Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father."
Why did Jesus tell Mary not to "hold on to" Him? Presumably it was not a problem with touching, since Jesus told Thomas to touch Him. Was it a gender issue?
I know Jesus said, "for I have not yet returned to the Father" but I don't understand why that should prohibit physical contact.
He allowed a sinful woman to wash his feet before with her tears and hair, which was rather inappropriate for her to do particularly at a dinner she wasn't invited to.
One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. —Luke 7:36-38
Moreover, in general all of the details the Bible gives are important. If this was a gender issue, it would be of little to no theological significance.
After Jesus' resurrection, his relation to his disciples changed. They don't recognize him right away in several cases, and in the book of Revelation John has a very different experience of him than leaning on his chest as at the last supper.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. —Revelation 1:17
Jesus had already told them that when he went to be with the father, he would send another comforter, the Holy Spirit. Thus, even though they had a short period where they sometimes got to see him in his physical body, they were right on the edge of the inauguration of the Holy Spirit's administration of Christ to them. They were about to begin participating in Christ in a deeper, more spiritual way. Thus, the physical affection that they had showed him was no longer appropriate.
Thomas of course touched him in a different way for a different reason—and not in a way or for a reason that he would have done before the crucifixion; it was part of specific purpose of his appearances to them during that time (bearing witness to the resurrection).
Also, the idea of clinging here more than likely does not have a purely physical sense. In John 14 (and the following chapters), Jesus had already had a prolonged discussion with the disciples about him returning to the Father, during which time they expressed great sadness in spite of his insisting that it was better for them. This verse is best viewed in light of that passage; they ought not to cling to him yet, but to cling to him spiritually after he returns to the Father.
Wikis,
There are generally 3 views held for this question:
Jesus spoke to Mary, acting, as it were, as the High Priest fulfilling the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). Having accomplished the sacrifice, He was on His way to present the blood in heaven (after being in the heart of the earth 3 days), and, between the meeting with Mary in the garden and the meeting of Mt. 28:9, He had so ascended and returned—a view in harmony with types.
That Mary was gently rebuked by Christ in the command "Touch me not" (literally, "Stop clinging to me"). The lord taught Mary that now she must not seek t hold Him to the earth but, rather, become his messenger of new Joy
That he merely meant: "Do not detain me now; I have not yet ascended; you will see me again; run rather to my brethren," etc
None of these suppose that the command was given to Mary specifically because she was a woman.
I don't believe it had anything to do with gender. Jesus had nothing against Mary; there was definitely a different issue involved. I've heard an interesting reasoning for this, but I'm not a scholar and I haven't done enough study on it. Some say that it has to do with Jesus' physical nature after the resurrection, that He was physically something other than what our bodies are now.
Is it possible that this is emotional? That the first person that Jesus wanted to embrace or touch him, was in fact, the Heavenly Father? The Father turned his back on him on the cross, which would make sense that now that the sins of the world were paid for, he would want to reunite with his Father, fully embracing him and taking his rightful place on the throne. Just a thought; I definitely could be wrong.
John 20:17 (NKJV)
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
Why did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene to stop clinging to him?
Mary evidently clung to Jesus because she thought that he was about to ascend to heaven and she would never see him again. To assure her that he was not yet leaving, Jesus told her to stop clinging to him but instead to go and give his disciples the news of his resurrection.
Jesus shows compassion to the sick.
In Mark 7:32-36 he puts his fingers into the man’s ears and, after spitting, touches the man’s tongue.
In Luke 22:48 he asks Judas, "Do you betray me with a kiss?"
In Matthew 20:32-34 (NKJV)
32So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
33They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” 34 So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
In Mark 1:40-41 (NASB)
40And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
In Luke 8:42-48 (NIV) he expressed warmth and feeling for the woman who had a bleeding ailment that could not be healed.
48 ... “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
After reading all these explanations, I need to bring some clarity to this statement made to Mary by Jesus on "Resurrection morning." This statement by Jesus is the "core" or the objective of Christianity. Mary obedience (not clinging to Jesus) before He ascended to the Father, is the hope of a "Resurrection life" to all who are called and chosen by the Father. • The answer as follows: 1. Jesus is seen hear as the "Firstfruit of the Resurrection." The first to be "Resurrected" from the dead with His new body (glorified body), Who now abolished death and brought life (eternal life) and "immortality" to light [2 Tim. 1:10]. 2. Jesus being the "Firstfruit of the Resurrection," have to now make a "holy" (undefile; pure; set apart from defilement) presentation of His glorified body to the Father, honoring the Father with the "firstfruit" (His glorified and immortal body) [Prov. 3:9-10]. 3. This holy convocation (undefiled, pure, free from any form of human contamination) presentation of Jesus to the Father, with His (resurrected, glorified, immortal body), was a representation of the harvest (a redeem people, Christ's Church), who the Father would receive, which is yet to come after the establishment of Christ's Church. [Rom. 11:16] "For if the firstfruit be Holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be Holy, so are the branches." 4. But in this order: [1 Cor. 15:20-23] "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept (asleep, have died). For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."
