By
Dr. Sidney L. Davis, Jr
| 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: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. |
In verse 16, Paul comes to the primary point he wants to make. He tells the Colossians not to let anyone judge them in eating or drinking, or in the observance of festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths.
This passage is widely misunderstood because most scholars begin with the assumption that the Sabbath, New Moons, and Holy Days mentioned in verse 16 are among the false teachings Paul is combating. They assume that the Gentile Colossians were not keeping these days, but the heretics (oriental asceticists who are usually mis-labeled as Jewish Gnostics ) were trying to force them to observe them.
| First, Paul calls the false teachings the "tradition of men" (Col. 2:8) and the "commandments and doctrines of men" (Col. 2:22). Regardless of how Paul felt about the observances he lists in verse 16, being a Pharisee trained in the law (Acts 22:3; 23:6; 26:5; Phi. 3:4-6), he would not have called them the "traditions of men." They are clearly defined in the Torah (Exo. 16, 20; Lev. 23; Deu. 16) as divine commands the Israelites were to obey. |
Second, why would the heretics be trying to force upon the Colossians matters having to do with meat and drink in other words, encouraging them to feast while later on Paul identifies their heresy with asceticism Touch not, taste not, handle not in verse 21? There appears to be a logical inconsistency in interpreting what the real issue is in the Colossian controversy.
Now we're coming to the real question about the holy days. The mistaken, prevailing, historical misunderstanding of this text is that Paul is doing the judging... in the sense that he's telling the Colossians: Don't worry anymore about observing the annual, monthly or weekly Holy Days.
| However, there is a recent doctoral dissertation research completed by seven Biblical scholars who are working together in England at Cambridge University... dealing with this Sabbath/Sunday question [Donald A. Carson, ed., From Sabbath to the Lord's Day, A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation, Zondervan, 1982].There's a whole chapter dealing with Paul, the Sabbath and the Law and a whole section on Paul's preaching in Colossians 2:14-16. Amazingly, the authors who dealt with this passage confirm 100 percent with what Dr. Sam Bacchiocchi has already brought to our attention on what it means "let no man judge you." They say that the "one" doing the judging is not Paul, but false teachers! |
The Colossian heretics! They were doing the judging. In one sense, they were telling the Colossian believers how to eat, how to drink, and how to observe the annual, monthly and weekly days. They were telling the believers that if you really want to be saved, if you want to reach perfection, you have to eat in a certain way, drink in a certain way and observe the annual, monthly and weekly days in a certain way.
Paul says, let not anyone judge you, that is, dictate to you, how to eat, how to drink and how to observe the annual, monthly and weekly days. But, Paul is not doing the judging. The ones who are doing the judging are these false teachers. And Paul tells these false teachers to mind their own business. Let them not trouble you, because apparently what the Colossian Christians were doing was correct.
| When you condemn a perversion, that doesn't mean that you are condemning the principle. |
Modern Biblical scholarship is recognizing the heavy anti Semitic bias of the 15th century theologians from whom we have inherited the majority Christian view of this Colossians text These Biblical scholars and theologians conclude that that in this passage, Paul speaks approvingly of the five major practices: eating, drinking, observing festivals, new moons and Sabbaths.
