Colossians 2:13–18 (NRSV) — 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. 16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,
Introduction
Deadset, the barbie was a dog’s breakfast. The place was full of Bogans! Couldn’t wait to exit left stage. It was just a bunch of stupid bludgers standing around in budgie smugglers huggin’ bottles of Bundy and beer, and sheilas also drunk-as-a-skunk, playin’ silly buggers.[1]
Now I am sure most of you Aussie’s understood every word I said here. But put this conversation into the midst of a group of foreigners, and ‘I bet my money on a bob-tail nag’ none of them would get it!
This intro should clue you up to the notion that in Colossians 2 Paul is using language none of us is familiar with, and unless we do a bit of research, we too will be left out in the cold as to its meaning.
Let’s look at the special vocabulary in Colossians 2. Notice the repetition of certain key words – mystery, wisdom, knowledge. And there is at least one word, translated ‘has seen’ in verse 18b of the NIV, of which we have no clue to its meaning. Especially key phrases like ‘elemental spirits of the universe’ (another translation has ‘the basic principles of this world’), ‘hollow and deceptive philosophy’, ‘powers and authorities’ and ‘human tradition,’ should enlighten us that a particular and enigmatic subject matter is highlighted here. These words and phrases should put our minds on alert that we are dealing with a specific heresy here in Colossae.
Like all other cities of the Mediterranean world during Paul's time, numerous gods and goddesses were worshiped at Colossae.[2] Among these gods were Isis, Sarapis, the Ephesian Artemis, the Laodicean Zeus, Demeter, Men, Selene and Helios. Magical practices and astrological beliefs were deeply rooted in the coastal cities of Asia Minor. Often these gods were simply referred to as ‘angels,’ hence the negative reference by Paul to some Colossians worshipping angels in Col. 2:18,
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.” (NIV)
And the prize that Paul is talking about is found in Col. 3:4,
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Who in his right mind would want to jeopardize this prize?
The Problem at Colossae was Christ Plus Something Else
Paul could see a dangerous teaching was threatening the health and stability of the church in Colossae. We can’t be sure of the details of this heresy, but it appears that a group of people in the church were encouraging the rest of the church to join them in practices that were not a part of the apostolic teaching. It seems that a syncretistic understanding in which elements of pagan mystery initiation, Jewish ritual observances and magical practices, were being combined with the gospel. Paul was calling for a return to the purity of the gospel.
It is clear that most modern English translations struggle to translate the word for ‘has seen’ in the middle of verse 18, and we should see a connection here to mystery religion initiation practices. Paul warned the Colossian Christians:
"Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." (NIV)
Many years ago, Sir William Ramsay, a great authority on the geography and religions of Asia Minor, suggested that the Greek for ‘has seen’ here, which is exceedingly rare in all Greek literature, is a specialised word, a key term we need to understand in this context, and he suggested it refers to mystery religion initiation practices. Hence, Ramsay is suggesting the passage should read something more like,
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen while entering [the ‘mystery’], and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
This word occurs only here in the New Testament. Every translator has had difficulty determining the exact meaning of it in context. Literally, the phrase reads, "what he had seen, entering.”[3] Some have tried to explain the word as "entering" in the sense of "investigating" or "explaining." Ramsay based his interpretation on the appearance of the word in a series of religious inscriptions found just a few years earlier in a cultic sanctuary. The word appeared several times and seemed to refer to the climax of the initiation rites to the mysteries of the god Apollo at his temple at Claros on the west coast of Asia Minor.[4]
When Paul warns in verse 16 not to allow anyone to place upon them ritual demands in the realm of food and drink or with regard to religious festivals, new moons and sabbaths (2:16), he is almost certainly referring to something to do with these mystery practices. Paul also scorned a prohibiting phrase that the adherents of this teaching had apparently cited: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!" (2:21). The rival teaching thus appeared to have elements from the mystery religions, magical practices and even Jewish beliefs (festivals, new moons, sabbaths). It was unequivocally a syncretistic "philosophy" – Christianity plus something else.[5]
By giving credence to the "philosophy," the Colossians were transferring their allegiance from Christ and giving it to the principalities and powers. They dreaded the influence of earthly spirits who could injure them in day-to-day life, the astral spirits who controlled their destiny, and the underworld spirits who could torment them in the life hereafter. Could Christ truly protect them from those powers? They wondered and were apprehensive. Why take chances? Why not worship Christ and the other gods.[6]
Well Paul had his answer to that in Colossians 2:13-15
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 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. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[7]
The ‘principalities and powers’ were gutted of their potency by Christ’s triumphant manifestation on the cross for us. The key battle of the war was over.
