Here is a PDF you can PRINT if you’d like: Colossians2_14-17.

Colossians 2:14-17

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Look first at what God’s Word says about His law:

If a student were honest with what the Bible says regarding the ten commandment law and the ceremonial laws, one of the conclusions would be that God has not and never will change the ten commandment law. Why? Because according the holy Scripture, His ten commandment law reflects His character which changes not, as shown in the chart above (“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” Hebrews 13:8, and “I am the LORD, I change not” Malachi 3:6).

Colossians 2, following verses 8-13, speaking of worldly religion and beliefs (vs 8), Christ being our fulness (vs 9), completeness in Him (vs 10), being circumcised unlike it was done before—now without hands (vs 11)—buried and risen through baptism (vs 12), being brought to life from being dead in sin and forgiven (vs 13), we can read verses 14-17:

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

Verse 14

“The handwriting”… God wrote with His hand, and so did Moses. Notice though, Colossians 2 speaks of the “handwriting of ordinances.”

• “Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses” (2 Chronicles 33:8).
• “Moses wrote this law
  [the ceremonial], and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and unto all the elders of Israel” (Deuteronomy 31:9).

“That was against us”… The Bible specifically says that God’s ceremonial law was a “witness against” us.

• “Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God [the ten commandments were inside, not in the side like the ceremonial law], that it may be there for a witness against thee” (Deuteronomy 31:26).

“Nailing it to the cross”… Christ, the ceremonial “Lamb of God,” was sacrificed on the cross (John 1:29, Matthew 27). Along with Christ being the Lamb slain, the temple veil was torn from top to bottom—obviously not a human action, as the veil was very thick and very tall. It was too thick and too high for any human to not only tear, but reach the top of.

• “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51).
• The ceremonial law was done away by God Himself in the tearing of the veil at the time of Christ’s death. God did NOT do away with His eternal and changeless character (represented by the ten commandment law) when Christ died… in fact, He fortified it! The absolute proof that God could not change His law to save His Son from dying on the cross was His Son dying on the cross!

Verse 15

• Christ gained victory over the principalities and powers referred to in verse 15 by His death on the cross.

Verse 16-17

“Meat… drink…. holyday… new moon… sabbath days: which are a shadow…”

• The “first tabernacle… was a figure [shadow, if you will] for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:8-10).
• “The [ceremonial] law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect” (Hebrews 10:1).
• Priests were commanded to offer sacrifices on the ceremonial Sabbaths—which were seven throughout the Jewish year. They were “to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD” (1 Chronicles 23:31).
• There were commands to offer sacrifices throughout the ceremonial festivities during the Jewish ceremonial era. These cannot be confused with the weekly sabbath which God commanded to hallow in the ten commandment law. “It shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 45:17).

“The body [or substance] is of Christ.”

• That which was casting the shadow (if you follow the shadow from the end to the base of what is casting it) is Christ! The ceremonies, sacrifices, offerings, solemn feasts, ALL lead to Jesus Christ—the fulfillment of ALL the promises of God! (“For all the promises of God in Him are yea” 2 Corinthians 1:20.)

Notice another significant phrase in the book of John, something NEVER used regarding the ten commandment law, including the sabbath commandment:

• “The Jews‘ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem” (John 2:13).
• “After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem” (John 5:1).
• “The passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh” (John 6:4).
• “Now the Jews‘ feast of tabernacles was at hand” (John 7:2).
• “the Jews‘ passover was nigh at hand…” (John 11:55).