanity couldn’t accept him. Holy and unholy don’t mix. Old Testament priests sent God’s blessings to the people. They sacrificed animals to take away their sins. But it didn’t take, so they had to sacrifice over and over again.
Jesus, the baby in the manger, is the perfect priest, who sacrifices himself as the perfect offering for the forgiveness of sins. He brings together God and man in himself, the child in the manger.