Ceremonial sabbaths versus the Sabbath

Many Christians quote this text and fail to understand its meaning.
Colossians 2:16
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

AI almost got this right.. 'A "ceremonial Sabbath" refers to the special, annual holy days in the Old Testament (like the first and last days of Unleavened Bread or Passover, Pentecost, Day of Atonement, Feast of Trumpets) which were distinct from the weekly seventh-day Sabbath, serving as foreshadows of Christ's work, fulfilled at His cross, while the weekly Sabbath (Saturday) is seen by many Christians as a moral, perpetual command established at creation, separate from those ceremonial laws.'

We see these feast days or 'ceremonial sabbaths' in Leviticus 23..
Leviticus 23:1-44
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
4 These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
9 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the Lord.
13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the Lord, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the Lord.
19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Lord for the priest.
21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
26 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.
29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
33 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37 These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38 Beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord.
39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

Pastor Doug Batchelor gave a good answer on what these ceremonial sabbaths are versus the Sabbath.
'I won't read all of Leviticus 23 because it's quite a passage but what it does is it simply itemizes all of the days, both the annual and the weekly sabbath, that were to be recognized. At the beginning of the list, it talks about the seventh day Sabbath, beginning with verse three: '...Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation.' That means we are to convene and come together. You'll do no work on that day.

He's going through a litany of all of the sacred days, including the weekly Sabbath. That doesn't mean they are all the same or of the same nature. Right on the surface, we see there's a major difference. There's only one that was a weekly Sabbath. The others were annual feast days.

The weekly Sabbath was given at creation and the Bible tells us that the Sabbath was made for man. Well that would obviously be back in the Garden of Eden, Genesis chapter two. And beyond that, even before they get to Mount Sinai, God calls the seventh day Sabbath His Law, that's Exodus 16. The other ceremonial sabbaths came afterward and they were shadows of the plan of salvation.

But obviously, our coming together for corporate worship and our need for a day of rest did not cease with the sacrifice of Jesus. Indeed, Isaiah 66 says even in Heaven all flesh will come to worship before him on the Sabbath. So just because it's in the list with the other ceremonial sabbaths doesn't mean that it was a ceremonial sabbath.'

Here is a expansive explanation..

"Writing to the believers in Colossae, Paul cautioned, "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, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ" (Col. 2:16, 17).1

Many have concluded that the "sabbath" in this passage refers to the seventh day and that this day is no longer binding upon Christians.2 More recently, those promoting the Levitical festivals have similarly claimed that Colossians 2:16 deals with the weekly Sabbath, but that it should be observed together with the feasts and new moons. Seventh-day Adventists, however, have generally maintained that the context shows that this refers to the ceremonial sabbaths. In the landmark Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Professor Kenneth Strand hinted at a structural approach to the "feast, new moon, sabbath" trilogy: "It is also possible that Paul was using the common literary device of inverted parallelism [i.e., a chiasm], thus moving from annual to monthly and then back again to annual festivals"3—thus affirming the ceremonial sabbath view of Adventism. Where does the weight of biblical evidence lie?

Apparently, while Paul was in prison in Rome,4 Epaphras visited him (Philem. 23), informing him of the spiritual growth of the Colossian church (Col. 1:3–8; 2:5) as well as of the heretical teachings making inroads there (Col. 2:1–23).

This heresy is nowhere identified, so dozens of theories regarding it have been proposed.5 However, since at least 1966, scholars have concluded that "it is no longer fitting to discuss a possible influence of 'Gnosticism' upon the Colossian Religion or its refutation."6 In recent decades, serious Bible scholars, focusing on the scriptural text, have concluded that the challenge in Colossae had to do with "thought patterns with which Paul was very much at home—that is, some form of Jewish spirituality rather than Gnostic speculation or mystery cult initiation."7

The major theological thrust of this epistle is a correct view of Christ—"the visible manifestation of the invisible God"8 (Col. 1:15)—a Christology cogently related to salvation (Col. 1:13, 14; cf. 2:11–15), with profound implications for ethical living (Col. 3:4–4:6). The single great message of Colossians may thus be summed up in the declaration, "Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us" (Col. 3:11, NLT).9 Astutely, Charles Talbert noted that "it is against the background of this salvific narrative that the arguments of the Colossian letter unfold."10

Analyzing the structure of Colossians 2
Colossians 2:16 begins with "therefore" (KJV, RSV), indicating that the caution being sounded arises from what has been outlined earlier;11 and that, as commentators acknowledge, "verses 12 and 13 are central to the appeal of the letter."12

Ian Thomson has demonstrated that these two verses are the peak of a chiasm that extends throughout most of Colossians 2 (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Colossians 2 Chiasm

Introduction: 2:6 "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him"

A 2:7 "Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith"

B 2:8 "Beware lest anyone cheat you . . . not according to Christ"

C 2:9 "In Him dwells . . . the Godhead bodily;" 10a "You are complete in Him"

D. 2:10b "Who is the head of all principality and power"

E 2:11 "Circumcised with the circumcision made without hands"

F 2:12 "Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised"

