norman h. young - romans 14.56 and colossians 2.16 in social context

8/12/2019 Norman H. Young - Romans 14.56 and Colossians 2.16 in Social Context

1/35

ROMANS 14:5-6 AND COLOSSIANS 2:16 IN SOCIAL CONTEXT

ByNorman H Young

Avondale College

COORANBON NS! 2265

A"#$%al&a


2/35

I In$%od"'$&on

There is very little agreement among scholars concerning the interpretation of Col 2:8-

23. However, it is generally accepted, even by those who arge for a syncretistic heresy in

Colossians, that the bac!grond of verse"# is $ewish."There is also wide spport for the view

that %om "&:"-23 parallels to a considerable degree the isse in Col 2:"3-22.2The main

elements in common between the two passages are the references to not 'dging (Col 2:"#)

%om "&:&, "*, "3, 22+) to holy days (Col 2:"#) %om "&:-#+) to scrples abot food (Col 2:"#,

2"-22) %om "&: 2-3, #b, "&-", 2*-22+, and to dying and rising with Christ (Col 2:"2-"3, 2*)

3:"-3) %om "&:8-+. /e shall start then by loo!ing at the contention over days in %om "&:-#.

II T(e I##"e ove% Day# &n Ro) 14:5-6

% "& # }O" meVn (gaVr) kri nei hJme ran par hJme ran o}" deV


3/35

The verb krivnw is sed in v. with the meaning Ato distingish,B Ato ad'dge,B Ato

prefer,B Ato separate,B Ato decide.B3The preposition parav with the accsative hJmevran is

comparative (one day more than another day+.&The copling of o" meVnwith o}" dev

emphasises a contrast, that is, Aone ad'dges thisbt another ad'dges that.B /hat then is

the dispte between these two attitdes regarding days all abotD

0irstly, it is important to note that the contrast is not between someone who

distingishes one day from another day (or other days+ and someone who esteems no day at

all. ;e 6acey, for eEample, has the Astrong,B sch as 5al, observing $ewish holy days, while

on the other hand he sggests Athe consciences of the wea! might well have forbidden them

from en'oying the festivals.BThe great ma'ority of commentators ta!e the opposite view and

arge that it is the Awea!B who observe the days and not the Astrong.B#9evertheless, many of

these commentators still see the isse as being between those who observe festival or abbath

days and those who observe no day.Cranfield translates krivnei pa'san hJmevranas


4/35

Ama!es no difference between days,B that is, has abandoned all the ceremonial festival days.8

=f 5al were saying one observes abbath above other days bt another observes no day at all,

one wold eEpect something li!e }O" meVn krivnei mivan hJmevran parav

pavsa" hJmevra", o}" deV o%j krivnei hJmevran. t 5al says no sch thing.

econdly, it is not a case of one day (abbath+ contrasted with another day (nday+.

?ven to sggest the possibility of the isse being Adifferences relating to the transition from

the observance of the abbath to the 6ordLs ;ayB goes well beyond the evidence of the teEt to

say nothing of the historical realities at the time of the writing of %omans."*rce /interLs

proposal that the dispte involved non-abbatarian GndayD and abbatarian Gabbath

congregations in %ome is very nli!ely.""Thirdly, we can as readily dismiss the sggestion

that the debate was over the seventh-day abbath as opposed to sabbatising the whole wee!."2

8C. ?. . Cranfield, The Epistle to the Romans(=CC, 2 vols) ?dinbrgh: T. T. Clar!,


5/35

0orthly, there is little merit in the ideas that the isse involved lc!y and nlc!y days or fast

days."3

The langage of the teEt ma!es sense only if a grop of days is the conteEt of the

contention. Therefore, the contrast is between one who considers certain days in a grop of

days as more important than other days in the same grop, and someone who thin!s every day

in the grop of days is eOally important. a'san hJmevranmeans Aevery day within a

grop of holy days is holyB and not Aevery day is of no religios significance.B =t is after all

first-centry religios %ome and not some twenty-first centry seclar western society."&9or

is it a Oestion of observing Aevery day in the wee! as holy)B this is a later development in the

early chrch and does not fit with the first half of the contrast.

