Are you following all 600+ commands of the Law?
Here's' what the scripture says:
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy
the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Pretty Straight Forward.
I agree with it as written.
Do you?
If you do, please tell us which you are doing in your life?
Breaking the least of the 600+ commands (Jots & Tittles) of the Law, or practicing, upholding and teaching them?
Nearly 1/2 of the Law of Moses consists in Temple practices/rituals/Levitical duties.
The Law of Moses does not consist in reading a book. It consists in strict OBSERVANCE.
Here' your conundrum:
There is no way to observe the Law of Moses and hasn't been since AD 70.
And yet the Apostles teach plainly that the Mosaic observance of the Jewish Saturday Sabbath was no longer required of people (Col 2:15-17; Acts 15:5-11, 24-29).
The Saturday Sabbath is not erased, but
Colossians 2:15-17 explicitly says it was no longer binding once Christ came (as is also true of animal sacrifice, and physical circumcision) :
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[e]
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
So already in the New Testament era you see the apostles teaching men to shift away from mandatory observances of the Mosaic ceremonial practices (Gal 5:1-6; Acts 15:5-11, 24-29).
If the Apostles of Jesus Christ teach that I am not to let anyone judge me with regard to a Sabbath day, that it was but a mere shadow, and the REAL Sabbath "is found in Christ", I'm inclined to accept their testimony and act appropriately.
Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
This is reference to the 10 Commandments God Law written in stone. Not some of the ceremonial practices.
Regarding Colossians 2:15-17
Paul declares that believers should not be judged “with regard” to a feast, or new moon, or Sabbath. The phrase “with regard” translates the Greek
en merei, dative of the noun
meros. The noun means “a part, a piece, a portion,” as opposed to a whole; one element out of many, one aspect out of a whole. Space does not permit a full word study, but suffice it to say that in more than 150 occurrences in the New Testament and the Greek translation of the Old Testament this is the overwhelming use.3 When the singular
meros is followed by genitive substantive(s), as in
Colossians 2:16, the substantive(s) designate the whole, out of which
meros constitutes just one part.
Paul’s words therefore should be translated: “Let no one judge you in food or drink,
or in a part of a feast, or new moon, or Sabbaths. These are a shadow of the things that were to come.” Paul is interested, not in the feasts themselves, but only in one part of the festal calendar. What we need to determine is what this part is.
Most translations interpret the phrase
sõma tou Christou, “body of Christ,” of
Colossians 2:17 figuratively.4 However, a literal rendering fits better.
Throughout the epistle Paul places a strong emphasis on the physical body of Jesus. In
Colossians 1:22 he describes how Christ reconciled us “in his body of flesh by his death.” In
Colossians 2:9 the fullness of deity dwells in Christ “bodily,” and in verse 12 Paul explains how through baptism we participate in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In light of such texts it is contextually accurate to translate the “body of Christ” in verse 17 as a reference to the literal, physical body of Jesus. The sacrifices offered in the Temple were shadows of the sacrifice of Christ, and so the phrase “body of Christ” fits perfectly with our suggestion.
Old Testament Parallels
Scholars agree that in mentioning feast, new moon, and Sabbaths Paul alludes to any or all of eight Old Testament passages:
Numbers 28:1–29:40;
1 Chronicles 23:31;
2 Chronicals 2:4; 8:12, 13; 31:3;
Nehemiah 10:33;
Ezekiel 45:17; and
Hosea 2:11. Even a casual reading shows that the emphasis is not the feasts themselves, but the sacrifices associated with the feasts.
“. . . and whenever
burnt offerings were offered to the Lord on Sabbaths, new moons and feast days, according to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord” (
1 Chron. 23:31).
“Behold, I am about to build a house . . . for the burning of incense of sweet spices before him, and for the regular arrangement of the showbread, and for
burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the Lord our God” (
2 Chron. 2:4).
“Then Solomon offered up
burnt offerings to the Lord . . . according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Booths” (
2 Chron. 8:12,
13).
“The contribution of the king from his own possessions was for the
burnt offerings: the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts, as it is written in the Law of the Lord” (
2 Chron. 31:3).
“We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: for
the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God” (
Neh. 10:32,
33).
“It shall be the prince’s duty to furnish the
burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel” (
Eze. 45:17).
In
Hosea 2:11 sacrifices and offerings are not mentioned directly, but are implied in the context (
Hosea 2:11,
13;
3:4). All of the above texts derive from
Numbers 28:1–29:40, which contains a list of the different meat, grain, and drink offerings to be offered through the festal calendar of Israel.
