December 7, 2025 Text: Hebrews 5:5-10
Dear Friends in Christ,
Have you ever won a blue ribbon? God blessed me with speed, so I collected quite a few in track and field during my elementary and junior high days. The boys have quite a collection in their rooms as well. Safe to say all of ours are sports related. But maybe you received one for academics or music or that Baked Alaska you presented at the county fair. It feels good to use God-given talent to accomplish something.
What about Jesus? Could we say He has won top honors with a blue ribbon? It would take a long time to list all the things Jesus did that could receive a blue ribbon, but Scripture boasts of at least one: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb. 5:6)
This a.m. our Sunday morning theme of “Advent Blues” continues with . . .
“BLUE RIBBON: JESUS AS PRIEST”
There could be no loftier award. Melchizedek was the most highly regarded priest of the Old Testament. His family became the Levitical priesthood. Melchizedek was both priest and king of Salem, Jerusalem’s old name. He met the founding father of Judaism, Abraham with bread and wine following Abrahm’s rescue of his nephew Lot from the four kings. This blue ribbon of priesthood is the most distinctive kind – ancient and honorable – like the formal blue sash nobles wear to signify a high honor.
For us today we cannot see how being compared to Melchizedek has importance. As it has been taught in Junior Confirmation over the years, I am not sure it has been fully understood. The key thought is that Jesus is not just another prophet. He is truly a high priest of the loftiest kind. A blue-ribbon leader.
The author of Hebrews sees Jesus as both priest and sacrifice. He is Lord of Lords and King of kings. Jesus is God in his redemptive role as healer and guide.
That understanding, however, must stretch beyond the academic to reach the personal. While knowing Jesus as a blue-ribbon priest like Melchizedek is vital knowledge, it is knowing him personally, knowing his sacrifice, that makes Him a life-giving friend rather than an austere champion or celestial celebrity. Jesus is our priest, who ministers to us with his sacrifice, as well as his sacraments. He ministers as a priest should – to heal the body as well as the soul.
Look at what Jesus did. He healed the sick and raised the dead. The blind saw; lepers were cleansed; the bedridden walked; the mentally deranged made sane. Jesus could not ignore these afflictions. He does the same for us. We are afflicted with sin, diseased with bad behavior and sometimes a little mentally unhinged. The devil wants to use this to divide us from God, separate us from our Creator, and claim us as his own. Jesus came to make us whole. He doesn’t want to see shattered lives. He wants to see us complete. He preached not only to hearts and minds but to withered limbs and sickened organs. His touch healed. His Word cured. His ointments of saliva and dirt were a prescription for wholeness.
Let Jesus be your Melchizedek to bring you bread and wine as the original one did for Abraham, to forgive your sin so that you may experience healing of the body as well as healing of the soul and soundness of the mind. Holy Communion is a healing gift that Christ, our great High Priest, has given to us. Do not fail to celebrate it, not for the ceremony, the sip of wine and taste of bread, but for the assured forgiveness Jesus shares with his body and blood communicated in that gift. It is his way of making us whole with him.
As our priest, Jesus also offers up prayers for us. Martin Luther wrote, “along with, and beyond, His sacrifice Christ prayed to God the Father in our behalf. Isaiah 53:12 speaks of this function, ‘He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.’..He continues to exercise this office as our Mediator and Advocate before God.”
I, and many of you are not for participation blue ribbons. A blue ribbon should be earned. But in the salvation story, we pray that our Advocate and Priest Jesus who earned it for us, will grant to all who believe the ultimate winning ribbon – the salvation of their soul.
Amen.