Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
So in verse 17, Jesus tells Mary not to hold on to Him or cling to Him. Then in verse 27, just 10 verses later, He tells Thomas to reach out and touch Him to prove He was really there and really Jesus. He walks around in the next chapters and eats food, talks, has deep spiritual discussions, walks through walls, etc. I will grant you the "walk through walls" part is a whole different discussion about what our resurrected bodies will be like, so for now, let's stick with phrase "do not hold on to me" on verse 10 and then telling Thomas he can touch Him in verse 17.
As I struggled to understand the seemingly incongruity of these two statements, my first thought was that Jesus hadn't ascended yet, so He couldn't be touched by anyone. In fact, I have always thought that is what that meant, and that was fine, until I started studying about heaven and read verse 27. In my reading about heaven, our bodies are refered to as like Christ's. We think we are going to eat and drink and do activities and have jobs, etc. So, if that is the case, and we can do all that, why couldn't Mary cling to Jesus? I realize Jesus is the Son of God, so He could be different than us, so, I wondered if that was it. I read some more and that didn't really make sense as were are made in God's image. Also, verse 27 then indicated it is okay to touch Jesus's body. That doesn't make sense.
As I struggled to understand the seemingly incongruity of these two statements, my first thought was that Jesus hadn't ascended yet, so He couldn't be touched by anyone. In fact, I have always thought that is what that meant, and that was fine, until I started studying about heaven and read verse 27. In my reading about heaven, our bodies are refered to as like Christ's. We think we are going to eat and drink and do activities and have jobs, etc. So, if that is the case, and we can do all that, why couldn't Mary cling to Jesus? I realize Jesus is the Son of God, so He could be different than us, so, I wondered if that was it. I read some more and that didn't really make sense as were are made in God's image. Also, verse 27 then indicated it is okay to touch Jesus's body. That doesn't make sense.
So, I started searching for answers as I was really disturbed by what appeared to be opposing statements in the Bible. Isn't the Bible the Word of God? How can there be a mistake? At least it looked like there was a mistake to me. As I searched in commentaries, I finally read John MacArthur's Study Bible for verse 17. He stated"
"Mary was expressing a desire to hold on to his physical presence for fear that she would once again lose him. Jesus’ reference to his ascension signifies that he would only be temporarily with them and though she desperately wanted him to stay, he could not. Jesus was with them only for 40 more days and then he ascended (Acts 1:3–11)."
Also, here is a link to a belief.net discussion on this which says basically the same thing.
So, although I found verse 17 rather confusing at the start, it now makes sense. Apparently, the words we use and the Greek don't always translate perfectly, so we need to study carefully when the Bible doesn't make sense. Jesus wasn't telling Mary that somehow He would not be able to ascend if she clung to Him. He was telling her that He was leaving, ascending after 40 days and that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them after that. He didn't want her to think He would be staying there. He had a bigger plan than they could have imagined. Isn't that always the case? And isn't it always the case that everything in the Bible makes sense if you study it to try and figure out what is confusing you?
Thank you, Father, that you are always planning and watching over and caring for us, both here on this earth and in heaven. In Jesus name. Amen.
So, although I found verse 17 rather confusing at the start, it now makes sense. Apparently, the words we use and the Greek don't always translate perfectly, so we need to study carefully when the Bible doesn't make sense. Jesus wasn't telling Mary that somehow He would not be able to ascend if she clung to Him. He was telling her that He was leaving, ascending after 40 days and that He would send the Holy Spirit to be with them after that. He didn't want her to think He would be staying there. He had a bigger plan than they could have imagined. Isn't that always the case? And isn't it always the case that everything in the Bible makes sense if you study it to try and figure out what is confusing you?
Thank you, Father, that you are always planning and watching over and caring for us, both here on this earth and in heaven. In Jesus name. Amen.
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Thank you for your comments. I will review then in a few days! I hope you see God's blessings for you this week!