Leviticus 1:2-9 describes the burnt offering, in which an acceptable animal was presented before the LORD and wholly consumed upon the altar. The offering is repeatedly described as a pleasing or sweet-smelling aroma to God. In its original setting, this language expresses God's acceptance of the properly offered sacrifice and the worshiper's complete dedication to Him.

Ephesians 5:2 deliberately uses similar sacrificial language for Christ, saying that He loved us and gave Himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God, a fragrant aroma. The connection is therefore typological rather than a direct verbal prediction. The Levitical burnt offering establishes the pattern of an acceptable sacrifice wholly given to God; Christ fulfills that pattern perfectly by willingly offering Himself in obedient love. What the repeated sacrifices represented within Israel's worship finds its climactic expression in the once-for-all self-offering of Jesus.