Colossians 2:16-17

The false teachers were encouraging the Colossians to place their Christian freedom under their control. They wanted to limit it by prohibiting certain perfectly legitimate activities. The five items mentioned in Colossians 2:16 were all part of Judaism. Therefore it is very probable that the legalistic false teachers were to some extent Jewish (i.e., advocating obedience to the Law of Moses for justification and sanctification).

"The believing Gentiles in Colossae never were under the Law of Moses since that Law was given only to Israel (Romans 9:4). It seems strange that, now that they were Christians, they would want to submit themselves to Jewish legalism!" [Note: Ibid., 2:128-29.]

The dietary and festival observances were like shadows of Christ.

They were ". . . a dim outline, a sketch of an object in contrast with the object itself. . . . The offerings were reflections of the one genuine saving offering at the cross, the priesthood was a foreshadowing of the priestly ministry of Christ, and the kings of Israel faintly suggested the coming King of kings and Lord of lords. The new age, then, is not the extension of Judaism; rather, Judaism was a mere shadow of the present age projected into the past." [Note: Johnson, 478:112. Cf. Hebrews 10:1.]

When Christ came, He explained that the Mosaic Law was no longer binding (e.g., Mark 7:18-19; Luke 16:16; cf. John 1:17; Acts 10:12; Romans 7:6; Romans 10:4; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 8:8; 2 Corinthians 3:6-11; Galatians 3:19; Galatians 3:23; Galatians 4:9-11; Galatians 5:1; Hebrews 7:12; Hebrews 9:10). This failure of the false teachers really amounted to a failure to appreciate Christ.

"The new religion [Christianity] is too free and exuberant to be trained down to ’times and seasons’ like its tame and rudimental predecessor [Judaism]. Its feast is daily, for every day is holy; its moon never wanes, and its serene tranquillity is an unbroken Sabbath." [Note: Eadie, p. 177.]