"Fragrant" 11-10-24
Overview
The Fragrance of Christ
Smell is one of God's most evocative gifts. A whiff of fresh bread, clean laundry, or rain on the earth can transport us instantly into memory and emotion. Scripture takes this everyday experience seriously. Throughout the Old Testament, the offerings ordained at Sinai were repeatedly described as "a pleasing aroma to the Lord" (Exodus 29:18; Numbers 28:6). The fire on the altar was never to go out Leviticus 6:13 — a perpetual sign that God's people lived by sacrifice.
But sacrifice without a repentant heart became mere ceremony. As David confessed, "You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it… The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" Psalm 51:16-17. This matters because sin carries its own odor. From the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit Genesis 3, the stench of sin and death entered creation, and we inherit it — born with the reek of pride, envy, and selfishness. No amount of self-cleansing covers it; "all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment" Isaiah 64:6.
The good news is that Christ, our great High Priest, "entered once for all into the holy places… by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" Hebrews 9:11-14. On the altar of the cross, Jesus took the stench of our sin upon himself and offered the one sacrifice that is eternally pleasing to the Father. In the waters of baptism, he washes us clean and claims us as his own. Paul pictures this as a Roman triumphal procession: "Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere" 2 Corinthians 2:14-17. We are captives of grace, paraded in his victory.
This means our identity in the world is fragrant. "We are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing" 2 Corinthians 2:15. The scent does not change — only the noses receiving it. To some, the gospel smells like life; to others, it offends. Either way, our calling remains the same. Each believer is a unique note in the one fragrance of Christ, and together the church carries his scent of mercy, compassion, and love into every place we go. We are not peddlers selling perfume for our own gain; we are people sent from God, freely sharing what we have freely received. Go this week as the sweet fragrance of Christ — and let others catch the scent of him on you.
Transcript
Okay, everyone close your eyes. 1s
Close your eyes. 5s
Take a deep breath in through your nose. 6s
You smell the church. 11s
Keep your eyes closed for a moment. 15s
And imagine the smell of freshly baked bread. 19s
Imagine the smell of fresh laundry. 26s
Imagine the smell of the earth as you step outside your house after a nice night of hard rain. 33s
Okay, you can open your eyes. 45s
When we mention the freshly baked bread, 48s
or we mention that freshly laundered clothing or towels, 52s
or the smell of the earth after a rain, 59s
you can all take your mind exactly to those smells 62s
and you're filled with a pleasing sense. 68s
Smell is so, so closely connected to our emotions. 76s
Smell is so closely connected to our memory. 82s
So when we think about those smells, 87s
we can't help but be pleased. 91s
Smell is a very, very important sense 95s
that God has given us. 100s
And what's amazing about the sense of smell is that it is visceral. 102s
It gets to us in a way that is inexplicable. 108s
We can almost feel the smells around us. 115s
And smell is also irrational or unreasonable. 122s
It's not a sense that we can argue with someone else. 127s
We may like or dislike a scent, 133s
but we can't argue what the scent is. 138s
It's a sense in its own category. 144s
Smell was very important throughout Scripture to the Lord in Exodus. 150s
We read over and over about the offerings, 155s
where the Lord tells us it is a burnt offering to the Lord. 159s
It is a pleasing odor and offering by fire to the Lord. 163s
In numbers, we read it is a regular burnt offering, 169s
which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a pleasing aroma, 173s
a food offering to the Lord. 178s
The offerings that were presented to the Lord, 181s
the burnt offerings of the fatted calf, 184s
the burnt offerings of the grain offerings, 187s
the food offerings, the oil and frankincense that was continually before the Lord 190s
was always there as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 196s
