Shadows
- Paul Scott
- Aug 7, 2020
- 2 min read
We all know what a shadow is: a 2-D outline caused by an object blocking light. Or a certain state of being, formed within the shaded outline, such as “the shadow of his wings” (positive); or “the shadow of death” (negative).
When Paul compares the OT system to the excellence of Christ, several times he uses the word shadow; it’s not a coincidence:
A shadow is a 2-D (two dimensional) outline of a 3-D object. A shadow has no detail, no depth, and no permanence. It’s merely a temporary outline. Paul wrote succinctly:
“…Which [OT ordinances] are a shadow of things to come; but the body
is of Christ” (Col 2:17).
It’s a perfect word to describe the law vis-a-vis Christ. Those Old Testament things were but a shadow, a 2-D outline; but He brings the body, the fullness of dimension and detail.
After likening the law of sacrifices to a shadow (Hebrews 10:1), and commenting that it had no permanence, thereby requiring repetition of the offerings (“…year by year continually…”), he shows the solution: “…but a body hast thou prepared me” (10:6).
A shadow lacks detail and a 'z' dimension (volume); a body has both.
Notice too, a shadow is lacking in the dimension of time – it has no sure future, no permanence; but a body does (specifically the sacrifice of Christ):
“by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10). Notice the word for ever is connected with a body, not with a shadow (10:12, 14).
This is a simple word study; but, how interesting this Bible is! The words used (such as shadow) are the exact and perfect tools for our understanding.
To fully appreciate how perfect this particular clock is for this particular movie, let's revisit the context. Murray plays Phil Connors, a cantankerous, glitzier-than-thou weatherman who gets stuck in a mystical forever of February 2nds link on location in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where a link local-famous groundhog is about to see or not see its shadow. Murray's producer, Rita (played by a luminous Andie MacDowell), is too link pretty not to get Phil's attention, though he thinks she's provincial.