Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. (Col 2:16–17)

It’s both spiritually energizing and eye-opening to give myself permission to read the Bible for what it is and NOT what someone else claims it means or says! A couple of things struck me this morning as I read Colossians 2. In the context of verses 13-15, Paul points out that the ordinances, which were against us, have been wiped out because of Jesus’ death! He goes on to specify a few of these ordinances that were just a shadow of things to come:

1. Kosher laws and Kashrut laws: referred to as meat or drink and are considered dietary laws.
2. Feast days: These would include Jewish festivals like the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Tabernacles, etc.
3. The New Moon Festival: This was celebrated 11 times a year, each celebration marking the first citing of the New Moon. It was part of the Hebrew Solar-Lunar Calendar system. The OT suggests that the monthly new moon festival was more popular and culturally eventful than the weekly Sabbath observance in Palestine during the pre-Hasmonean period.
4. A Sabbath Day: This would include any day that was considered a Sabbath, whether it was a High Sabbath, a Ceremonial/Ritualistic Sabbath (almost all Sabbaths fit into this category), or the weekly Sabbath. It’s important to understand that Paul is referring to any Sabbath. He is not attempting to claim only certain sabbaths, as many of my SDA friends might interpret!

Notice that based on all of these truths Paul is claiming that these are a SHADOW OF THE THINGS TO COME!

Hebrews 10:1 drives this point home:

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. (Heb 10:1)

The LAW, including the sacrificial system, was a shadow of what was to come: CHRIST! Both the Law and the Sacrificial system that was tied to the Law were designed to point a Jew to the Messiah! Once the substance that these things pointed to has come, the need for the shadow is gone!

Because it was a shadow, it is no longer obligatory! This includes the Dietary Laws, The Festivals, The Lunar New Moon Festivals (which helped them know when to celebrate certain rituals, including the Sabbath and High Sabbaths), and ALL Sabbath-related celebrations.

JESUS HAS COME. THE MESSIAH IS HERE!

The very person that everything was pointing to, the substance had arrived! The intrinsic value of all of these shadows is GONE because the MESSIAH IS HERE!

The Law (Mosaic Law), along with the Sabbath, has lost its intrinsic value. The reason that Paul states that judgment shouldn’t be made on anyone who does these things, is proof that one is welcome to keep them, but placing judgment or making any of these things mandatory is out of alignment with Paul’s light of the Gospel of Jesus. The believer is no longer bound by external stipulations because the Law of Messiah will be bound by internal heart motivations. The heart that is regenerated by the working of the Holy Spirit!

In Christian Love –