Does Colossians 2:14–17 prove that the Sabbath is made obsolete, and therefore, no longer relevant for Christians to observe?
First let’s look at the text in question:
“Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:14–17
By examining the contextual clues within these verses, we can determine that the seventh-day, weekly Sabbath is still very important today. Consider verse 14 (emphasis supplied throughout):
“Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14
This verse is the foundational text that helps us determine the proper interpretation for the following verses. Notice that Paul writes about a “handwriting of requirements” (translated “ordinances” in the King James Version of the Bible). We know immediately that this verse is not referring to the Ten Commandments, because those were written by the finger of God on tablets of stone. Instead, we’ll see in a moment that there were a specific set of writings separate from the Ten Commandments that were written by hand.
But notice the next contextual clue: Verse 14 says that this handwriting “was against us.” Were the Ten Commandments meant to be against God’s people? Certainly not! However, there are a specific set of writings that the Bible says were “against” the children of Israel.
Consider the following texts:
“And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.” Deuteronomy 31:24–26 (KJV)
Notice that these writings were written by the hand of Moses in a book. This is drastically different from the Ten Commandments, which were written by God’s finger on stone.
Next, notice that this book of the law was placed in a side compartment of the Ark, and not inside the Ark. Only God’s Law was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant.
And finally, you can clearly see that this book of the law was to be a witness “against” the people. Again, this is drastically different from the Ten Commandment Law of God, which the Bible describes as fulfilling the love of God, and not to be considered “burdensome” (1 John 5:3).
So, after careful investigation, it can be determined that the “handwriting of requirement” in Colossians 2:14 is none other than the ceremonial laws of Moses, and not the Ten Commandment Law. This leads us to conclude that any negative context found within this passage of Colossians 2 cannot—and should not—be applied to God’s Ten Commandment Law.
The Bible clearly makes a distinction between the two laws:
“And I will not make the feet of Israel wander anymore from the land which I gave their fathers—only if they are careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the law that My servant Moses commanded them.” 2 Kings 21:8
“We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.” Daniel 9:10–11
The Bible makes a clear distinction between the two laws in these texts. One Law was eternal, the other law was temporary. The law of Moses was added because the children of Israel refused to obey the Ten Commandments (Daniel 9:11). The “handwriting of requirements” in Colossians 2 falls clearly into the temporary category (the law of Moses) as we continue to read through the next three verses:
“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Colossians 2:15–17
Verse 15 clearly establishes that these particular requirements were conquered by Christ. He overcame them by “triumphing over them.” What were these requirements? Verse 16 states that they had to do with festivals, new moons, and sabbaths (plural). All of these are ceremonial, and deal with the temporary law of Moses.
The Hebrew festivals were determined by lunar cycles (new moons) and required lots of ceremonial offerings, such as food and drink offerings (Leviticus 23:13–14). Also, these ceremonial festivals were considered holy days of rest (sabbaths) and could often fall on any day of the week, according to the Jewish yearly cycle.
However, these ceremonial sabbaths were separate, and not to be confused with the seventh-day weekly Sabbath that God commanded to be kept holy in the Ten Commandments. In fact, toward the end of Leviticus 23, God makes a clear distinction between theses ceremonial sabbaths and the “Sabbaths of the Lord.” Look at these verses:
“These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day—besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:37–38
Even the translators understood this difference between the holy days when they applied a lowercase “s” to the word “sabbaths” in verse 16. Not in all, but in most cases throughout Scripture, the seventh-day weekly Sabbath is spelled with an uppercase “S” to communicate importance, authority, and significance (Leviticus 23:38).
We will also notice that the central issue in Colossians 2:14–17 is judgment. Colossians 2:16 says let no one “judge you” in any of these things. Nowhere in this passage does Paul say that the Sabbath is done away with, or that it is no longer to be observed. He simply states that no one is to be judged over whether or not they choose to participate in observance of the ceremonial law that Christ fulfilled.
Finally, verse 17 records that all of these things are “a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” The ceremonial festivals foreshadowed the work Christ would do to fulfill these temporary symbols. They pointed forward to the day that He would come to set us free from the sin that was against Him.
We must remember that sin is transgression of God’s Ten Commandment Law (1 John 3:4). Israel agreed to a covenant with God in Exodus 19:3–8. What was this covenant based on? The very next chapter—Exodus 20—is the verbal record of the Ten Commandments. The nation of Israel agreed to honor God by obeying His Law. But because they didn’t honor God’s Law, the law of Moses was given as a witness against them until Jesus would come and fulfill its requirements (Deuteronomy 31:24–28; Colossians 2:14).
The seventh-day weekly Sabbath did not point forward, but backward to Creation. The Lord’s Sabbath was a memorial for Creation and established for all mankind (Mark 2:27).
In conclusion, Colossians 2:14–17 does not undermine the fourth commandment of the Law of God, but rather projects a beautiful picture of the sacrificial, conquering work of Christ to triumph over the laws of man, so we might be set free forever.