We are given here by the apostle Paul a glimpse of the works of the flesh. The Judaising heretics had begun to influence the church at Colossae and to persuade them that they needed Jewish ceremonies.
What was the purpose of the old Jewish rites and ceremonies – the old Jewish laws about eating and drinking, the great separation between clean foods and unclean foods, that was now abolished? It was given to the Jews in ancient times as part of their life and part of their worship to teach them distinctions, distinguishing between that which is holy and that which is unholy, that which is fit for God and that which is not fit for God because it is sinful and polluted. These elaborate rules were designed to teach them that holiness is necessary, a Saviour must come and purchase it for us because we have none of our own sufficient to deserve heaven and eternal life. The sacrifices taught that we are sinners and a sacrifice is going to have to be made for sin. The great sacrifice will be Christ when he comes. An animal cannot do it but it taught this: that sin must be done away with, that blood must be shed, punishment must be meted out before sin can be got rid of and we can be declared clean and innocent. But when Christ came and made that sacrifice, the old lessons that pointed forward, they were abolished, they were done away.