In Leviticus chapter 6, 202s
it says that the fire on the altar shall be kept burning. 204s
It shall not go out. 208s
Every morning the priest shall add wood to it, 210s
lay out the burnt offering on it, 214s
and turn into smoke the fat pieces of the offerings of well-being. 216s
A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar. 221s
It shall not go out. 226s
The smell of offering, 231s
the smell of sacrifice is pleasing. 234s
A pleasing aroma to the Lord. 239s
And so the Israelites followed, followed the law, 245s
and they would offer their sacrifices that were supposed to be pleasing to the Lord. 250s
But in their sin, soon enough, their sacrifices became a matter of ceremony and tradition and law. 256s
And they were no longer sacrifices for their sin. 264s
It was no longer sacrifice from the heart, 268s
but just something that they had to do, 272s
or did, to try to keep in good favor, 275s
going through the motions for the ceremony and tradition of it. 280s
In Psalm 51, 286s
the Lord addresses this through King David, 288s
where it says, 291s
for you have no delight in sacrifice. 293s
If I were to give a burnt offering, 297s
you would not be pleased. 299s
You have no delight in sacrifice. 304s
If I were to give a burnt offering, 307s
you would not be pleased. 310s
Pleasing aromas. 316s
The smell of a baby that you get to cuddle. 320s
The smell of freshly baked cookies sitting waiting to be devoured. 324s
The smell of your grandmother's house over the holidays, 332s
all of these pleasing aromas are ingrained in our brains, 337s
and they are pleasing aromas to our soul. 344s
Our all factory system is an incredible, incredible system, 351s
but not all odors are pleasing to the nose. 357s
Think of New York City, a hot, humid summer day. 365s
Are you going to want to ride on the subway? 370s
Crammed with people? 372s
No, that has an offensive odor. 375s
Or maybe not bathing for three days. 379s
Do you want to go and cuddle with your spouse after your yard work? 385s
And not bathing for three days? 389s
Not so much. 392s
That is an offensive odor. 393s
There are many offensive odors to be found around us. 397s
And oftentimes we are the offensive odor. 405s
When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, 413s
Eve saw that the fruit looked good. 419s
She saw that it looked pleasing and so she ate, 424s
and gave it to her husband and he ate. 429s
And as they sank their teeth into the forbidden fruit, 433s
the odor was not pleasing. 438s
Because with that one bite, 442s
they brought into creation the stench of sin, 445s
the stench of death. 452s
The offensive odor that we are in our sin 457s
is the offensive odor that we bring to and before the Lord, 464s
we are born stinky. 471s
We're born stinky. 475s
We are born with the stinkingess of envy. 477s
We are born in the stinkingess of pride. 481s
We are born in the stinkingess of ego and selfishness. 485s
We are born with the stench of sin all over us. 490s
And no matter how many times we bathe. 497s
No matter how many times we try to cover the stench of our sin. 501s
And with doing good things, 507s
we cannot wash ourselves of the offensive odor that sin is. 511s
We cannot get the stink off. 524s
In Isaiah the 64th chapter, 530s
the prophet writes under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 533s
and we have all become like one who is unclean. 536s
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. 540s
All of the deeds that we do out of our own righteousness, 546s
out of our own will and want. 550s
They're all offensive odors before the Lord. 555s
Adam and Eve brought the offensive odor into creation, 561s
but we carry it forth. 565s
Generation after generation and none of us can wash 569s
that offensive odor and the stink of sin from ourselves. 575s
But remember, in Psalm 51, 582s
when David writes that the Lord will have no delight in sacrifice 587s
if I were to give a burnt offering you would not be pleased. 592s
It didn't end there. 596s
He continued in verse 17, 598s
the sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit. 601s
A broken and contrite heart, 607s
oh God, you will not despise. 610s
We come before the Lord with a contrite heart, 616s
a broken spirit knowing that everything that we place 620s
upon the altar of sacrifice is nothing. 624s
We place nothing before the Lord 631s
that's pleasing aroma. 635s
