The Aroma of Christ's Perfect Work Text: Leviticus 2:4-10
Introduction: Worship, Not Atonement
When modern Christians encounter a book like Leviticus, our eyes have a tendency to glaze over. We see the meticulous detail about sacrifices, offerings, and rituals, and we are tempted to think it is little more than an ancient, dusty rulebook that Christ has made obsolete. But this is a grave error. Because Christ has come, we are in a position to understand these sacrifices more profoundly than any Old Testament saint ever could. We are not to dismiss them, but rather to press into them, for they are rich, multi-faceted portraits of our Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work.
We must begin by understanding what the grain offering, the Minchah, is not. It is not a sin offering. There is no blood, no laying on of hands to transfer guilt, no death. The grain offering is fundamentally an act of worship and tribute, a recognition of God's goodness and provision. It was often offered alongside the burnt offering, which was an offering of total consecration. Together, they form a picture of a life wholly given over to God (the burnt offering) and the good works that flow from that life (the grain offering). It is a tribute offered by a loyal subject to his sovereign king.
The details here are not arbitrary. God is a meticulous God, and His instructions for worship are not suggestions. Every element, the fine flour, the oil, the absence of leaven, the fire of the altar, all of it preaches the gospel. This offering is a picture of the perfect humanity and righteous works of Jesus Christ, offered up to the Father as a pleasing aroma. And by extension, it is a picture of our service to God, which is only acceptable when it is offered in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. Let us therefore attend to the details, for in them we find our Savior.
The Text
‘Now when you bring near an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers spread with oil. And if your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. Now if your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. And you will bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to Yahweh, and it shall be brought near to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. The priest then shall raise up from the grain offering its memorial portion, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh. And the remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy of the offerings to Yahweh by fire.
(Leviticus 2:4-10 LSB)
Christ's Perfect Humanity (v. 4-7)
These verses detail three ways the grain offering could be prepared, each emphasizing the same core ingredients.
"‘Now when you bring near an offering of a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers spread with oil. And if your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it shall be of fine flour, unleavened, mixed with oil; you shall break it into bits and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. Now if your offering is a grain offering made in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil." (Leviticus 2:4-7)
First, notice the central elements: fine flour, oil, and no leaven. The "fine flour" speaks of the perfect, sinless humanity of Jesus Christ. It is not coarse, uneven grain, but flour that has been sifted and ground, representing a character that is perfectly balanced, without any of the lumps or impurities of sin. There was no flaw in Him, no inconsistency, no moral blemish. He was, as the hymn says, "fairer than the children of men." This fine flour is the substance of His life, His perfect obedience to the Father.
Second, this flour is always accompanied by oil. Throughout Scripture, oil is a consistent symbol of the Holy Spirit. The offering could be "mixed with oil" or have oil "spread on it." This points to the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon Christ. He was conceived by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit at His baptism, and empowered by the Spirit throughout His ministry. His perfect humanity was not lived in His own strength, but in complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit. This is the model for our own lives; our works are only acceptable to God when they are empowered by His Spirit.
Third, the offering must be "unleavened." Leaven, or yeast, consistently represents sin and corruption in the Bible. It puffs up, it spreads, and it sours the whole lump. Jesus warned His disciples to "beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees," which was their false doctrine and hypocrisy (Matt. 16:6). Christ's life and work were entirely without the corrupting influence of sin. He was the pure, unleavened bread of life. This is why Paul can say, "Clean out the old leaven... For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:7-8).
The different methods of preparation, in an oven, on a griddle, in a pan, speak to the different kinds of trials and sufferings Christ endured. Some were hidden, like the private agony of the oven. Others were public, exposed on the griddle for all to see. The breaking of the griddle-cake into bits is a clear picture of His body, broken for us. In every form of suffering, whether seen or unseen, His perfect, Spirit-filled humanity was offered up to God.
Presented Before God (v. 8-9)
The offering, once prepared, is brought to God through the mediation of the priest.
"And you will bring in the grain offering which is made of these things to Yahweh, and it shall be brought near to the priest, and he shall bring it to the altar. The priest then shall raise up from the grain offering its memorial portion, and he shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to Yahweh." (Leviticus 2:8-9 LSB)
The worshipper does not approach the altar directly. He brings his offering to the priest, who in turn presents it to God. This is a foundational principle of worship. We cannot approach a holy God on our own terms. We need a mediator. For us, that great High Priest is Jesus Christ Himself (Heb. 4:14-16). He takes our flawed, imperfect works, which we offer to Him, and He presents them to the Father, cleansed and made perfect by His own merit.
The priest takes a "memorial portion" from the offering to burn on the altar. This portion is what "reminds" God, so to speak. It is the representative part that stands for the whole. When this portion ascends in smoke, it is "a soothing aroma to Yahweh." This phrase is key. It does not mean God has a physical nose that enjoys the smell of burning bread. It is covenantal language. It signifies that the offering is accepted, that it is pleasing to God, that it meets His holy standard. The life and work of Jesus Christ was the ultimate soothing aroma to the Father. His perfect obedience "pleased the Lord" (Isaiah 53:10). And because we are in Christ, our spiritual sacrifices of praise and good works also ascend to the Father as a pleasing aroma, not because of our merit, but because they are perfumed with the merit of Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
Provision for the Priests (v. 10)
What is not burned on the altar has a specific purpose. It is not thrown away; it becomes food for God's servants.
"And the remainder of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons: a thing most holy of the offerings to Yahweh by fire." (Leviticus 2:10 LSB)
This is a beautiful picture of God's economy. The offering that is pleasing to God also becomes the provision for His people. What delights the Father nourishes the children. The life of Christ, offered to God, becomes our spiritual food. Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life, and we are invited to feast on Him (John 6:35). His righteousness, His work, His sacrifice, these are not just offered for God's pleasure, but also for our sustenance.
Notice this food is "most holy." It is not common bread. It is set apart, consecrated. It belongs to the priests, those who minister before the Lord. In the New Covenant, all believers are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). We are those who draw near to God through Christ. And our spiritual food is Christ Himself. We are nourished and sustained by the very holiness of His life and work. The same offering that satisfies the justice of God satisfies the hunger of our souls. This is why the Lord's Supper is a meal. We are partaking of the benefits of Christ's "grain offering," His perfect life broken for us.
Conclusion: Our Unleavened Lives
So what does this mean for us, who live on this side of the cross? We do not bring cakes of flour and oil to a tabernacle. But we are called to offer our own bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship (Romans 12:1). Our lives are to be a kind of grain offering.
This means our service to God must be modeled on Christ's offering. It must be offered in sincerity and truth, without the leaven of hypocrisy or malice. It must be empowered not by our own strength, but saturated with the oil of the Holy Spirit. It must be ground fine through the trials and testings that God brings into our lives, which chip away our pride and self-reliance.
And most importantly, we must never make the fatal error of thinking we can bring this offering on our own. We must bring our lives, our works, our worship, to our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus. He alone can take our feeble attempts at faithfulness and present them as a memorial portion before the Father. It is only when our lives are hidden in His, and our works are offered through His mediation, that they can rise to God as a soothing aroma. Christ is the true grain offering, and we are only accepted as we are found in Him.