Does Colossians 2:16-17 really teach that the 7th day Sabbath was merely a shadow and should no longer be observed?

Colossians 2:16-17 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”

Does this passage teach that no one is to judge another regarding what day they choose to observe, or not observe, the Sabbath? Does this passage give us liberty to omit the 7^th day Sabbath exchanging it for Sunday? Does it give us permission to omit a Sabbath all together? Does it really say that the Sabbath was only a shadow of Christ and therefore obsolete now that He has come? I plan on answering all of these questions in this post.

Before we dive in to who the Colossians were I want to point out a few things that might not be apparent in our English translations of the Greek text in this passage. First, sometimes the translators add words that are not in the original Greek text. This is done in order to clarify what is being said. Sometimes this is good and sometimes it is bad. Translators are human and tend to use their human bias when translating the text. To account for this some translations put these added words in italics to let you know of the addition. In the case of this passage the word ‘mere’ is not in the text. This would be a case where the translator is entering his bias into the text. The translator believes that the feasts are simply a shadow of things to come and therefore obsolete. It makes the reader think that because the feasts are prophetic they are no longer important. Yes, the feasts are and were a shadow of future events. Yet, we have not come to the end yet. Some of what the feasts prophecy have not come to pass yet. Take the feast of trumpets; this is prophetic of the second coming of Yeshua. So to say that they are merely shadows of what is to come is misleading. Another note is the translation of the phrase ‘de soma Christos’. Here it is translated as ‘but the substance belongs to Christ’. Yet the literal translation is ‘but the body of Christ’. So a literal translation of the Greek would read as follows:

“Then do not let anyone judge you in eating, or in drinking, or in part of a feast, or the new moon, or of Sabbaths, which is a shadow of things coming, but the body of Messiah.”

Notice that it states in present tense that the feasts are shadows of what is coming, not what already came. Also notice that you could read this as stating that no one except those belonging to the body of Christ should judge you regarding your keeping of the feasts etc… It is the responsibility of believers to hold each other accountable to God’s laws. Can you now see how the bias of the translators has seeped into our thinking? This is one small example of why we need to be so careful to study diligently to know if what is being presented to us is Truth! Okay now let’s move on to the Colossians.

Let’s begin by digging a bit into whom the Colossians were, what was going on around them and the context of this passage. Colossae was a town in Asia Minor which had at one time been a major trade center; it seems the activity in the town was dying down in Paul’s day. The Colossian Christians were mainly Gentile converts (2:13) who were progressing in their new faith. They had been led to Yeshua through Epaphras (1:7). As we will see the Colossian church was being exposed to a heresy that threatened to deprive them of their spiritual blessings.

Colossians 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

Colossians 2:18 “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen,  inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,”

So what was this heresy that was being taught to the Colossian’s? Well, Paul expounds in a detailed description of this deception later on in the chapter.

Colossians 2:20-23 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (Which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”

When I read this passage as a mainstream Christian I never gave it much thought. I assumed that it was referring to Jewish traditions of Sabbath, new moon, kosher eating etc… I assumed “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” referred to the Jewish laws. But as I began to learn about what the Jewish people really taught a different picture came clear. The Sabbath and festivals are not a time to deprive yourself. They are a time to indulge, to eat, to touch and to celebrate. They are not restrictive; there is no self-abasement or mistreatment of the body. Yes, they eat Kosher, but does avoiding pig really equate to depriving yourself? Especially when you are scarfing down fried potato latkes and doughnuts? This idea didn’t make sense to me at all. So who were the false teachers among the Colossians? This is important to answer as it will tell us who is responsible for the judging of the Colossian believers. They are being judged regarding Sabbath, new moon, festivals etc… So what those doing the judging thought of these things is very relevant to what the passage teaches us about Sabbath observance. Does it make sense to say that the Jews were judging the Colossians for not keeping these observances? Well, not really considering the Jews were not involved in severe treatment of the body or self-abasement. Were the believers Jewish converts or Gentile converts? We already established them as Gentile converts primarily, so when the text states that they are going back to the elemental principles of the world. How do you go back to something that you never submitted to before conversion? So, if it wasn't the Jews judging them who were involved in the judging in Colossae?

I believe they were the Ascetics; a false sect that we know from history was circulating at that time. There are several references to the apparently wise teachings of men that involve self-abasement, severe treatment of the body, and not handling/tasting/touching, etc. Here is the definition of the doctrine.

Asceticism – the self-righteous mentality of severe fasting and punishing the body, abstaining from food, wine, sex, festivals, etc.

I think a more logical assumption from the context of this verse is that these self-righteous Ascetics, who were outside the assembly of believers and engrossed in the elementary principles of the outside world, were judging the Colossians for KEEPING the Sabbath, after all the Sabbath is known as a “festival” in the Scriptures of eating, drinking, and rest. I think the message Paul was conveying to the Colossians was something like this, 

“There are some who profess to be extra-holy because they have taken it upon themselves to abstain from food and drink and celebration of the festivals like the Sabbath. They do this thinking it is a way to "crucifying the flesh." Do not let these people judge you by their doctrines or discourage you from keeping the Sabbath, eating, drinking and being merry. Only those within the body of believers who are acting in love and from knowledge of God’s instructions should be holding you accountable in regards to these things.”

I know this is exactly opposite of what most Christians have been taught. But, we have to remember to look at scripture in context and not read into scripture our current culture. Just because the church today teaches that the festivals and Sabbath are a burden does not mean the leaders back then taught that. And in fact, the church today has no place stating that these things are a burden as most have never experienced and participated in them. If they had they would see what a blessing and indulgence these activities are. God has given us the Sabbath and all of His feasts in order to bless us, He has given them to us for pleasure, and they are fun, not a burden!

Shalom!