Last Sunday, I was speaking in my church about being a living sacrifice.
One of the things I pointed out was that in the Old Testament, when sacrifices were made to God, they were described as a pleasing aroma to him.
In the same way, all our thoughts, all our words, all our actions are to be a pleasing aroma to God. That’s what a living sacrifice is.
Here in this passage, we see an example of this. Mary poured out perfume on Jesus’ feet and its fragrance filled the room.
I think it’s safe to say that her action was a pleasing aroma of worship to God.
Contrast that with Judas, who though he claimed to care for the poor, nevertheless thought only of himself.
As Paul would have put it, Judas’ “love” was filled with hypocrisy (Romans 12:9).
As such, it was a stench before God, and that stench filled the room as much as Mary’s perfume did.
Let us not be like Judas, but like Mary.
May our thoughts, our words, our actions, and our very lives be a pleasing aroma that rises up to God and fills this entire world.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 