There is nothing we can do to merit salvation, as our good will never outweigh our bad. Rather, Jesus offered Himself as a fragrant offering to the Father to appease His wrath and offer salvation to all people for all time.
The book of Ephesians is an epistle Paul wrote to the church of Ephesus. Contained within this epistle, Paul refers to Jesus as a “fragrant offering” (Ephesians 5:2). Paul's exact words are, “and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). Since Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering, what does it mean? Why does Paul call Jesus a fragrant offering? What does it mean for us today?
Back to the Old Testament
To understand Paul's analogy of Jesus being a fragrant offering, we must go back to the Old Testament. During the Old Testament, offerings had to be offered for the forgiveness of sins. There were also offerings of peace, as well as burnt offerings and guilt offerings. Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering because it alludes back to the sacrifices offered in the temple.
As stated, the people of Israel had to offer a variety of sin offerings to be forgiven of their sins. While this was only temporary and never fully did away with sin, it was a precursor to the ultimate Sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate offering to the Father for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord offered Himself to redeem mankind from our sins. This is why Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering because Jesus was indeed a pleasing fragrance being offered to the Father.
In the Old Testament, individuals had to provide sin offerings repeatedly because they would continue to sin. However, once the Lord was sacrificed, there was, and remains, no reason for any more sacrifices to be made. Jesus was sacrificed once and for all time for us to be saved from our sins. Now, for anyone who accepts Him as their Savior and Lord, they are eternally forgiven of their sins. While the Jews used to offer sacrifices often, Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice who does away with all other sacrifices. This is why we don't have to offer sacrifices anymore.
Jesus as the Sufficient Sacrifice
Jesus's sacrifice on the cross is sufficient for all people. The offering of bulls, goats, and other animals never did away with sin or the guilt that comes with sin, yet through Jesus, all people can be eternally forgiven and redeemed of their sins (Hebrews 10:2-4). Therefore, Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering because Jesus was a fragrant offering to the Father. The Father is loving, yet He also is righteous. Through the sacrifice of the Lord, we can have a repaired relationship with the Father, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life with Him forever. We never have to worry about making sin offerings because our sins have been forgiven in the sight of Jesus.
Even though we will continue to sin throughout life, all sins are forgiven because of Jesus. While we should always do our best to avoid sin, it is impossible to believe that we will never sin again. The only person who ever lived a sinless life was Jesus Himself because He is God. This is how Jesus could be the perfect sacrifice. He never sinned and had no sin in Him, yet through His sacrifice, the Father's wrath was appeased. When the Father sees us, He no longer sees us as full of sin, but instead, He sees His Son, Jesus Christ.
We need Jesus’ sacrifice because, without His sacrifice, we would still be lost in our sins. Through Jesus being offered as a fragrant offering, He was able to redeem us of our sins. Ever since the beginning of time, God knew man would sin. Out of His eternal love for us, He created a plan to redeem mankind from our sins even before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. He did this because He loves us immensely. While God doesn’t need us, He wants us. He created us to have a relationship with Him, yet because of our sins, we severed our relationship with God.
Through Jesus’ great sacrifice, we are given the opportunity to accept the free gift of salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” As Paul tells us, salvation is the “gift of God,” which means it has freely been given to us through the Lord. There is nothing we can do to merit salvation, as our good will never outweigh our bad. Rather, Jesus offered Himself as a fragrant offering to the Father to appease His wrath and offer salvation to all people for all time.
Since the Lord was a fragrant offering, we are no longer restricted to adhering to the Jewish laws. These laws were a precursor to what was coming—the Lord Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. The author of Hebrews tells us, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship” (Hebrews 10:1). No more sin offerings have to be offered because we have been given complete forgiveness in the sight of the Father through the work of Jesus Christ.
The Completed Sacrifice
When Jesus came to the world, He completed the work the Father sent Him to do. Jesus didn’t do this task begrudgingly, but rather, He freely chose and wanted to die for the sins of all mankind. The Lord did this because His love for us stretches further than we can fathom. God’s love for us cannot be contained, nor can it be measured. The ultimate example of God’s love for us is shown through sending His Son to die for the sins of the world (John 3:16-17). There is no greater love than laying your life down for others, which is what Jesus did for us (John 15:13).
Therefore, Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering because the Lord was offered a perfect offering to appease the Father’s wrath. Ever since the fall of man, sin has separated us from God. The Father hates sin, and He cannot stand where sin is present. This is why His wrath had to be appeased for us to be forgiven of our sins. During the time of the Old Testament, individuals offered up sin offerings to be forgiven. These types of offerings were never able to offer true forgiveness because they couldn't compare to the sacrifice found in Jesus.
The Lord sacrificed Himself once and for all time when He died on the cross for the sins of the world. Through His sacrifice, the Father was appeased, and our sins are now forgiven in the sight of Christ. We never need to take this for granted, as we can only stand before the Father because of Jesus. Through accepting the Lord, we are eternally forgiven, given a new life in Christ, and have a repaired relationship with the Father. Jesus was a fragrant offering because His life and sacrifice were well-pleasing in the eyes of the Father. It is only through Jesus that we are truly given forgiveness of sins.
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