My closing statement:
After Jesus ascended to heaven being the "Firstfruits of the Resurrection", making a holy representative presentation of the harvest to God (those promised eternal life, immortality, God's firstfruits), consecrating them. He decended on the evening of that said resurrection day [Jn. 20:19-20] and showed His disciples His hands and His side. Paul mentioned to our Philippians brethren: [Phil. 3:20-21] "For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." • The Father after receiving the undefiled "Firstfruits" representative presentation of His intended harvest (Christ's Church) by Jesus, sent the "First fruits of His Spirit" (the Holy Spirit), into the lives of those who believed on the day of Pentecost [Acts. 2:1-4], fifty days after Jesus first ascension. Thus, establishing the Church era (resulting in the beginning of His harvest, the Church, the Firstfruits of the Resurrection), to receive at the appearing of Jesus [1 Cor. 15:51-57;1 Thess. 4:13-18], corruptible putting on in corruption, mortal putting on immortality at the sound of the Trumpet of God.
Blessings (The Slayer).
There is limited information available and no real way of confirming the definitive answer. There are lots of assumptions made in an attempt to ‘marry’ / explain more in hope – but lacks real evidence.
The translations differ, you have cling / hold / touch etc…
Clearly, this relates to a physical contact and expected in the circumstances and context.
The more you analyse the circumstances, more Q rise.
Matt 28:9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.
1 John 1:1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life.
Luke 24:39 - Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”
John 20:27 - 27 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.”
Luke 20:36 - And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.
Luke 24:39 - Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”
John 20:19 - That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said.
John 20:26-29 - The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, etc…
Conclusion:
Difference of opinion, strongest - IMO is ‘cling (hug/grip – arguably tight)’ – which would be appropriate - relief at seeing Jesus, ‘grabbed’ hold of him.
Jesus clearly confirms in Luke 24:39 that he is not a ghost / spirit and he has a body / flesh and bones that spirits do not have.
only conclusion IMO is that Mary was grabbing hold of him too tight and hurting his wounds.
It was not a gender issue, but ritual impurity, which Jesus possessed for being dead. These gospel details do not imply historical details, but should be seen as independent narrative details according to the author's intent. See a Narrative Criticism article by James Resseguie for a brief study.
Sources of Tumah (Impurity)
The Torah describes a number of sources of tumah which can be broken down into two basic categories. The first, are external sources of tumah, such as humans (tumat meit) and certain animals (n’veila) and rodents (sheretz) that have died. These items are by their very nature tamei and coming in contact with them will make a person tamei. The second category are situations where the person internally, due to a change in his own body, becomes tamei (i.e., the tumah flows from the person himself). Examples of this include, a zav (a man with abnormal discharge), zavah (a woman with abnormal discharge or a niddah — a menstruant), yoledet (one who has recently given birth) and a metzorah. These persons have the power to transmit tumah as well.
Corpse uncleanness is a state of ritual uncleanness described in Jewish halachic law. It is the highest grade of uncleanness, or defilement, and is contracted by having either directly or indirectly touched, carried or shifted a dead human body, or after having entered a roofed house or chamber where the corpse of a Jew is lying (conveyed by overshadowing).
Corpse uncleanness is first described in the Books of the Law conveyed by Moses to the nation of Israel, and where, for example, in Numbers 31:19, is the requisite to allow for a seven-day purification period after making physical contact with a human corpse.
Leviticus 11:24-25, Numbers 19:11-22: These passages outline the laws related to corpse impurity and the purification rituals required after coming into contact with a dead body.
Almost all modern English translations are wrong in rendering the word for touch as cling or hold, for not being able to understand the reason or the context behind it, under their hatred and ignorance of the Jewish law; they have attempted to twist the text completely. EHV renders, "Do not continue to cling to me".
The first incidence of Jesus showing himself in front of the disciples room is after ending his severe seven-day impurity, as he had presented or consecrated himself to God, however, the incident of Thomas touching his body is shown after eight days (Jn 20:26), a way of saying "the eighth day", it is the next Sunday (this is also circumcision happens after 7 days). Thus, the author assumes the uncleanness period for a resurrected man to be similar to the period observed after birth, as mentioned in Luke 2:22. The new mother was contagious only during the severe first stage of impurity for a week, after that she could touch people in the reduced impurity, however, could not touch the holy things until completing the full 40-day period (see Gordon J. Wenham, 1979, p 186 on Lev 12). The same law applies to the infant, and consequently to the resurrected Jesus, in John's narrative.
