What is the meaning of Colossians 2:17? These are a shadow • Paul has just listed dietary rules, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16). He calls them “a shadow,” meaning they outline something real but are not themselves the substance. • Hebrews 8:5 says the priests “serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven,” and Hebrews 10:1 adds that “the law is only a shadow of the good things to come.” • Just as a silhouette hints at a person’s shape without revealing the living person, the Old Testament ceremonies hinted at Someone greater. • Shadows are useful—without the Law we would not recognize our need for a Savior (Galatians 3:24)—but they were never meant to be the ultimate focus. of the things to come • The shadows pointed forward to a future, fuller reality: – The Passover lamb foreshadowed Christ as “our Passover” (1 Corinthians 5:7). – The Day of Atonement anticipated Jesus entering the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12). – The Sabbath rest previewed the eternal rest found in Him (Hebrews 4:9-10). • Old covenant rituals looked beyond themselves toward the Messiah’s work on the cross and the consummation of God’s kingdom (Revelation 21:1-3). but the body that casts it belongs to Christ • A shadow exists because a solid object blocks the light. Paul identifies that solid reality: “the body … belongs to Christ.” • In other words, Jesus is the substance behind every Old Testament type. He fulfills the Law (Matthew 5:17) and embodies all its promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). • When the true light has come, clinging to the shadow is unnecessary and even misleading (John 1:14, 17). • The believer’s focus shifts from calendars and regulations to a living relationship with the risen Lord (Colossians 2:9-10). • Therefore, no one should judge believers over secondary shadows when the primary Person—Christ—has already embraced them (Colossians 2:16, 20). summary Paul shows that ceremonial laws were God-given silhouettes of Christ’s redemptive work. Once the living Savior arrived, the purpose of those shadows was fulfilled. Our attention now rests on the substance—Jesus Himself—who perfectly completes and surpasses everything the Law foreshadowed. |
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