F1 2:13 "Dead in your transgressions . . . He made you alive together with Him"13

E1 2:14 "Wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us"

D1 2:15 "Having disarmed principalities and powers"

C1 2:16 "Let no one pass judgment;" 17 "But the body is Christ's"14

B1 2:18 "Let no one cheat you;" 19a "Not holding fast to the Head"

A1 2:19b "Nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows"15

By recognizing "that chiasmus pervades Colossians"16 and "by appreciating the divisions and development of these thoughts within this significant letter, one may follow Paul's thought with added clarity."17

Interpreting the cheirographon tois dogmasin

The above chiastic structure reveals that "the handwriting of requirements" (of v. 14, NKJV) corresponds linguistically to "the circumcision made without hands" (of v. 11).18 Thus, it is preferable to formally translate cheirographon as a literal "handwriting" or its equivalent;19 and that structurally and contextually, this "written code, with its regulations" (NIV) echoes the ceremonial regulation of circumcision.

This unique term cheirographon is immediately qualified by tois dogmasin. Since written by the same author, covering similar issues, and sent to recipients of the same region, some have concluded that the "dogmasin" in Ephesians 2:15 sheds light on Colossians 2:14,20 thus making "reference to the Mosaic Law."21 Contemporaneously, Josephus and Philo likewise used dogma for Mosaic Law.22 Several scholars concur,23 noting that this is supported by most of the Greek church fathers and "is grammatically without problems."24

Though he frequently employed nomos for Old Testament law, Paul apparently did not use it here, so as (a) to avoid the impression that the entire Mosaic Law had been abrogated; and (b) to focus attention directly on the ceremonial law25—elements of which are listed in 2:16.26 As David Pao concludes in his 2012 exegetical commentary, "Even though a strict identification with the Mosaic Torah cannot be made," the cheirographon "should be understood in relation to the Mosaic law."27

Colossians 2:14 has been recently recognized as "one of the most vivid descriptions in the New Testament of what happened when Jesus died."28 "He [i.e., Christ] forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross" (Col. 2:13b, 14, NIV). John Heil observed that "the metaphor is convoluted, but presumably reflects again the idea of Christ's death as a sin offering."29 In brief, by formulating this daring metaphor,30 Paul directly connected forgiveness through Christ (v. 13b) to the "written code, with its regulations" (v. 14), which had required sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins, as well as to the death of Christ, by which these ritual requirements were "canceled" (Greek: exaleipsas, i.e., "abolishing a law"31). By His death, Christ consummated the ritual system—He "has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross" (Col. 2:14, HCSB). In Ellen White's words, "The ceremonial system was made up of symbols pointing to Christ. . . . It is this law that Christ 'took . . . out of the way, nailing it to His cross.' Colossians 2:14."32 These "regulations" that "stood opposed to us" allude to Old Testament laws that were " 'a witness against you' " (Deut. 31:26, NKJV),33 which Peter called a " 'yoke,' " " 'which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear' " (Acts 15:10, NKJV).34

Fittingly employing a Christological hermeneutic, Seventh-day Adventists Believe . . . summarizes, "At the death of Christ the jurisdiction of ceremonial law came to an end. His atoning sacrifice provided forgiveness for all sins. This act 'wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross' (Col. 2:14; cf. Deut. 31:26)."35 Verse 15 then reveals, as Dermot McDonald notes, "Christ the crucified is Lord; and all the hostile powers of the universe have become subjected to him. In Christ's cross the demonic hosts of evil have met their Conqueror."36 With this background, we can now proceed to verse 16, which begins, "So let no one judge you in food or in drink" (NKJV).

Reflecting upon "judge," food and drink"
Colossians 1:21, 22, 27, and 2:13 give the distinct impression that the Colossian church was predominantly Gentile, though Jews were certainly present37 and apparently formed "a significant Jewish element within the church,"38 for history records that "Colossae had a significant Jewish population."39 Based on similarities with Galatians,40several interpreters have concluded that the Colossian "heretics" were Jews or Judaizers,41 though chapter 2:21 suggests that the restrictions proposed went far beyond the Jewish law.42 David Garland states, "Newly formed Gentile Christians in Colossae are being badgered about their faith by contentious Jews"43 and were "being called upon to observe times and seasons as somehow necessary for their salvation."44

Paul's counsel is strong: "Let no one, then, judge you" (YLT). The word judge (krinetō) contextually means to "pass unfavorable judgment upon."45 As the New Living Translation has paraphrased it: "So don't let anyone condemn you for . . . not celebrating certain holy days."46

Before considering the terms feast, new moon, sabbath, a comment needs to be made regarding the "food and drink." While brōsis and posis may designate "eating" and "drinking," they are better rendered contextually with the nouns "food" and "drink," as in formal translations (ESV, NAB, NASB, NKJV, NRSV, etc.).47 Since the "food and drink come in the context of circumcision and the observance of special days,"48 it appears "these words doubtless refer to the meal and drink offerings presented by the Israelites."49" ... No “rest” for the “Sabbath” of Colossians 2:16: A structural-syntactical- semantic study