Other than our contrite heart, 641s
our broken spirit. 645s
When we turn to the Lord, 647s
and we repent and we confess our sins, 651s
that is the pleasing aroma to the Lord. 656s
And it's not dependent upon ourselves 663s
washing the stench from ourselves. 665s
But it is all laid upon Jesus Christ 669s
who is the one sacrifice that is acceptable to God, 673s
the one sacrifice that is the eternal pleasing aroma 679s
to God, the Father. 683s
In Hebrews 9th chapter, 685s
we read when Christ came as a high priest of the good things 687s
that have come, 691s
that through the greater and perfect tent, 692s
not made with hands that is not of this creation, 694s
he entered once for all into the holy place, 698s
not with the blood of goats and calves, 701s
but with his own blood, 705s
thus obtaining eternal redemption. 707s
For if the blood of goats and bulls 710s
with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, 711s
sanctifies those who have been defiled, 714s
so that their flesh is purified how much more 717s
will the blood of Christ, 720s
who through the eternal spirit, 723s
offered himself without blemish to God, 725s
purify our conscience from dead works, 727s
to worship the living God. 731s
Jesus Christ laid himself as the sacrificial lamb 737s
upon the altar before the Lord, 741s
the altar that was the cross of Calvary, 744s
where he hung dying for your sins, 748s
for my sin to take the stench of our sin, 752s
and remove it from us, 756s
and instead lay before the altar of the Lord himself, 759s
the sacrificial lamb, 763s
the aroma that is pleasing to the Lord, 766s
to be there eternally in our place, 770s
eternally lifting the aroma of sacrifice 776s
before the Lord, 780s
in his death, Christ conquered death, 782s
and in conquering death, 787s
he has the eternal victory over sin. 789s
What does that have to do with aroma? 797s
What does that have to do with smell? 803s
Let us turn please to our reading 809s
for this morning in 2 Corinthians 2. 812s
If you're using a pure edition of the Bible, 816s
this is found on page 158 of the New Testament, 819s
this is 2 Corinthians 2. 825s
Our reading begins, 829s
thanks be to God, 831s
who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, 832s
and through us spreads in every place, 837s
the fragrance that comes from knowing Him. 840s
The triumphal procession was that, 845s
that was the conquering general that he would lead the people, 848s
he would lead the victors through the city, 854s
and he would have with him the spoils of his victor. 858s
He would have with him the booty, the gold, 862s
the silver, 867s
not only would he have the items of his victory, 869s
but he would have the people that he had conquered. 874s
They would be paraded behind the victorious general, 880s
paraded as being conquered. 885s
My brothers and sisters, you in your sin, 887s
have been conquered by the sacrificial lamb. 891s
Jesus Christ has conquered not only sin of the world, 895s
but your sin in all of it, 900s
stinkingness in all of it, 904s
grossness in all of it, stench. 906s
He has conquered it, 911s
and he has claimed you as his own, 913s
you have been taken captive, 916s
captive by Christ himself. 921s
You cannot wash your sin from yourself. 925s
You cannot cover the offensive odor of your sin, 929s
but it has been washed for you 933s
in the waters of baptism, 937s
where Jesus Christ claimed you as his own. 940s
He claimed you taking you as his captive, 944s
to live in his glory, 949s
to live in his victory. 953s
And so he leads us forth in the victory of the cross, 958s
in the washing of the baptismal promise, 963s
and he leads us forth, 968s
and he leads us to be fragrance, 970s
fragrance of knowing him. 978s
We are the fragrance of Christ, 983s
to all those who meet us. 990s
We go forth sharing the pleasing aroma of Christ, 994s
to everyone that we meet. 1002s
In verse 15, Paul writes, 1006s
For we are the aroma of Christ, 1009s
to God among those who are being saved, 1011s
and among those who are perishing, 1015s
to the one of fragrance from death, 1018s
to death, 1020s
to the other of fragrance from life, 1022s
to life. 1024s
Who is sufficient for these things? 1026s
There is one scent. 1033s
There is one scent of the Lord, 1039s
a scent of purity, a scent of cleanness. 1045s
I ask someone this week, 1051s
what do you think Jesus smells like? 1053s
