Colossians 2:15

The disarming of the angelic rulers probably refers to Christ’s defeat of the evil angelic powers by His death and resurrection. [Note: Lightfoot, pp. 187-89.] This seems better than His retiring a mediatorial function of the good angels such as their giving the Law. [Note: Homer Kent Jr., Treasures of Wisdom, pp. 88-89.]

"Christ divested Himself at the cross of the evil powers which had struggled with Him so strongly throughout His ministry in attempts to force Him to abandon the pathway of the cross (cf. Luke 4:1-13; Matthew 16:22-23; Luke 22:53, etc.)." [Note: Johnson, 477:20.]

The public display probably refers to Jesus’ disgracing the powers of evil when He died on the cross by bearing the sin that was their claim and hold on human beings. Christ triumphed over Satan’s hosts at the cross (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14). "It" seems better than "Him."

"It is more natural to view the principalities and powers here as the defeated foes, driven in front of the triumphal chariot as involuntary and impotent witnesses to their conqueror’s superior might." [Note: Bruce, "Colossians Problems," 563:298-99. For a brief explanation and evaluation of the three major theories of the atonement of Christ, see Johnson, 477:21-22.]

"The picture, quite familiar in the Roman world, is that of a triumphant general leading a parade of victory. . . . To the casual observer the cross appears to be only an instrument of death, the symbol of Christ’s defeat; Paul represents it as Christ’s chariot of victory." [Note: Vaughan, p. 202.]

This passage is another (cf. Colossians 1:15-20) that emphasizes the supremacy of Jesus Christ and accounts for the strong Christological flavor of this epistle.