Shadows from Law; Reality in Christ—Colossians 2:16-17
“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. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17)
When I was young, I remember our pastor making an offhand comment about someone in the church. Their washing machine broke, the pastor said the reason why is because they were doing laundry on Sunday; God needed to get their attention. The tradition surrounding Sundays in this church (& many others) was attending in both the morning and evening and doing nothing the rest of the day. Work was not allowed. And by the comment made, I understood from a young age, that this rule was enforced.
This mentality is not unlike what was happening in the Colossian church. There was a large influence of both legalistic Jewish traditions and what later became known as Gnosticism. It created hybrid worship beliefs which Paul combats and corrects in this letter.
One thing that was happening is false teachers were imposing dietary regulations on the people, based on what was written in the Law of Moses. They were also pressuring them to observe special religious celebrations like the festival, the New Moon and Sabbaths. However given everything written in this letter about Jesus, the only conclusion to be reached is Christ is the center and focus of our worship. Because everything those things described pointed to Christ; the literal fulfillment.
