Colossians 2:16

“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.”

Part of the Eating Clean study — examining every passage cited to override Leviticus 11.

The Common Reading

Paul declares the dietary laws, feast days, new moons, and Sabbaths obsolete — mere shadows now replaced by Christ. Christians should not let anyone judge them for eating pork or ignoring the Sabbath. On this reading, the entire ceremonial calendar and food laws have been nailed to the cross.

What the Passage Actually Says

The Enemy: Ascetic False Teachers

The chapter identifies the threat explicitly — and it is not Torah-keepers:

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” — Col 2:8

G5385 philosophia — philosophy. G3862 paradosis — tradition. G4747 stoicheion — rudiments, elemental principles. Paul is warning against human philosophical systems, not against God’s commandments. The threat comes from man-made traditions and worldly philosophy — the same charge Jesus brought against the Pharisees in Mark 7:8 (“laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men”).

The false teachers’ program becomes clear in vv.20–23:

“If ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, Touch not; taste not; handle not — which all are to perish with the using — after the commandments and doctrines of men?” — Col 2:20–22

“Touch not; taste not; handle not” — these are prohibitions. The false teachers were restricting food and drink beyond what God commanded, adding human ascetic rules. Paul is not liberating the Colossians from God’s dietary laws — he is defending them against teachers who impose additional restrictions that God never commanded.

“Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” — Col 2:23

G857 apheidia — unsparing treatment, severe discipline of the body. These ascetic teachers promoted harsh bodily denial — the kind of extreme fasting and self-deprivation that Gnostic-influenced groups in the ancient world practiced. Paul’s verdict: it looks wise, but it is “will worship” (self-imposed religion) with no actual value.

The Direction of the Judgment

Verse 16 says “let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” The question is: who was judging whom, and in which direction?

If the Colossians were eating pork and skipping Sabbath, and Torah-observant Jews were judging them for it, Paul would be saying “don’t let Jews judge you for abandoning God’s commands.” But the context points the opposite direction: the ascetic false teachers (vv.8, 20–23) were judging the Colossians for not being restrictive enough — for eating and drinking what God permits, for joyfully observing feasts rather than fasting through them, for treating the body with honor rather than harsh denial.

Paul’s “let no man judge you” is a defense of the Colossians’ practice — eating God’s good food, celebrating His appointed times — against those who would impose additional human restrictions.

“Shadow of Things to Come”

“Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” — Col 2:17

This verse is often read as “the dietary laws and feasts were mere shadows, now replaced by Christ.” But the Greek structure says something different.

G4983 sōma — body. “The body is of Christ” means the substance (body) belongs to Christ. The shadow-body metaphor does not devalue the shadow — a shadow proves the body exists. The festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths cast a shadow of things to come — they point forward to realities in Christ. Paul is not abolishing them; he is identifying their prophetic function.

And critically: the verse says “things to come” (G3195 mellō — about to be, future). If these appointed times point to future realities, they have not yet been fulfilled in their entirety. You do not discard a shadow while the body it represents is still approaching.

What Is “Meat” and “Drink”?

The word translated “meat” in v.16 is G1035 brōsis — the act of eating, not a specific type of food. And “drink” is G4213 posis — the act of drinking. Paul is not naming clean or unclean animals. He is addressing the general categories of eating and drinking — how much, when, what combinations, fasting rules.

This matches the ascetic context perfectly: false teachers imposing rules about how and when to eat and drink, not about which animals are clean. Gnostic-influenced asceticism regulated all consumption — fasting schedules, food combinations, abstinence from wine — as a path to spiritual purity. Paul says: don’t let them judge you for not following their extra rules.

The Inconsistency Test

Those who use this verse to abolish dietary laws must also accept that it abolishes holy days, new moons, and Sabbaths — since all are listed together in the same breath. Yet many of the same interpreters continue to observe some form of sabbath (Sunday), celebrate holidays (Easter, Christmas), and recognize seasonal worship rhythms. If the verse abolishes dietary laws, it equally abolishes every appointed time listed alongside them.

The more consistent reading: Paul is defending the Colossians’ right to observe ALL of these — eating, drinking, feasts, new moons, Sabbaths — without being judged by ascetic teachers who would add human restrictions to God’s commands.

Harmony

1. The false teachers are imposing human additions (“philosophy,” “tradition of men,” “rudiments of the world,” “commandments and doctrines of men” — vv.8, 22), not God’s Torah.
2. “Touch not, taste not, handle not” are prohibitions — the teachers are restricting, not permitting. Paul defends liberty to eat and celebrate, not liberty to abandon God’s laws.
3. Paul elsewhere upholds the Law (Rom 3:31, 7:12; Acts 21:24) and personally kept it. He would not abolish it here.
4. “Shadow of things to come” validates the prophetic function of the appointed times rather than discarding them.
5. No unclean animal is named or discussed. The verse addresses eating and drinking practices, not animal classifications.

Greek Reference