The reference to sabbaths in Colossians 2:16
It should be clear from a cursive reading of verse 16 that Paul is not making the NT’s opening assault suggesting the abrogation of Sabbath observance for the believing Christian community, as some like to think. If the Sabbath was meant to end as a practice after Christ’s death, why would the NT not contain some mention that this was to happen, long before this? Christ did not mention any such thing, and Paul’s mention of sabbath days here is some thirty years after the death of Christ![8] If the Sabbath were to be abrogated after Christ’s death on the cross, do you think Paul would wait 30 years to open the dialogue on the subject? And in such a secondary way?
Firstly, we have to understand that weekly Sabbath observance in obedience to the fourth commandment was deeply integral to Judaism. It was indelibly tattooed into the skin of Jewish history, tradition and theological understanding, in a similar way that the Judaic Covenant saying, ‘I will be their God and they will be my people,’ was.
The weekly Sabbath was tattooed into the skin of Judaism!
The Sabbath was first linked in Genesis to the creator, eons before Moses walked the earth, and long before Abraham was called to be the progenitor of the people of Israel. It was only secondarily linked to Judaism at the time of the giving of the Law through Moses, and there again it was a reiteration and commemoration of the creation event.
The Sabbath was integral with OT religion long before Judaism was founded.
Secondly, if the Sabbath were to be abolished in any way at all for believers in Christ, it would have taken on all the hallmarks of a holy war within Judaism and the NT after its announcement. But there is no announcement to this effect in the NT! There is silence in the NT and elsewhere in Judaism on this. Representing such a monumental change in teaching and tradition within Judaic Christianity, it would most certainly have had to be announced by Jesus himself – but there is a deafening silence from Jesus on this issue. If Jesus gave the Law to Israel at Sinai, as we all believe, then surely Jesus would have to announce the demise of the Sabbath himself in the New Testament.
So, what do you think, was it left to Paul to make a cryptic, passing reference that believers were not to be judged by a third party over some sort of sabbath observance, to usher in the opening salvo against the keeping of the Sabbath henceforth? I don’t think so!
If Jesus or Paul had suggested that the keeping of the Sabbath was to be abolished from here on in, all hell would have broken loose within Judaism and Judaic Christianity. It would have unleashed a debate within Judaic Christianity which would have dominated and permeated debate within the New Testament, in a much bigger way than the debate on circumcision had. Let’s briefly look at the debate over circumcision in the NT.
The Debate over Circumcision in the NT
I hope you appreciate how big an issue the debate about circumcision was within the New Testament. This debate was a dominant theme right through the NT, and yet circumcision did not come near to the significance of the Sabbath.
In approximately 50 A.D., around 17 years after the crucifixion of Christ, an important church council was called and held in Jerusalem. This council was necessitated by the rapid evangelization of the Gentiles by Paul and Barnabas. These two came together with Peter, James and John to decide what were the initial and essential practices that should apply to the newly converted gentiles.
The most important rule laid down was that males were no longer required to be circumcised from this time on. Circumcision was considered repulsive in the Greco-Roman world during this period, and since it was deemed not to be an essential part of Christian faith, this stipulation was relaxed, to make it much easier for gentiles to enter the faith community. However, this rule was not accepted universally in Christian circles of the time, and so a heated debate ensued throughout Christendom over it.
We see evidence of this in Acts 15, which is the record of the Jerusalem Council, and in,
Galatians 5:6 (NRSV) — 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.
Your attitude to circumcision became a marker of how you understood salvation. Some believed you must be circumcised and keep the entire Judaic Law to enter the faith community, that is, you must keep the whole Law to be saved. The other side, championed by Paul, said that baptism took the place of circumcision and that having faith in Christ’s sacrifice and righteous life was how you obtained salvation. This view is outlined in,
Romans 2:28–29 (NRSV) — 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. 29 Rather, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart—it is spiritual and not literal. Such a person receives praise not from others but from God.
And finally, here in Colossians 2:11-12 (NIV) we read,
11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Here Paul suggests that the circumcision we go through is one of cutting away our sinful nature, and that baptism is the new circumcision. The visualisation is that in baptism Christ washes away our sinful nature.
Here we can see hints of the huge debate that followed the abrogation of circumcision in Christianity. So where is the much greater debate associated with the supposed abrogation of Sabbath observance within Christianity?
