Colossians 2:16-23

Colossians 2:16-23    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.  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.  He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.  Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle!  Do not taste!  Do not touch!”?  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.  Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence (NIV).

   Teaching some students one Sunday as a youth pastor years ago, I read the Bible passage from Leviticus 11:9-12 which prohibits the eating of any sea creature which does not have fins or scales.  Then I asked one question: “Would you be sinning if you went and had shrimp at the local seafood restaurant after church?”  Then we had a big discussion which I thought was great.  Since this passage seems to contradict the Mosaic Law, I ask that question again now.
   God has always required people to obey Him, starting with Adam and Eve, yet without help from Jesus people were unable.  The Mosaic covenant was a covenant made by God with the Israelites, with Moses as the mediator.  No other people or nations were involved.  The Law within the covenant involved laws of various natures; moral, sacrificial, food, and civil.  Many Israelites worked to follow the Law, and many Israelites delighted in the Law, but none were able to perfectly obey.  Yet God did not give up on them.  Actually, He was using the Mosaic covenant all along to lead Jewish people, and all people, to the New Covenant.
   Foreshadowing of what God was going to do by the Messiah in the New Covenant was accomplished within the Mosaic covenant, and in other manners in the Old Testament, which was a manner of preparation.  For example, the Mosaic Law required a variety of animal sacrifices in a given year.  The fulfillment of all that animal slaughter was with Christ.  Animal sacrifices foreshadowed the eternal sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.
   The fulfillment of the entire Mosaic Law, which Jesus even furthered, was done by His life, His atoning death on the cross, and by His resurrection from the dead.  Now people of any nation can be obedient, because a believer in Jesus is justified and indwelled by the Holy Spirit who empowers a person to do good.  Moral laws, taught and affirmed by Jesus, still stand, and are possible for the follower of Jesus.  However followers of Jesus, including Jewish followers, are no longer restrained by the sacrificial laws, food laws, or civil laws of the Mosaic Law.  If you want to eat shrimp, you can, and will not be sinning.  We are to be following the teachings of Jesus!
   For Christians at Colossae, a number of whom were Jewish, it was hard for them to realize they did not have to follow the sacrificial, food, or civil laws of the Mosaic Law any longer.  For example, the Sabbath, a Saturday, was a day of worship and rest engrained in the Jewish culture.  Christians skipping synagogue or Christians doing something like laundry on Saturdays were seen by some other Christians as sinners.  Yet Paul is teaching they were not.  He is saying what is key is not when you worship, rather who you are worshiping.  Paul is teaching the focus needs to shift to Christ.
   I add many Christians started worshiping on Sunday rather than the Sabbath since it was the day Jesus was raised from the dead.  Once the synagogue was no longer a place where Christians were welcomed, they started corporately worshiping at the crack of dawn on a Sunday before the workday began.
   Regarding the worship of angels, Paul is stating what was strongly illustrated in the book of Revelation.  In the inspired vision of John, twice he started to worship an angel, and twice the angel rebuked him and proclaimed only God is to be worshiped!
   Lastly, Paul talks about the prohibitions which are “human commands and teachings.”  Living in the U.S.A. in this day and age, it is hard for me to completely grasp this verse.  For example, in recent years there is a swelling of states which have legalized a certain drug.  But having studied World Religions, I know many other cultures have a number of restrictions concerning diet and ceremonies which are considered religious and sacred.  It was hard for Christians who had previously been influenced by false religious traditions to give up those practices.
   When I was a young Christian, I went on a church wide retreat one October weekend.  I liked the humble speaker who was always brief in his talks.  One session he stated how the heart is the core of a person, and the place where a person initiates decisions.  Following Jesus involves desiring in your heart to do the will of God, and then living by His love to be enabled.  No need to do the will of God because you have to.  No need to do the will of God because you are trying to get some reward.  No need to do the will of God to impress other people.  You can do the will of God because you love Jesus.
Hunter Irvine