| In the past, the majority view of this passage has been misunderstood as the apostle Paul condemning those five practices. Today, these Biblical scholars are now admitting "No, no, no. It's not a Pauline condemnation; it's a Pauline approbation".In other words Paul is approving the Colossian Gentile observance of the festival, new moons and the Sabbath! |
| Because of an anti-Jewish bias which can be traced back to the early Roman church, many scholars have missed the meaning of Paul's statement in these verses. For the false teachers to be judging the Colossians regarding the manner of observance of the Sabbath, New Moons, and Holy Days, they obviously had to be keeping them! |
The text shows that the false teachers were also condemning the Colossian Christians for their observance of the Sabbath, New Moons, and Holy Days. Their reasons for judging the Colossians in these matters goes hand in hand with their criticism of eating and drinking.First-century Jews as well as early Christians treated the Sabbath as a weekly FEAST day, and fasting was forbidden on the Sabbath. In his book From Sabbath To Sunday, Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi writes:
. . . For the Jews the Sabbath was anything but a day of fast or of mourning. Even the strictest Jewish sects objected to fasting on the Sabbath . . . That the early Christians adopted this Jewish custom is implied, for instance, by Augustine's rhetorical remark, when referring to the Sabbath, he says: "Did not the tradition of the elders prohibit fasting on the one hand, and command rest on the other? Further support can be seen in the opposition to the Sabbath fast by Christians in the East and in some important Western areas, such as Milan at the time of Ambrose (d. A.D. 397), and in certain churches and regions of North Africa (pp. 187, 188). Furthermore, during most of the annual festivals (with the exception of Atonement), God commanded his people to rejoice and enjoy food and drink (Deu. 14:23-26, Neh. 8:10,12).
Because of the view that Paul was condemning the observance of the Sabbath, New Moons, and Holy Days in verse 16, nearly all scholars have misunderstood verse 17. Most try to connect the first part of the verse ("which are a shadow of things to come ) with the last part ("but the body is of Christ ) to form a complete thought.
The literal translation of the Greek in the last part of verse 17 is but the body of Christ. In Greek, verses 16 and 17 say: Consequently, let no one judge you in eating or in drinking, or in the particulars of a festival or a new moon or sabbaths (which are a shadow of things to come) but the body of Christ. The phrase body of Christ should not be confusing, for Paul uses it several other times in the letter to the Colossians (1:18; 1:24; 2:19; 3:15), as well as in some of his other epistles (Rom., I Cor., and Eph.). In these instances it is a figurative reference to the Church:
| <4983> soma body |
| Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body <4983>, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. |
| Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's <4983> sake, which is the church: |
| Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body <4983> [is] of Christ. |
| Col 2:19 And not holding the Head, from which all the body <4983> by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. |
| Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body <4983>; and be ye thankful. |
Therefore, the phrase which are a shadow of things to come was intended by Paul to be a parenthetical statement. It was added to give the Colossians additional insight into the festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths; however, it was not necessary to complete the thought. Even if Paul had left that phrase out, his admonition would have been understandable:
"Let no one judge you in these matters . . . but the body of Christ. The word is being removed from the text as an added word by the translators. This is indicated by its being in italics.
Paul is plainly saying here that the Church was to be the Colossians' only guide on eating and drinking, as well as on Sabbath, new moon, and festival observances. They were not to let the false teachers (or anyone else) judge them with regard to these matters, which are only a shadow of the good things coming in the future (see also Heb. 9:11, 10:1).
This grant of power to the Church is not unique in the writings of Paul. While he clearly condemns Christians who judge one another in questionable matters (Rom. 14), Paul gave the Corinthian Church the power to judge and expel those brethren who were openly sinning (I Cor. 5, 6). When combined with the earlier admonitions to hold fast to the teachings they had received previously (Col. 1:23; 2:6, 7), verses 16 and 17 clearly show that Paul expected the Colossian Church as a whole to enforce the original true teachings brought to them by Epaphroditus (2:25).
| Those true teachings included the observance of the weekly and annual Sabbaths, new moons, and annual festivals. |
Paul says the annual Holy Days and the Sabbath are currently shadows of things to come. Paul does not say that they were shadows that were fulfilled at the coming of Christ. From this we know that the events they foreshadow have not been completed yet; therefore, the shadows still have relevance. Instead of doing away with God's Sabbath and the Holy Days, this passage of Scripture, when understood correctly, affirms them and shows that the Colossian Church was actually keeping them. |
It is not the LAW that Paul is focusing on here in Colossians, it is the FORGIVENESS of God and the completeness in Christ. We can today like the Colossian Christians find in the holy days of which the Sabbath is a part a continuing relevancy and meaning as we study and celebrate them in the body of Christ. |
