Do Not Hold On
Read John 20:11-18.
Imagine the joy Mary felt when she realized it was Jesus in front of her. After all, she had watched him die. She had come to the tomb to mourn, to finish the burial. She knew what to expect; it's probably not the first time she had been to a tomb. Death was a much larger part of life in that world than it is in ours. (Not that death doesn't happen all around us; we just do a better job of hiding and/or avoiding it.) Mary came to weep. Mary came to mourn. Mary had lost everything when the stone had sealed the tomb.
Then...Jesus! Then...his voice! Something in his voice caused her to see him, really see him. Something in his voice caused her to have hope again. When she likely rushes to hug him (John doesn't say that, but it's implied in Jesus' response), Jesus says something rather strange: "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father" (John 20:17). A lot of ink has been spilled trying to explain this verse. I've even heard preachers say it's because his resurrection body was still "morphing" (whatever that means), that it wasn't "finalized" (like a burned DVD?) until he ascended. But why, then, does he invite Thomas to touch him a week later? The ascension, at that point, was still 33 days away.
Perhaps the answer is found in something Jesus said earlier in the Gospel: "When I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). I think Jesus is telling Mary, in some sense, "You can't hold onto me; you can't keep me to yourself. Especially now that I am resurrected, I am intended for all people. If you keep me for yourself, the cross was in vain." Don't hold onto me...instead, he says, go tell my brothers (the disciples). Go tell them—and then they will tell others, who will tell others, who will...well, you get the idea. Don't hold onto me. Don't keep me for yourself. Let the message of resurrection spread.
The same is true for us. Jesus is not just my personal Lord and savior. He is that, but he is more fully the savior of the world. If the world is to know him, we can't keep him locked up in our church buildings or even just in our hearts. We have to let him loose, share him with others, allow him to transform the world with resurrection power. The Jesus we follow is not to be held onto. In the words of C. S. Lewis, he's not tame, but he's good...and he intends good for all of us.
Imagine the joy Mary felt when she realized it was Jesus in front of her. After all, she had watched him die. She had come to the tomb to mourn, to finish the burial. She knew what to expect; it's probably not the first time she had been to a tomb. Death was a much larger part of life in that world than it is in ours. (Not that death doesn't happen all around us; we just do a better job of hiding and/or avoiding it.) Mary came to weep. Mary came to mourn. Mary had lost everything when the stone had sealed the tomb.
Then...Jesus! Then...his voice! Something in his voice caused her to see him, really see him. Something in his voice caused her to have hope again. When she likely rushes to hug him (John doesn't say that, but it's implied in Jesus' response), Jesus says something rather strange: "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father" (John 20:17). A lot of ink has been spilled trying to explain this verse. I've even heard preachers say it's because his resurrection body was still "morphing" (whatever that means), that it wasn't "finalized" (like a burned DVD?) until he ascended. But why, then, does he invite Thomas to touch him a week later? The ascension, at that point, was still 33 days away.
Perhaps the answer is found in something Jesus said earlier in the Gospel: "When I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to myself" (John 12:32). I think Jesus is telling Mary, in some sense, "You can't hold onto me; you can't keep me to yourself. Especially now that I am resurrected, I am intended for all people. If you keep me for yourself, the cross was in vain." Don't hold onto me...instead, he says, go tell my brothers (the disciples). Go tell them—and then they will tell others, who will tell others, who will...well, you get the idea. Don't hold onto me. Don't keep me for yourself. Let the message of resurrection spread.
The same is true for us. Jesus is not just my personal Lord and savior. He is that, but he is more fully the savior of the world. If the world is to know him, we can't keep him locked up in our church buildings or even just in our hearts. We have to let him loose, share him with others, allow him to transform the world with resurrection power. The Jesus we follow is not to be held onto. In the words of C. S. Lewis, he's not tame, but he's good...and he intends good for all of us.
That's a great explanation for that verse.
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