It is simply not there, there is a deafening silence on it in the NT.
It must be acknowledged that trying to discover the precise nature of the ‘Colossian heresy’ is quite speculative, and therefore the answer to that question is not necessarily essential or germane to an understanding of the meaning of “sabbath” in Colossians 2:16.
However, the OT usage of ‘shabat,’ and the likelihood that Paul is looking back to this usage is strong evidence as to the meaning here in Colossians. The evidence is strong that the Old Testament prophets consistently surrounded the word ‘shabat’ with definitive syntactical and linguistic markers that enable the reader to quickly recognise which type of ‘Sabbath’ is being indicated.
In 94 instances where ‘shabat’ is used in the Old Testament, the immediate and broader contexts require that the word be interpreted as the seventh-day Sabbath. In the remaining seventeen cases, ‘shabat’ obviously refers to something other than the weekly Sabbath of the fourth commandment. That is, it is used to indicate ceremonial sabbaths, or to identify ‘weeks’.
When we turn to the NT, we find that of the sixty-nine appearances of the word “sabbath” in the New Testament (‘sabbaton’ or ‘sabbata’ in Gk.), fifty-nine of these uses are universally recognised by Greek scholars as unmistakably referring to the weekly Sabbath. Of the remaining ten occurrences, nine are rightly rendered “week,” based on definitive linguistic markers as well as clear contextual factors.
Examination of the one other instance of “sabbath” is our focus here in Colossians 2:16, and it reveals the following: the appearance of this ‘sabbata’ lacked all of the well-recognised linguistic links and additional contextual indicators for rendering it either as the seventh-day Sabbath or as a week, thus implying that it refers to something else. This suggests that immediate and broader contexts are crucial in determining whether ‘sabbata’ here refers to ceremonial sabbaths or something else.
In the Old Testament, the freestanding Hebrew term ‘shabat’ (or its derivative), with its Greek equivalent ‘sabbata’, was at times used to designate the Day of trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Sabbatical Years – all elements of the ancient Jewish calendar of festivals. Thus, the claim that the word “sabbath” by itself is never used in the Bible to refer to a ceremonial or festival sabbath is invalid.
So the Hebrew ‘shabat’, or the Greek word ‘sabbata’, is sometimes used to designate a particular three of the seven Jewish yearly calendar feasts.
However, now we will look at another Hebrew term and its Greek equivalent and see that these always referred to a different set of these yearly festivals. The Hebrew term ‘hag’ (when referring to the ceremonial calendar) is used to denote only the three pilgrim feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Similarly, its Greek equivalent ‘heorte’ is used to identify these same joyous occasions. So, you see that these terms refer to a different collection of yearly festivals.
I know this is getting a bit complicated, but bear with me on this, because it becomes important for correctly understanding Paul here in Colossians 2:16. The important thing to notice is that the Hebrew ‘hag’ and the Greek ‘heorte’ are never used to indicate Trumpets, Atonement, or Sabbatical Years. These three religious seasons are identified in Hebrew as ‘shabbat’ (or its derivative), and in Greek as ‘sabbata’, which is the term used in Colossians 2:16.
It becomes clear then, that the writer of Colossians evidently needed to use both ‘heorte’, referencing the three joyous feasts and ‘sabbata’, referencing the three additional feasts, if he wanted to cover all the significant ceremonial occasions of the Jewish yearly calendar.
Colossians 2:16–17 (NRSV) — 16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance (reality) belongs to Christ.
So Paul, in using festivals and sabbaths in the one sentence (and new moons) is covering all the significant ceremonial occasions of the Jewish yearly calendar, and he is saying that the entirety of the ceremonial feasts of the Jewish calendar is “a shadow of things to come, but the reality is Christ.” Paul’s message is that no one was to judge them if they chose not to observe these “festivals, new moons or sabbaths.”
Hebrews 9 & 10 and the OT
If we look for the New Testament passage that comes closest to the general topic that Paul is targeting here, we won’t do better than Hebrews 9 and 10, written by a different author.