The comparison hJmevran par= hJmevranand the contrast with pa'san

hJmevranassme more than a single day or pair of days is involved. =n the conteEt of

%omans, these mst be holy days, a sacred calendar. Therefore, despite the assmption of


6/35

holy days more important than other holy days. Contrariwise, others thoght every holy day

was eOally important (o}" deV krivnei pa'san hJmevran+. 4re we able to identify the

natre of the two gropsD 5resmably the AstrongB wold be those who selected certain holy

days, sch as the abbath, 5assover and 5entecost, as more important than other holy days."#

The Awea!B wold then be those who considered all the holy days as eOally holy, inclding

the abbath, the ;ay of 4tonement and the 9ew 1oon."The identity is not as impossible as

some sppose, since clearly for 5al those who abandoned part of a system of practice are

strong compared with those who held rigidly to the whole tradition."8

Testament: Essays in )onor of E Earle Ellis(TQbingen: ?erdmans> $. C.

1ohr G5al iebec!, "8+ 22) $. 5al ampley, AThe /ea! and the trong: 5alLs Carefl

and Crafty %hetorical trategy in %omans "&:"-":"3,B in 6. 1ichael /hite and @. 6arry

Uarbrogh (eds+ The "o'ial World of the !irst Christians: Essays in )onor of Wayne %

/ee1s (1inneapolis, 19: 0ortress, "+ &2) ;nn,Romans, ==.8*) 1ar! %easoner, AThe


7/35

/ithin the overall conteEt of %omans, where the main thrst is the nity between

$ewish and gentile believers, the Awea!B cold be the minority $ewish believers and the

AstrongB the ma'ority gentile Christians. $ewish believers are li!ely to be those maintaining

the whole of the cltic calendar (pa'san hJmevran+, whereas gentile Christians are more

li!ely to be those emphasising 5assover and 5entecost, for eEample, above the other feast

days. @f corse gentiles can live as faithfl $ews and $ews li!e 5al can be renegades vis,8,

vis their tradition. However, thogh identifying the strong with $ewish Christians and the

wea! with gentile believers is plasible, it is not necessary in order to have a reasonable

nderstanding of the teEt."The langage of %om "&:2, -# follows a carefl symmetry:

STRON !EA* BOT+

o}" meVn piste%veiagei'n pavnta(v. 2+

oJ deV ajs#enw'n !av&anaejs#ivei(v. 2+

o" meVn (gaVr) krivneihJmevran par= hJmevran(v. a+

o}" deV krivnei pa'sanhJmevran(v. b+


8/35

doing so for the 6ord. 5alLs langage abot observing days is ths different from his words

abot eating or not eating.2"This is becase both the Awea!B and the AstrongB are observing

days.22The contrast is not between one grop observing days and another observing no days.23

Hence, de 6acey is misleading when he says, Athe parallelism in verses 2, , and # sggests

that it is the strong and not the wea! that observe KdaysL.B2&The fact is the parallel

demonstrates that they both do) thogh one observes the whole calendar while the other only

a part of it.

The freOent references to $ews and gentiles in %omans telegraph to s 5alLs concern

in the letter. A7ncircmcisedB occrs "" times in %omans (2 times in the 9T+ and

AcircmcisedB is fond " times (&" times in the 9T+. There are "" incidents of A$ewsB in

%omans (2*" times in the 9T, mostly in 4cts+ and 2 of AgentilesB ("# times in the 9T+.

5alLs admonitions in chapter " address this diversity. They are not to please themselves (v.

"+, bt to live in harmony with one another (v. + and to glorify


9/35


10/35

worship together.B28@r as 1oiser states it: 5alLs Aaim is to reconcile $ew and gentile in the

%oman chrches and thereby provide himself with a starting-point for his frther mission.B2

The Oestion mst be as!ed when and where this nited worship wold occr.


11/35

been a mighty rc!s over the isse. 7nli!e the dispte over circmcision, there is no sign in

the 9T of an intense debate over the abbath. 4ccording to rtchaell, silence on an isse

indicates a smooth transfer of a practice from $daism to Christianity.32

efore trning to Colossians we need to smmarise or conclsions from %om "&.