However, Luke does not display such waiting period, as Jesus let them inspect his body on the same day of resurrection, and even eats with them, Luke 24:39-40.
When the high priest sprinkled blood onto the arc in the holy of holies, the blood was accepted by the Father. When Jesus came out of the grave he had to ascend to the Father and have His sacrifice accepted which the Father did. He didn't want Mary touching him before He ascended
Could it simply be Mary was clinging to the physical idea of Jesus and he was no longer that, he was risen and glorified. I mean if Jesus could appear in a closed room to his disciples, how would Mary prevent him from seeing his father by clinging to him. I understand it could be a holiness thing about presenting himself to his Father but at that point she would have already touched him and made him unclean.
(Possibly, Until Jesus went to the Father He did not want to be touched because those touching Him were corrupt (Dead). In the Old Testament it was forbidden to touch the dead. Once He completed His assertion than it would be different. Or He was telling her I’ll be back but don’t hold me here because I have to this first. It’s an interesting passage.
Adding to the other answer from @user2544542. Jesus had to present himself to the Father on the day of the resurrection, pure and unblemished, as an offering of first fruits. Therefore Mary Magdalene could not touch him until this was accomplished.
When Jesus appears to Mary next to the tomb, he forbids her from touching (or holding) him. But we read further that:
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
John does not explicitly say that the disciples were welcome to touch him, but Luke's gospel does. Luke 24:13 confirms that two disciples met Jesus on the road to Emmaus "that same day" (the day of the resurrection), then went back to Jerusalem after Jesus revealed himself to them and disappeared before their eyes to tell the Eleven what had happened.
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
It had taken the two disciples until almost dark to reach Emmaus. They sat down to eat and Jesus broke bread and disappeared. They hurried back to Jerusalem at once, but would have arrived back very late at night. So in effect it was certainly the next day (the day starting at sunset) when Jesus appeared to the Eleven in the room with them.
But by that time, the disciples were instructed to touch his hands and feet. This seems to be something like 18-24 hours after he forbade Mary from holding him, which was around dawn.
So what changed?
The day of the resurrection was also the appointed day of first fruits. There is some amazing prophetic timing at play here. Leviticus 23:4-16:
The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ... This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord.
This is the passage that establishes Shavuot / Pentecost. What is interesting here is that the day after the seventh Sabbath is said to be the 50th day after the first fruits offering. But when do the people "enter the land"? Joshua 4:19:
On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho.
The Israelites literally entered the Land of Israel four days before Passover. That was the same day the Passover lamb was to be selected. Exodus 12:3-6
... On the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ... Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.
OK, so the 10th day of the first month is "when you enter the land". And the day after the next "Sabbath" after that is the start of seven weeks, followed by Shavuot / Pentecost. There is just one problem. There is no guarantee that the days of the week will line up with the days of the first month to make this true.
The resolution is that the day after Passover is a Sabbath. Leviticus 23:5-8:
The LORD’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
These passages imply that the 49th day, the day just before Shavuot, is also a Sabbath, even if it does not fall on the weekly Sabbath.
Jewish practices today generally differ somewhat from what is written. Passover is said to be celebrated nowadays starting on the 15th day of Nisan, though the candles are lit before sunset, while it is still the 14th. But the death and resurrection of Jesus seems to follow what is written quite literally.
Getting to the point, we can see that the day of the resurrection coincided with the appointed offering of the first fruits. John 19:31 says:
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
I will hold the rest of the timeline to be common knowledge, but it is documented in the gospels.
While Jesus never fully explains this within the pages of scripture, we may infer that he had to appear before the Father in his role as a priest, to present the first fruits (likely his own resurrection) to the Father as a kind of offering. By the next night, this had been accomplished and it was no longer important for his disciples to avoid touching him.
A footnote. In Matthew 28:8-9 we read:
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
By comparing the narratives in the four gospels, this must have been just after Mary Magdalene attempted to hold him when she saw him at the tomb. This seems to imply that touching his feet would not be a problem in the same way that Mary holding him would. Or perhaps even in that brief amount of time, which could have been mere moments, Jesus had presented himself to the Father, and now it wasn't important any more that he not be touched.
Simple answer is Jesus risen body was a glorified holly Body and was not to be defiled before He went to see the father who is also Holly.
Was it a gender issue?
Not at all!
