Peter Pan Jesus Some people talk about “the law being a shadow” as though the goal were to separate Jesus from it. They want the Messiah, but not the shape that announced Him. They want the substance, but resent the shadow it casts. But when you see a shadow approaching, you do not hate the shadow. You rejoice, because it means the one casting it is near. The Sabbath is a shadow of His rest. Passover is a shadow of His redemption. The appointed times are shadows of His work. The sacrifices, priesthood, and sanctuary are shadows of cleansing, holiness, mediation, and drawing near to God. The shadow is not the enemy of the reality. It is evidence of the reality. It reveals the outline of the One who is coming. So when Paul says these things are “a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Messiah,” he is not teaching us to tear Messiah away from Torah. He is teaching us to recognize Messiah through it. You do not honor the One casting the shadow by despising the shadow. And you certainly do not prove that you love Jesus by trying to cut Him loose from everything that reveals His shape. The shadow should be loved because it means the King is approaching.