Daily Lesson for Wednesday 4th of March 2026
Read Colossians 2:16-19. What Jewish-Christian practices are highlighted here by Paul?
To this day, scholars do not agree on exactly what the issues were that Paul was addressing here. What we can be sure of is that Paul’s epistle itself provides quite a bit of information on what seems to have been a Jewish-Christian divisive influence on this predominantly Gentile church (Colossians 2:13). That is, the Jewish believers were pushing things that were not necessary for the members to follow.
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Clearly, Colossians 2:16 lists a number of regular Jewish practices that were apparently continued among some Jewish converts to Christianity. But even the elements in Colossians 2:18 fit the same context. Jesus criticized pretensions to humility among the religious leaders (for example, Matthew 6:1,5,7,16). From the scrolls of Qumran, we learn that angels featured prominently in some Jewish conceptions of worship. So, the problems that Paul was confronting in Colossae were most likely similar to those he confronted elsewhere.
Since Colossians 2:16 is so often misunderstood, it is important to consider it in greater detail. Notice these points:
Paul’s use of “therefore” (ESV) signals that this is a conclusion drawn from what he has already said. Previously, the need for literal circumcision was dismissed because it is the inward change of the heart that matters (Colossians 2:11-15).
“Food and drink” refer to the meal and drink offerings that the Israelites brought to the temple.
The specification of “a festival or a new moon or sabbaths” (Colossians 2:16, NKJV) apparently alludes to Hosea 2:11, where the same sequence of ceremonial days are referred to, which includes ceremonial sabbaths (see, for example, Leviticus 23:11,24,32).
Crucial to our understanding of this verse is Paul’s own interpretation: that these “are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Colossians 2:17, NKJV). These ceremonial days, like the sacrifices, pointed to the work of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Corinthians 15:23). The seventh-day Sabbath, in contrast, was instituted in Eden, before sin, and long before the ceremonial sacrifices of the sanctuary were adopted; therefore, it was not a shadow to be done away with after the Cross.
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Although the seventh-day Sabbath is not at issue here, how might you apply Paul’s counsel about not passing judgment on others? |