Immediately afterwards, when the women were going a second time to the Apostles’ place to inform them about the risen Jesus (first time they went to report the empty tomb), the women met Jesus on the way:
“But as they were going to report to His disciples, behold, Jesus also met them, saying, Hail! And coming near, they seized His feet and worshiped Him” (Matt 28:9).
See, the women TOUCHED Jesus sometimes afterwards and worshipped Him. If this was a gender issue, Jesus would have prevented them from doing so. But this time He didn’t.
And we need to remember that this was much before Thomas, a man, touched the Lord!
So, it is clear that this was not a gender issue at all!
Why did Jesus tell Mary not to "hold on to" Him?
Because, Jesus was the “Firstfruit” (1 Cor 15:20) of the firstfruits.
Because, that day was the Wave sheaf offering day!
Explanation
Representing Jesus’ First Coming, God gave certain Feasts starting in the first month of Nissan (our March-April). These are the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread (UB) and Pentecost. [Representing Jesus’ Second Coming, God gave certain Feasts in the 7th month (our September-October). These are the Feast of Trumpets, Atonement Day and the Feast of Booths].
The Feast of UB spans 7 days. In these 7 days will come a Saturday Sabbath. “On the morrow of” this Saturday “Sabbath”, i.e., on early Sunday morning, the High Priest was to wave the first ever crop of that year, bundled into a sheaf before the LORD in the Temple in Jerusalem (Lev 23:10-11).
This sheaf is the first fruit of the first fruits reaped in that year. If my memory is correct (I don’t claim surety but I remember as having read somewhere) that this sheaf is considered to be a holy offering to the LORD, to be touched only by the High Priest. (Since I am not very sure about the touching part, someone can confirm this).
This holy sheaf (the first of the first fruits) represents Jesus Christ, the First fruit of the first fruits.
In the New Testament, Jesus Himself is the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek (Heb 6:20).
So, when Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus, He, as the High Priest, was about to present Himself as the First Sheaf before the Almighty God the Father exactly at the time the Jewish high priest was supposed to wave the sheaf in the Temple in Jerusalem!!!
Since the sheaf was holy and NOT to be touched by anyone, man or woman, except the high priest, Jesus as the First fruit was not to be touched by anyone , man or woman, before presented to the Holy Father (Heb 9:12)!!
This is the reason why Jesus prohibited Mary from touching Him.
But immediately afterwards, Jesus allowed all the women to catch hold of Him and worship. Later only, Thomas, a man, got a chance to touch Jesus!!
How God, who Himself created man and woman, can have gender discrimination!
According to Torah law, it is forbidden for a man to seclude himself with a woman who is an Ervah, someone to whom he is forbidden. The Rabbis forbade one from secluding himself with a single Jewish woman, as well as a non-Jewish woman. halachipedia
I am going to break with the majority and answer that Mary's status as a woman should not be ignored here. Jewish law prohibits a unmarried man and woman to be alone together. Moreover, whether Jesus and Magdalene were bound by this law or not, the Gospel needed to make it clear that any touching was fleeting, and a further embrace was rejected by Jesus.
The scene presents Jesus as being alone with Mary. This was not allowed. Moreover, women of virtue did not embrace men other than their immediate family in those days. Her (or another woman) touching him in a semi-public setting was already controversial. To touch/hold him in private had serious implications that in today's culture we may not appreciate. Whether it would be a violation of Jewish law or not, it was important for the Gospel writer to make sure there was no sexual or romantic implication in their touching, at least on Jesus' part.
Anne Aalbers of the University of Auckland writes:
Jesus is the resurrected one who experienced not only human woundedness but also human sexuality... the language of “Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended” allows for the possibility of sexual innuendo. Thus, the distancing of Mary by Jesus can be understood as a necessary command to preserve his celibacy.
Conclusion: whether Jesus was bound by the prohibitions of Jewish law or not, his saying "do not touch/hold me" is an affirmation that Mary's relationship with Jesus - whatever her desire had been in the past - must be one of absolute sexual purity.
The Lord says explicitly: "touch Me not, for I haven't yet ascended to My Father", that is to say, do what I have just ordered to you without delay and tell my disciples the good news of My resurrection, as to embracing Me - you will still have enough time, for I haven't ascended yet to the Father, after which you will not be able to do so.
This is the first level of objective, historical exegesis. However, there is another aspect to it: the Lord indicates to Mary that from now on His relationship with the disciples will become more detached physically, not like it was before His death and resurrection, that they should get accustomed to the times when He will not be present physically, but will still be present even more intimately, spiritually (2 Cor. 5:16), closer to them than their own skin, that is to say, working powerfully in their very hearts (Col. 1:29)