Here is a question to ponder. If
all the Old Testament passages that parallel the calendric triplet “feast, new moon, Sabbaths” of
Colossians 2:16 deal primarily with the sacrifices and burnt offerings offered therein rather than the feasts themselves, is it not only natural to conclude that
Colossians 2:16 also deals with the same issues? Would it not be plausible to suggest that Paul is using the triplet as a catchphrase to direct attention to the relevant calendric Old Testament texts and their offertory lists? Indeed it is, but in case we still have questions, Paul provides further evidence.
4“Food or Drink”
Further confirmation for our suggestion comes from the phrase “food or drink,” which are also a “shadow” of the body of Christ. Some casually observe that this phrase refers to clean and unclean foods and conclude that Old Testament food prohibitions are no longer valid. More insightful commentators note that while the Old Testament did have several food prohibitions, it did not contain drink prohibitions, with the exception of the use of wine by officiating priests (
Lev. 10:9). That is not to say that the Old Testament condones the use of alcoholic beverages. Quite the contrary, it warns strongly against its dangers. But the truth is there was no specific law forbidding it. “Food or drink” therefore cannot refer to Old Testament food prohibitions. What then is implied in this phrase?
The answer is simple. The Old Testament offertory system included food and drink offerings. These are mentioned in
Nehemiah 10:33 and
Ezekiel 45:17 and repeatedly in
Numbers 28:1–29:40, three of the most important calendric texts quoted above, which, according to most scholars, stand behind
Colossians 2:16. Furthermore, in
Hebrews 9:10 food and drink appear again as part of the Old Testament sacrificial system.
Summarizing this section, Paul’s reference to “food or drink” does not fit Old Testament food prohibitions; but it fits perfectly our suggestion that Paul refers to Israel’s offertory and sacrificial system.
5
Hebrews 10:1-10
The last piece of evidence is
Hebrews 10:1-10. This passage bears a very close thematic and linguistic parallel to
Colossians 2:16,
17. It (a) mentions the physical “body of Jesus Christ” (
Heb. 10:10); (b) makes reference to the festal calendar of Israel (verses 1, 3) and the law in which the calendar was described (verses 1, 8); (c) contains (with
Heb. 8:5) the only other typological use in the New Testament of the word “shadow” (
Heb. 10:1); and (d) contains the exact same expression as in
Colossians 2:16, “shadow of . . . things that were to come” (
Heb. 10:1). And just as in
Colossians 2:16, where only part (
en merei) of the festal calendar is in view, likewise in
Hebrews 10:1 only aspects of the law of Moses (“the law has” as opposed to “the law is”) are a shadow. Given such impressive parallels,
Hebrews 10:1-10 is an invaluable benchmark against which to test any interpretation of
Colossians 2:16,
17. So what does
Hebrews 10:1-10 present?
Hebrews 10:1-10 is a prolonged contrast between the sacrificial system of the Old Testament and the physical body of Christ. The writer asserts two things: (a) the sacrifices were a “shadow” of the sacrifice of Jesus; (b) the sacrifice of Jesus abolishes the Old Testament sacrificial system (verse 9). It therefore tallies completely with our view that
Colossians 2:16,
17 refers to offerings and sacrifices, not the festal calendar as such.
Suggested Reconstruction
So what was the issue the Colossians were facing and Paul was trying to address? We know that Colossae had a strong Jewish presence. Jewish communities often attracted Gentiles, who either became full proselytes or became attached to the synagogue as God-fearers without fully converting.
Jews and Gentile sympathizers would often travel to Jerusalem for the major feasts of the Jewish calendar (
Acts 2:7-11) and offer the designated sin, peace, and food offerings. The merchants who congregated in the precincts of the Temple, twice expelled by Jesus, were there for the specific purpose of selling sacrificial commodities. In addition to sacrifices Jews had to pay annually a half shekel for the Temple and its sacrifices (
Neh. 10:32,
33;
Matt. 17:24-27).
As Jews and Gentile sympathizers converted to Christianity they could no longer support in good conscience the Temple sacrificial offerings. As such they would come under pressure: “Why do you no longer support the Temple and its sacrifices?” Paul therefore admonishes Christians that they should not allow themselves to come under such pressure. Jesus, the true sacrifice, had done away with the need for the Temple ceremonial system. While worship in the Temple continued (
Acts 3:1;
5:20;
21:26), participation in the offertory system was now redundant.
Bottom Line
Colossians 2:16,
17 neither abolishes nor establishes either the Sabbath or any other feast. It simply does not address their continuity or discontinuity. The five pieces of evidence outlined above demonstrate persuasively that the only thing the text establishes is that we no longer need to offer sacrifices, because our precious Savior Jesus Christ offered His body on the cross for us. That is good news indeed.
Taken from
Does Colossians 2:16, 17 Abolish the Sabbath?
