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. Colossians 2:16,17
Have you ever taken part in a Jewish Passover observance? If we read about the Seder meal and the other activities associated with the Passover, we will find it fascinating, especially with all of the wonderful aspects that we can recognize as describing not only the Passover rescue of the Jews from Egypt but also the Passover Lamb Who has rescued us from our sins by the offering of Himself. I have never eaten the Passover, although I would like to do so sometime, if only for curiosity’s sake. I have difficulty with people who say that when Christ died for our sins at Calvary, God abolished the Passover. That is not true, although the Passover no longer is a pointing forward to Christ, because that has been accomplished. When God instituted the Passover, He told the Israelites that it was to be a statute to them forever (Exodus 12:14). We have not yet reached the end of forever. I have no problem whatsoever with anyone, especially Jews, whether they are Christians or not, observing the Passover. Just as we today celebrate Canada Day (or Dominion Day for us oldtimers) as a remembrance of an event that brought our nation into being, so the Jews celebrate Passover as a remembrance of a great event in their people’s history. Our text makes it clear that we are not to judge anyone who observes, or who does not observe, the Passover or any of the other Jewish feasts. But it also makes it clear that these things are shadows of things to come.
No matter how real a shadow is, it has no substance. But if we follow the shadow back to its source, we will always find the substance. That is why the Passover is so interesting; it has no meaning as a memorial to us as Gentiles, but it has meaning to us as a shadow, because if we follow that shadow to its source, we find the substance, which is Christ, as our text declares. The same goes for all of the other feasts (holydays) that are mentioned in our text; they all have their source in Christ. But unlike the Passover, not all of the other feasts have yet been fulfilled.
The Passover is history. So is the suffering and sacrifice of Christ, the substance of which the Passover was the shadow. The Passover was the first of the spring feasts. The other three spring feasts – unleavened bread, firstfruits, and Pentecost – all followed directly from the Passover and speak of Christ’s resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit to indwell the believers. This is the shadow that we as Christians are living in today. And we will remain in this shadow until the time when the events foretold by the remaining feasts will cast their shadows. The feast of Trumpets will signal the end of what we call the church age via the rapture, and the ushering into prominence God’s renewed dealings with His earthly people, the Israelites. But remember, the substance of all of these shadows is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s ordinances cast their fascinating shadows before us for our learning and edification. As we view them, let us learn more of Christ and how to serve and follow Him. – Jim MacIntosh