Misunderstandings of the Sabbath and Feasts: Colossians 2:16

Background of the Colossians 2:16 Misunderstanding

The Bible testifies that God’s people must keep the Sabbath day and the Feasts of God. However, some people who do not keep the Sabbath day and the annual Feasts but instead keep Sunday and other man-made rules, insist that the Sabbath and the Feasts were abolished. They insist this using various verses of the Bible, however, we will explore only one that is Collosians 2:16.

Colossians 2:16 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.

Who recorded the book of Collosians? It is the Apostle Paul. Does it mean Apostle Paul did not keep the Sabbath day but kept Sunday instead? No. The book of Collosians was recorded in AD 60 and there was no Sunday Service back then. Sunday worship only appeared in about AD 100. Therefore, Apostle Paul was not talking of Sunday service.

Which Religious Festival Was Apostle Paul Speaking Of?

When the Apostle Paul said “do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or wih regard to a religious festival”, he was speaking to the Christians. And “anyone” refers to the Jews who were judging the Christians because of the religious festivals.

Which religious festivals were the Jews judging the Christians with? They were the religious festivals belonging to the Law of Moses. First regarding food, the Jews still kept the law of food that God gave in the time of Moses of distinguishing clean and unclean food. The Christians however, ate all food except food sacrificed to idols, blood and the meat of strangled animals. Second, regarding the religious festival, the Jews kept the Sabbath day with 12 loaves of bread and a slaughtered lamb. The Christians however, worshipped in God in spirit and in truth.

Like this, the Jews criticised Christians for not following the law of the old testament. However, the Apostle Paul emphasized that the law of the old testament had been nailed to the cross.

Colosians 2:14-16 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 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.

Apostle Paul emphasized that when Jesus Christ was crucified, He nailed the law of Moses to the cross. Hence, the Jews did not need to judge the Christians for not keeping the law of Moses. That is why Apostle Paul said he is not under the law of Moses but under the law of Christ.

1 Corinthians 9:20-21 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.

The Apostle Paul stated that he was no longer under the law of Moses, which had been abolished, but was under the law of Christ—the law of the new covenant established by Jesus Christ through the shedding of His blood on the cross.

Did the Apostle Paul Who Wrote the Book of Colosians not Keep the Sabbath Day and the Feasts?

Since those who do not keep the Sabbath day and the annual Feasts insist that they were abolished, did the Apostle Paul who wrote the book of Colosians not keep the Sabbath and the Feasts?

Acts 13: 13-14 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.

Acts 16: 10,13  After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them… On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.

Acts 17:2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

Acts 18: 1,4 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth…Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

All the above verses testify that the Apostle Paul kept the Sabbath day. Did the Apostle Paul also keep the annual Feasts of God? Let us see.

1 Corinthians 1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,

1 Corinthians 5:7- 8 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Acts 20: 6-7 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.

The above verses shows that Apostle Paul kept the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Resurrection day. Let us see when he kept the Pentecost.

Acts 20:16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

Through the above verses we have seen that the Apostle Paul kept not only the Sabbath day but all the annual Feasts of God. Therefore, a religious festival that Apostle Paul spoke of in Colossions 2:16 does not refer to the feasts of the new covenant that Apostle Paul kept. It rather refers to the old covenant feasts that were abolished through Christ’s crucifixion.

What Is the True Meaning of the Words in Colossians 2:16?

Colossians 2:14-17 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 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.

The Bible testifies that the law of Moses which was abolished through the cross, is only a shadow of the things to come (Heb 10:1). The reality is the law of Christ, the new covenant that Jesus Christ established through His sacrifice on the cross. Therefore, the insistence that the Sabbath day and the Feasts were abolished by quoating Colosians 2:16 is false. We must certainly keep the Sabbath day and the annual Feasts of the new covenant in these last days in order to be saved.