0irst, we have accepted that the two passages of %om "&:-# and Col 2:"# are considerably

parallel to each other. econd, we fond that the isse over days in %om "& focsed on $ewish

festival days, probably inclding festivals sch as the ;ay of 4tonement and the 9ew 1oon.

ince the abbath was part of the cltic calendar, it is probable that both those who selected

certain festivals days above others and those who observed them all as eOally important

observed it. Third, we conclded that 5alLs concern was for the $ewish and gentile hose

chrches in %ome to welcome one another in a centralised commnal worship. 0orth we

have sggested that sch nited worship reOired an agreed time, and that for $ewish

Christians this wold certainly have been the abbath. 0inally, the bac!grond of the isse in


12/35

Colossians 2:"# *hV o%+n ti" %Jma'" krinevtw ejn rwvsei h- ejn povsei h- ejnmevrei eJorth'" h- neomhniva" h- saavtwn:.

$ames ;.


13/35

. The Aelements of the worldB (2:8, 2*+ refers to the spirital powers that controlled

the heavenly bodies, which is very mch a $ewish idea and not eEclsively

pagan.3

#. ;nn ta!es #ev!wn ejn tapeinoros%vnh/ kaiV #rhskeiva/ tw'n

ajggev!wnin v. "8a to refer to a $ewish synagoge that Adelighted in their

worship sabbath by sabbath as a participation in the worship of the angels in

heaven.B =n this conteEt tapeinoros%vnhwold Adenote the spirital discipline

and mortification (particlarly, bt not only, fasting+B as the means of 'oining in

with the worship of the heavenly holy ones.&*

. ;nn also relates the clase a} eJovraken ejmate%vwnto a $ewish conteEt.

This is despite a veritable scholarly tradition of seeing in these words a clear

reference to visionary eEperiences related to the initiation rites of a pagan mystery

clt.&"0or ;nn the langage reflects the boast of Colossian $ews abot what they


14/35


15/35

saavtoi" kaiV ejn toi'" mhsiVn kaiV ejn tai'" eJortai'" trei'" kairo%V" to%'

ejnia%to%' ejn th'/ eJorth'/ tw'n aj0%vmwn kaiV ejn th'/ eJorth'/ tw'n

eJdomavdwn kaiV ejn th'/ eJorth'/ tw'n skhnw'n+) 3":3) 9eh "*:3& (33+) =sa ":"3

Gno%mhniva" %Jmw'n kaiV taV savata kaiV hJmevran megav!hn o%jk

ajnev&omai nhsteivan kaiV ajrgivan) ?Pe! &:" Gejn tai'" eJortai'" kaiV ejn

tai'" no%mhnivai" kaiV ejn toi'" saavtoi" kaiV ejn pavsai" tai'" eJortai'"

oi1ko% 2srah!) ?P! :&, #, ) Hos 2:"3 (""+ GeJortaV" a%jth'" kaiV taV"

no%mhniva" a%jth'" kaiV taV savata a%jth'" kaiV pavsa" taV" panhg%vrei"

a%jth'".

TeEts from sorces otside of the canon shold also be listed, for they demonstrate

even more than the biblical teEts how variegated $ewish writers li!e 5al were in their listing

of the time-seOences. 4lthogh the listing of the time-seOences is freOent in $ewish


16/35

others at the three festal seasons GtrisiV kairoi" eJortwn+) "F1 2.& (for their feasts

Gh4d%wm!, for their new moons Gh4vdwj!, and for their sabbaths Gtwtv!, and all

the days of the year Ghnvh 4m4 !wk!+) $stin,Dial. 8.& (with respect to the sabbath, and

the feasts, and the new moons of


17/35

of holy days is referred to, namely, the annal feasts, the monthly 9ew 1oons and the wee!ly

abbaths.&

/ith the eEception of " 1acc "*:3&, which is a political decree granting $ews freedom

to celebrate their feasts, and $dt 8:#, which is abot not fasting before or on the holy days, all

the passages cited above are dealing with matters pertaining to the temple rital. 0or eEample,

grain, drin! and brnt offerings (9m 28: , "", "#+, brnt offerings (" Chron 23:3") 2 Chron

