Experience The Sweet Fragrance Of Christ

The life and death of Jesus became a pleasing aroma to God. The Bible also tells us that our lives can carry the sweet fragrance of Christ.

Our story begins with an expensive perfume poured over Jesus and ends with a question for each of us: What kind of fragrance does my life offer to God?

While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. Matthew 26:7

Jesus had entered the final days before His crucifixion. While He and His disciples ate at Simon’s home in Bethany, a woman approached Jesus carrying an alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume.

She poured it over His head.

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Instead of appreciating her act of devotion, the disciples immediately focused on the cost.

The disciples were indignant when they saw this. ‘What a waste!’ they said. ‘It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.’ Matthew 26:8-9

They saw waste. Jesus saw something entirely different.

A Fragrance Preparing Jesus for Burial

Jesus defended the woman and told His disciples that she had done a beautiful thing for Him. Then He explained the significance of her actions.

She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. Matthew 26:12

The disciples didn’t yet understand how close Jesus stood to the cross.

She probably didn’t comprehend everything that would happen either. Yet her act of devotion became part of the preparation for His burial. Then Jesus made an amazing prediction.

I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed. Matthew 26:13

And here we are, still talking about her. But something else about this story has always interested me.

This perfume cost a great deal of money, and its fragrance probably carried considerable strength. I don’t know enough about the bathing practices of that time to know how long the aroma would have remained on Jesus.

But I wonder. Did traces of that fragrance remain in His hair or beard when He gathered with His disciples for the Last Supper?

Could the fragrance still have lingered when Judas betrayed Him? Did any trace remain as Jesus carried the cross?

Scripture doesn’t tell us, so we can’t know. But the thought gives us a powerful picture because the New Testament connects Christ’s sacrifice with a pleasing fragrance to God.

The Sweet Fragrance of Christ

Paul wrote:

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:2

Jesus didn’t merely talk about love. He demonstrated it.

He gave Himself for us. His obedience to the Father carried Him all the way to the cross. Paul described that sacrifice as “a pleasing aroma to God.”

Then Paul took this picture one step further. He said something remarkable about us:

Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. 2 Corinthians 2:15

Think about that statement. Your life has a fragrance. Not one detected by the nose, but one demonstrated through how you live.

When Christ’s love flows through us, our lives produce something pleasing to God.

What Does Your Life Smell Like?

Paul continued:

To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. 2 Corinthians 2:16

Not everyone will appreciate the fragrance of Christ in us.

Sometimes we become overly concerned about how the world responds to our Christian lives. We don’t want to offend anyone. We want people to approve of us and accept what we believe.

But our first concern shouldn’t center on whether everyone around us likes the fragrance. Our first concern should center on whether the fragrance rising from our lives pleases God.

That doesn’t give us permission to become rude, judgmental, or unnecessarily offensive. Quite the opposite. Ephesians tells us exactly what produces the fragrance God desires:

Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:2

Love changes the aroma of our lives. Love affects the way we speak to people. It influences how we treat our families, how we respond when someone hurts us, how we serve others, and how willingly we obey God.

Jesus gave us the example. He loved us and gave Himself for us. Now He calls us to follow Him.

Life Application

Begin each day asking God to make your life pleasing to Him. Let pleasing God matter more than gaining people’s approval.
Choose love when your natural response wants something else. Christ-like love becomes most visible when loving someone costs you something.
Pay attention to the influence you leave behind. Your words, attitudes, and actions can carry the fragrance of Christ into someone’s life.
Don’t hide your faith simply because someone may reject it. Represent Jesus with both truth and love.
Follow Christ’s example of sacrificial love. Look for practical opportunities to give, serve, forgive, encourage, and help others.

The woman poured expensive perfume over Jesus, and its fragrance filled the room. Jesus later poured out His life for us, and His sacrifice became a pleasing aroma to God.

Now Paul says that our lives can become a Christ-like fragrance rising to God.

May the people around us experience the fragrance of Christ through the way we live. But above everything else, may the aroma rising from our lives bring pleasure to the One who gave His life for us.

Lord, help us follow the example of Jesus. Fill our lives with Your love so that the fragrance of Christ rises from us as a pleasing aroma to You.