Paul is saying in Colossians that the ritual law consisted of types and ceremonies that foreshadowed the atoning work of Christ, and had no more function after Christ came as the real Sacrifice, to which the shadow points (v. 17). The book of Hebrews points to this same reality.[10]
Heb 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. (NIV)
The parallels between the language of Col 2:16-17 and that of Heb 9 and 10 are too clear to be mistaken regarding the meaning. Given the similar context, the food and drink—or eating and drinking—mentioned in Col 2:16 should probably be understood as essentially the same food and drink referred to in Heb 9:10. If so, they refer to rituals involving food and drink that were associated with the old ritual law, “external regulations applying until the time of the new order.” (Heb 9:10)
The “shadows of coming things” in Col 2:17 are the same sacrifices and rituals of the sanctuary which pertain to that ritual law which is “a shadow of the good things that are coming” in Heb 10:1. The key to understanding these references in Colossians 2 and Hebrews 9 and 10 is surely found in the OT references to which they allude. It is surely also no coincidence that the three elements found in Col 2:16 appear together in the same context—and in the same sequence—in,
Ezek 45:17 “Then it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel.”
It is clear from this passage that the feasts, new moons, and sabbaths were the times when these various offerings were to be made. …The focus is on ritual offerings made on special days. In order to see that this is not just a coincidental arrangement of references to these elements from Col 2:16, we need to look at the broader evidence available. The most important parallel, the one after which most of the many other OT passages[11] are modelled, is Num 28-29.
Numbers 28:9-10 …presents the burnt offerings, grain offering, and drink offering for the weekly Sabbath; 28:11-15 presents the burnt offering, grain offering, drink offering, and sin offering for “the beginnings of your months,” or new moon festivals; and 28:16–29:40 presents the burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, sin offerings, and peace offerings for the various annual festivals.[12]
All of these parallel OT passages serve to provide a precedent for understanding Paul’s use of the expression “a festival or a new moon or sabbaths” in Col 2:16 to be an obvious reference to the burnt offerings, which were offered at weekly, monthly, and yearly celebrations which were offered in the temple according to the Mosaic ritual law. The ritual offerings made on those days certainly were shadows of coming things – of Christ – and destined to disappear with the reality of his sacrifice.
The weekly Sabbath, on the other hand, was a memorial of creation (Gen 2:2-3; Exod 20:11; 31:17; Mark 2:27) rather than a shadow pointing forward to Christ, and was not tied to the sanctuary ritual.[13]
Summing Up
Evidently, some in the Colossian church were making a syncretistic religion of certain Judaic traditions together with ancient pagan religions or gods (often identified as ‘angels’), and Paul is telling them this is not on. Christ stands on his own, he does not need any additional help. Christ’s death is efficacious on its own, you don’t have to add to it certain food or drink customs, or any of the Old Testament calendar of festivals with their offerings.
After examining the contextual and linguistic evidence, coupled with the obvious OT parallel references, it appears the writer is saying that the entirety of the Jewish calendar of yearly feasts is pointing forward to, or foreshadowing, the reality, which is Christ, and the non-observance of these feasts cannot be used to condemn a believer because the reality has now arrived in Christ.
[1] Translation: ‘To be sure, the barbecue was a very badly organised event. There were many undesirable people there. I couldn’t wait to leave. A group of undesirable types were standing around in swimming briefs drinking rum and beer, and the women were just as drunk and behaving badly.’
[2] Clinton E. Arnold. Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul's Letters (Kindle edition) 1636-1640 (Note: this section relies on background material from this source)
[3] Greek, heoraken
[4] Clinton E. Arnold. Powers of Darkness: Principalities & Powers in Paul's Letters (Kindle edition) p1644-1654
[5] Ibid., 1668-1671
[6] Ibid., 1687-1690
[7] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Col 2:13–15). (1984). Zondervan.
[8] Colossians was written around 60-62 A.D.
[9] Some of this section of my article comes from: Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can’t Be Found in Colossians 2:16. Ron du Preez, Andrews University Press, 2008
[10] “Let No One Judge You”: Col 2:16-17 in Exegetical Perspective. Edwin Reynolds, Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 20/1-2 (2009):208-222. 2009.
[11] Cites: Neh 10:32-33; Hos 2:11; 1 Chr 23:30-31; 2 Chr 2:4; 2 Chr 8:12-13; 2 Chr 31:3, as well as Isa 1:13-14.
[12] “Let No One Judge You”: Col 2:16-17 in Exegetical Perspective. Edwin Reynolds, Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 20/1-2 (2009):208-222. 2009.
[13] Isa 66:18 prophetically presents both the weekly Sabbath and the new moon celebration as continuing to function as regular worship practises even in the new earth, showing that it was not God’s intention that the days themselves be discontinued for worship but only the ceremonial activities held on those days that pointed forward to the coming of Messiah.
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