2:&) 8:"2-"3) 3":3) 9eh "*:33) ?Pe! :&, #, +, offerings and incense (=sa ":"3+, and grain

and drin! offerings (?Pe! &:"+. /ithin the conteEt of the temple, the wee!ly abbath, along

with the monthly and annal convocations, was an occasion for sacrificial offerings and

ritals. Hence when the prophets =saiah and Hosea castigate their contrymen for their cltic

observances devoid of covenant and social faithflness, they are not denigrating the abbath

per seWand certainly not rging the $ews to abandon it. There is no reason to believe that

5alLs sage of these three terms together has any meaning different from the @T vorlage, that


18/35

The conteEt confirms this for whatever the specifics of the nons ejn rwvsei h-

ejn povseior the prohibitions mhV a{4h/ mhdeV ge%vsh/ mhdeV #ivgh/, within a

$ewish milie, the reference has to do with religios practices. eeing as the eating or

drin!ing are mentioned in close connection with the holy days, and since both are governed

by the same imperative (krinevtw+ with the repeated con'oining h-(ejn rwvsei h- ejn

povsei h- ejn mevrei eJorth'" h- neomhniva" h- saavtwn+, it is reasonable to

infer that the parta!ing of food or drin! refers to commnal meals on the festival days, that is,

the conteEt of the eating or drin!ing is the holy days. The three negated verbs have clear

associations with prity laws in the 6JJ and therefore presmably also in Col 2:"#. /hether

the Colossians are being criticised for eating or not eating may not be clear, as Hay concldes,

bt it wold seem that they are celebrating their viands in a conteEt that was not acceptable to

orthodoE $daism.&

The verb aptomaiis sed freOently in the 6JJ throghot the 6evitical material


19/35

/hat is the antecedent of the relative neter pronon (a+ in verse "D =t is nli!ely

to refer bac! only to the immediately preceding neter plral saavtwn.*=t is more

probably a generalising neter referring to all the elements mentioned in v. "#."?lsewhere in

Colossians, whatever the gender of the antecedents, 5al ses a neter plral relative pronon

to refer to a preceding list (2:"8, 22, 23) 3:#, +. The eating or drin!ing shold not be related

to 6evitical offerings or even to $ewish !osher laws in isolation. The scrplesabot eating or

drin!ing occr within the conteEt of festival meals. The three prepositions are eOivalent in

meaning (ejnandejn mevrei+ and all are governed by the same imperatival verb

(krinevtw+, Alet no one 'dge yo regarding food, and regarding drin!, or regarding feasts,

or new moons, or abbaths.B2ch things as $ewish festive meals are a shadow or harbinger

of the reality, which belongs to Christ. The eating or the drin!ing and the festive days shold

not be seen as separate from one another.

Hence 5alLs negativity regarding eating, drin!ing, or festive days does not mean that


20/35

The fact that there is no biblical prescription concerning drin!ing (povsi"+ does not

demand a Hellenistic bac!grond for the detractors. ?ating or drin!ing (wine+ was an isse

for $ews in a pagan conteEt. The other two instances of the copling in the


21/35

'dgment.&9otably that the festive grop is a miEed fellowship of $ews and gentiles. The

references to circmcision (2:"", "3+ wold then be pertinent and not simply a metaphor.

The incorporation of the gentiles into the people of


22/35

4nd when yo were dead in trespasses and the ncircmcision of yor flesh,


23/35

the abbath was a feast day and not a fast day.There is some evidence that the $ews in

%ome may have fasted on the abbath, bt as the sorces are non-$ewish, there is some dobt

even abot this.#*e that as it may, otside of %ome the evidence indicates the abbath was a

feast day and not a fast day. The only certain biblical fast day is the annal ;ay of 4tonement

rital, thogh it conclded with a feast. tM!l at least thin!s the festival days referred to in Col

2:"# Aalmost certainly incldeGed Uom ippr.B#"

The tendency of commentators to nderstand vv. 2*-23 as indicating the Colossians

were being pressred into a severe ascetic lifestyle may be going beyond the teEt.#2/ithin the

conteEt of polemic, 5alLs langage is perfectly appropriate with regards to $ewish scrples

abot food.#3ch scrples may appear to be ascetic to some, both ancient and modern, bt

enneth 4. trand, Aome 9otes on the abbath 0ast in ?arly Christianity,B%@"" 3

("#+ "#-"&.

