Touch, Taste and Handle Not Colossians 2:21

The Judaizers and Gnostics were two false teaching groups who were spreading heretical doctrine throughout the Gentile churches. The church in Colosse was one of the churches who heard their teachings and were being convinced they were true. The Judaizers believed that works such as circumcision and following the law of Moses were necessary for salvation, and the Gnostics denied the deity of Jesus Christ and were spiritualist. Paul the apostle addressed these false-teachings in his letter to the Colossians, and in chapter two and verse twenty-two he wrote specifically to some of these heretical concerns. We read:

(Touch not; taste not; handle not;

The verse begins, “(Touch not;” Paul, who knew the law implicitly, addressed the law of what people were not to “touch” or “to fasten one's self to, adhere to, or cling to”. The law of Moses gave specific rules concerning touching “a dead body or anything that was offered to an idol”, and touching these things would make a person ceremonially unclean. If someone touched one of these things even by accident there were various mandatory laws that were to be followed to be clean again.

The verse continues, “taste not;” In addition to laws concerning what not to touch, Paul added, “Taste not” or “try the flavor of, take nourishment from or eat” as part of these false-teachers' rules. There were rules concerning what they were not to eat such as bat, raven, owl, and things that creep on all four legs in the law of Moses, and Paul included these in his examples to the Colossians.

Finally the verse says, “handle not;” Paul also included laws concerning what they were not to “handle” which is similar to “touch not” but means more specifically “to do violence to or injure”. The idea was to hold on to something in a more clingy way than the slight “touch” mentioned above. Whenever a person clung too closely and hung on to something impure, they violated the law and were certainly unclean.

As we think about these words of Paul, the message is “don't, don't don't”, and it speaks of “legalism”. Those who were promoting these laws were presenting a manner of living which at best leads to “self-righteousness”, and “self-righteousness” is not enough to have a relationship with God. No one could follow the law of God and Moses except for Jesus Christ, and this was the reason He came. People failed when it came to following every “touch not, taste not, handle not” law, but Jesus fulfilled all righteousness and was without “sin” in His life. Perhaps as we meditate upon this idea we will find areas of “legalism” in our own lives that make us feel a little more “righteous” than others, and if we do, may we bring all these misgivings to our Heavenly Father and leave them at the holy altar of Jesus Christ who fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf.

Next time Paul will write about how these things perish, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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