And he responded, vanilla. 1057s
That warm comforting scent, 1063s
because Jesus is our warmth. 1070s
Jesus is our comfort. 1073s
When Paul writes, 1079s
that we are a fragrance for some from death to death, 1082s
and to others a fragrance from life to life, 1088s
he is not meaning that we are bringing about a different smell. 1092s
But everyone has a different sense of smell. 1100s
I remember being pregnant, 1107s
and as I was pregnant, 1110s
there were certain smells that my husband could say, 1111s
that smells great, and I would say, no, no, you are wrong. 1116s
We were smelling the same thing, 1122s
but to one it was a sweet fragrance, 1126s
and to the other it was repugnant. 1131s
It wasn't because it was a different smell, 1135s
but it was because it was a different sense. 1139s
And so smelling the same thing, 1144s
it's something internal to each of us 1148s
that leads to our different responses. 1151s
The difference doesn't lie in the different person, 1155s
smelling something separate, 1161s
but it has to do with how each person smells, 1164s
and for those that are outside of the Lord, 1169s
those that are outside and closed 1176s
to hearing the word of God and his grace and his mercy, 1178s
the aroma of Christ is repugnant, 1186s
but praise be to God, 1193s
that for those of us who have heard his word, 1195s
praise be to God, for those who are yet to hear his word, 1200s
and yet the seeds are being planted, 1204s
praise be to God that the aroma of Christ 1207s
is an aroma of life that leads to further life. 1210s
As I was researching fragrance, 1218s
I was very surprised to find out 1222s
that there are approximately 8,000 various notes 1227s
of fragrance that are to be found. 1233s
And you can mix these fragrances 1238s
in a myriad of ways, 1241s
and each one has its distinct flavor, 1244s
its distinct smell. 1248s
And what's amazing is that is just sense. 1252s
And when you think of the people that God has called 1259s
to be his own, that he has called, 1262s
to go forth as a pleasing aroma, 1265s
an aroma of Christ in the world about us, 1267s
the billions of people, 1273s
this side of heaven with the myriad notes 1276s
of gifts and talents and interests, 1282s
all combined in different ways 1290s
that make up his body, 1294s
that make up the church. 1298s
We are each a note of the fragrance of Christ. 1303s
We are each one who is called to bring that note 1311s
of fragrance to those around us. 1317s
It may look different. 1325s
It may be manifested in a variety of ways, 1329s
but the bottom line is that it is all the same scent. 1335s
It is all the fragrance of Christ himself, 1343s
living in and through each and every one of you. 1349s
by his grace and mercy Christ took upon himself, 1359s
the stench of our sin, 1364s
by his grace and mercy he washed us clean 1367s
in the waters of baptism, 1372s
by his grace and mercy he has filled us with his own, 1376s
holy spirit and sent us forth 1381s
in the triumphal procession, 1385s
conquered in him 1390s
to spread the scent of his love, 1394s
the scent of his compassion, 1398s
the scent of his mercy everywhere we go. 1400s
Paul continued in verse 17, 1407s
For we are not peddlers of God's word like so many, 1410s
but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, 1413s
as persons sent from God and standing in his presence. 1417s
We've all been to the fragrance counter, 1424s
where there's someone standing, 1427s
obsession, 1431s
happy, 1435s
and they do that to sell the fragrance. 1439s
We are not peddlers, 1446s
we are not selling anything. 1448s
What we have received, 1451s
we have received freely, 1452s
by the purchase that Christ made for each and every one of us. 1457s
And so we don't go about peddling the fragrance for our own gain. 1461s
We don't go about peddling the fragrance of Christ for our own glory. 1466s
But we go forth, 1473s
sharing, 1475s
sharing the aroma, 1477s
the scent, 1479s
the fragrance, 1481s
of mercy, 1483s
of love and compassion. 1486s
I look forward to this coming week. 1489s
I look forward to seeing each of you in your daily lives going forth, 1494s
and I can't wait to hear as people talk, 1501s
as you pass by, 1507s
and they say, did you smell that? 1509s
Because I know that what they're smelling 1514s
is the sweet fragrance of God, 1519s
a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 1526s