#*1argaret /illiams, Aeing a $ew in %ome: abbath 0asting as an ?Epression of


24/35

that is hardly the way $ews viewed or practised them. The dismissal of the Colossian

sensitivities concerning food in v. 2" (a{ ejstin pavnta eij" #oraVn th'/

ajpo&rhvsei, kataV taV ejntav!mata kaiV didaska!iva" tw'n ajn#rwvpwn+ is

parallel to $essL comment abot $ewish food laws (1ar! :"+. 0rthermore, the phrasetaV

ejntav!mata kaiV didaska!iva" tw'n ajn#rwvpwnis well attested in reference to

$ewish tradition (1att ":) 1ar! :) Tits ":"&+ and it is srely an over simplification to say

that Aascetic practices are not characteristic of the Torah, or of mainstream $daism.B #&/ithin

the conteEt of second-temple $daism restrictions on eating and drin!ing, to say nothing of

fasting, mst have given the appearance of asceticism to most of the $ewsL contemporaries.

There is little data as to how ;iaspora $ews !ept the feasts in practice in the

synagoges, bt it is clear that they did.#The evidence indicates that the emphasis was on

prayer, scriptre reading, singing hymns, and fellowship meals.##Nictor Tcheri!over notes

that Athe festivals celebrated in 5alestine were also broght to the ;iaspora, and these


25/35

inclded not only the traditional celebrations sch as 5assover and Tabernacles, bt also the

new festivals of 5rim and Hann!ah.B#

anders also recognises that there is evidence for the

!eeping of 5assover sacrifice in the ;iaspora.#8 5hilo spends &** words defending the

celebration of the 9ew 1oon Ait is the beginning of the month, and the beginning, both in

nmber and in time, deserves honor...when it arrives, nothing in heaven is left withot

light.B#However, 5hilo is derogatory towards pagan new moon celebrations, contrasting

them with the $ewish abbath.*4ccording to the 1ishnah, special synagoge services were

held at the appearance of the 9ew 1oon."$st how cltic these days wold have been in a

synagoge setting is difficlt to say, thogh T. C.


26/35

worship forms of the chrch.&=t wold be going well beyond the teEt and what we !now of

the interface between nascent Christianity and the ancient synagoge to assme that 5alLs

admonition mhV o%+n ti" %Jma'" krinevtwmeans the Colossian Christians had

abandoned worshipping on the abbath. Troy 1artin concldes, Athat the 5aline commnity

at Colossae, not the opponents, practices the temporal scheme otlined by Col 2."#.BHe

arges, thogh the Colossian Christians participated in a religios calendar that inclded

festivals, new moons, and abbaths, they did not necessarily observe the $ewish ritals

associated with these days.#

1artin attempts to defend his thesis Athat the practices mentioned in 2:"# are those of

the Colossian Christians and not the opponentsB by relating the clase toV deV sw'ma

to%' risto%' (v. "b+ to the verb krinevtw (v. "#+ and not to the immediately preceding

a{ ejstin skiaV tw'n me!!ovntwn (v. "a+.However, althogh the syntaE is aw!ward,

it is more natral to ta!e the relative clase and the dev-clase as a contrasting nit. %oss


27/35

despite the spport of 6ohse and /right.The genitive after the verb Ato beB is not n!nown

in the


28/35

manifest social or racial ineOality when they gather together (" Cor "":"-22: A;o yo not

have homes to eat and drin! inD @r do yo show contempt for the chrch of


29/35

properly. 4s Herold /eiss notes, ATo Hudge does not normally mean to impose.B83?ven within

the synagoge service, $daism celebrated the festivals as related to the temple. The temple

very Oic!ly became meaningless for the Christians, and this affected their attitde to the

festivals.8&5assover (?aster+ and 5entecost remained important, thogh not withot dispte.8

4 wee!ly day of worship remained vital too, and in the earliest period when the Christian

commnities inclded a significant body of Christian $ews, the abbath-tradition of the

synagoge was readily available to provide a time for corporate worship.

