Biblical explanation
Paul writes: “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” (). Verse 17 explains: “Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” The key question is: Which sabbaths are being discussed? The Old Testament uses the word “sabbath” for more than the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. The annual feast days also contained special sabbath rest days. For example, describes: Passover/Unleavened Bread Pentecost Trumpets Day of Atonement Tabernacles These annual appointments included special Sabbath days. distinguishes the annual festival offerings from: “the sabbaths of the LORD.” This creates an important biblical distinction between the weekly Sabbath established at creation and the ceremonial sabbaths connected with Israel's annual sanctuary calendar. also follows the familiar sequence: festival → new moon → sabbath This sequence appears in the Old Testament in descriptions of Israel's ceremonial calendar. The reason these things were shadows is stated in verse 17: they pointed forward to Christ. The Weekly Sabbath Is Different The weekly Sabbath existed before sin and before the Jewish nation: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it” (). It was later included in the Ten Commandments: “The seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God” (). It is also explicitly connected with creation: “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is” (). This is significant because the Sabbath is not introduced as merely a temporary ceremony pointing forward to Christ. It is grounded in God's completed work of creation. clearly says believers should not be judged concerning these matters and identifies them as shadows of things to come. The passage does not explicitly say, “The fourth commandment has been abolished.” The interpretation that these “sabbaths” refer to the annual ceremonial Sabbath days rests on comparing with the Old Testament's use of the Sabbath terminology for Israel's yearly ceremonial calendar. This distinction is important because the Bible itself uses “sabbath” in both contexts.
In brief
Paul writes: “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” ().
Bible references
Go deeper into this topic The Sabbath: A Gift of Rest Start the studyThis answer is written and reviewed by the Word Oasis Editorial Team, and is presented with supporting references so you can examine each passage in context. If you notice an error or unclear statement, please suggest a correction.