=f 5al were attempting to get $ewish Christians to meet with gentile Christians on a

day other than the abbath, one wold eEpect, as with circmcision, the resltant controversy

to be visibly present in the 9T docments. The silence is very adible and, as rtchaell

notes, A?very enterprise, even if it is most creative, prolongs many of the older ways

nchallenged, and therefore often nnoticed. ecase these continities are ncontroversial

the record tends to be silent abot them.B8#


30/35

". The bac!grond for both %om "&:-# and Col 2:"# is $ewish. However, the former was

internal, and the latter was eEternal.

2. oth teEts deal with the condct of commnal meals on the festival days inherited

from the $ewish synagoge tradition.8

3. %omans "&:-# indicates that some Christians wished to preserve the whole $ewish

festival calendar, while others were committed to celebrating only a selection of them.

&. The $ewish detractors wished to ma!e the Colossian Christians adhere more rigidly to

$ewish practices. Hence we affirm the opposite to /eiss when he says that Athe

opposing teachers wished to do away with what they considered $ewish.B88%ather than

do away with it they wished to reinforce it.

. The threefold list in Col 2:"# inclded the abbath as part of the festivals related to the

temple.8However, the triadic list is a fiEed phrase li!e Aloc!, stoc! and barrelB and

8/eiss is incorrect in arging that the absence of the term novmo"in Colossians


31/35

when the three terms are sed together they refer to rital days in general withot

signifying any particlar holy day.

#. 0rthermore, the synagoge and not the temple is the main inflence behind the

sitation in %omans and Colossians) hence fellowship rather than sacrifice is the isse

in the 9T.

. oth %om "&:-# and Col 2:"# are concerned with the condct of commnal meals in

the conteEt of $ewish sensibilities regarding food, especially where ncircmcised

gentiles are present at the table.*5alLs stress is on the $ew and gentile fellowship in

the Christian meals rather than on the natre of the viands (as in 4cts "*-"" and


32/35

"". The tension in Col 2:"# was not becase the Christians were gathering to worship on

abbath, bt becase their commnal meals were inclsive and presmably negligent

of 1ashrut+?

"2. Col 2:"# indicates the members of the Colossian commnity were being 'dged

becase of the manner in which they celebrated their commnal meals on the feast

days, inclding abbath. They were not being 'dged becase of their choice of days,

since the threefold list conformed to $ewish tradition.

The isse in both %om "&:-# and Col 2:"# was compleE. t it was not a debate over

when to gather for worship. That was a habit already embedded in the tradition of the

synagoge, which was readily absorbed into Christian practice by the earliest chrch.3The

conflict between the early followers of $ess and their $ewish origins was more over AwhoB

($ew and gentile+ and AhowB (what to eat+ than AwhenB as regards worship. 5al was

comfortable with diversity and advocated tolerance of it, bt he was also anEios to preserve


33/35


34/35

A..ENDIX

ARIANTS IN ADENTIST /NDERSTANDIN O0 SAVBBATAIN COL 2:16

Na)e &e E3lana$&on!(o#e Saa$(-

*ee3&ng

acchiocchi&The wee! or the thday

abbath

=f thday, it refers to the false teachersL perverted abbath-!eeping. The false teachers

Cole The thday abbath 5al re'ects ritalistic abbath-!eeping. The false teachers

; 5reeP# The 4nnal abbaths5al abolishes the annal ceremonial abbaths of Trmpets and the;ay of 4tonement.

The false teachers

0ord5robably the thdayabbath

5al is against the ritalistic and ascetic !eeping of the abbath, btnot the abbath as sch.

The false teachers


35/35

%ichardson"*" The thday abbath5al denonces a Christ-less, ritalised $ewish, and

norman h. young - romans 14.56 and colossians 2.16 in social context

Documents