Gospel of John [20:11-17]. Christ's Resurrection, part 5.

Title: Gospel of John [20:11-17]. Christ's Resurrection, part 5.

Joh 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

Joh 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

This seems to indicate that we will appear slightly different, and going from an mortal, imperfect body to an immortal perfect body, that makes sense and our voices will be similar to what it is now.

We often fail to recognize the Lord when He comes to us 'in another form' than we had known.

Since He is all in all we must learn to see Him in everything and as such He will not be noticeable in the exact same way as in other circumstances.

Joh 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"

So much is made of the reason that he commanded her not to touch Him that the greatness of this verse is glossed over, which is the content of what she is told to relay to the disciples, whom He addresses as His brethren.

The verb means to touch but Robertson in his New Testament Word Pictures states:

Present middle imperative in prohibition with genitive case, meaning "cease clinging to me" rather than "Do not touch me."

(Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Yet the Lord allowed the women to take hold of His feet in worship.

Mat 28:9

And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

He didn't rebuke them for this.

And because of the doubts of the disciples and Thomas He asked them to touch Him.

Luk 24:39

"See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

Joh 20:27

Then He said to Thomas, "Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing."

By the way, Thomas only did what the others had done after expecting that Jesus was a ghost. I think the title "Doubting" should be removed from Thomas' name and if it is to remain it should be added to the other disciples as well.

Of the many theories I do not think it has to do with the clinging, i.e. "You can touch Me but not too hard," but it may be that He is teaching Mary, who likely wants to remain with Him all day and every day, that since He is going to ascend to the Father, her relationship with Him is not going to be what it was before in walking with Him, eating with Him, hearing Him, seeing Him, and touching Him, but that it would be in a new and spiritual way.

The prohibition here reminds Mary that the previous personal fellowship by sight, sound, and touch no longer exists and that the final state of glory was not yet begun. Jesus checks Mary's impulsive eagerness. (Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)

"I have not yet ascended;" He may mean that He will not be leaving immediately; that this isn't the last time she will see Him, so she can go away to bring the message to the disciples.

"Do not approach me now for this purpose. Do not delay here. Other opportunities will yet be afforded to see me. I have not yet ascended-that is, I am not about to ascend immediately, but shall remain yet on earth to afford opportunity to my disciples to enjoy my presence." (Barnes' Notes)

Mary must not hold Him back or keep Him there all for herself. There is much to do before He ascends and many of those things do not include the presence of Mary.

The whole program of what He is to do during the 40 days on earth from this morning up to the day He ascends into heaven can fall under the term "I ascend." (present active indicative)

From now on, as the Risen one, Jesus is no longer with His own on earth as before.

This is pretty much the best that we can discern.

"The brethren" refers to the disciples.

Mat 28:10

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they shall see Me."

He speaks of them this way because God is their Father as He is His Father.

Heb 2:11

For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren

Once before He referred to His mothers and brothers as being those who hear the word of God and keep it, but here, for the first time, it means something eternal and wonderful, that He and they and all in the church share a common Father, God the Father.

Psa 22:22

I will tell of Thy name to my brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee.

This is the first verse of the second half of Psa 22. The first half is all about the suffering of Christ on the cross and then in verse 22 the Psalm takes a drastic turn to the resurrected One who will never suffer again. His first command given in resurrection body is to "go to My brethren and say…"

So when Jesus says My Father and your Father, and My God and your God, He is linking Himself with them in a common kingdom and a common royal family.

I wish that all believers would understand the impact of this upon them and through faith in it rejoice in their hearts to the extent that this truth should produce. I can imagine the reaction of the disciples, all brought up under the Law, and under false teaching about that Law, that they would have had to such a statement when they finally came to believe it.

The message from Mary was received by them with skepticism but they would soon come to understand and believe it.

His words are reminiscent of Ruth's words to Naomi:

Rut 1:16

But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.

Ruth was a Moabite while Naomi was a Jew from Bethlehem. Ruth would marry Boaz who was the great grandfather of David. Ruth therefore entered the line of Jesus Christ and in the same way all sinners, through faith in the finished work of Christ, moves into the line of Christ, but in a much more intimate way, as brethren with a common God and Father.

As He said in the upper room, His departure is to their advantage. By doing so He brings them into the closest possible relationship to the Father.

Jesus' departure from Mary is not described, any more than His coming or His miraculous appearance to her. Again she seeks out the disciples but now not in desperation but as the messenger of good news.

Joh 20:18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

And with this, Mary Magdalene disappears from the gospels.

Joh 20:19 When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

We can conclude with certainty that this is the same meeting described in Luk 24 where He taught them about His death, burial, and resurrection from the OT scriptures. The two men from the Emmaus road were there, and so they heard the teaching for the second time that day.

What is often overlooked as well is that it seems fairly clear that the Lord had appeared to Peter alone before this, and don't forget, that John had come to believe at the tomb. Yet still, the main point to take from this appearance of Christ to the ten is that:

Their fear will turn to joy and their ignorance of the application of OT scripture to Him will turn to wisdom.

There are differences between all of them, but one thing they have in common right now is fear and ignorance and Christ is going to change that. Whether He already did this for Peter is not the issue. It's a race to maturity before we die, but it is not a race against each other.

The disciples are still in fear of arrest from the religious leaders. Fear is the result of ignorance of all Christ has accomplished.

Jesus' greeting was the regular one used when friend met friend and is still used today.

As they heard it, they would remember how recently He has said to them:

Joh 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

This was said just a few days ago, yet it must have seemed like years ago, because of what had happened since then.

The fact that the doors are mentioned as being shut is that He didn't have to open them. Suddenly He was there in their presence, but not as a ghost or spirit, but bodily, flesh and bone, scars and all. [This is not Jacob Marley]

When the disciples recognized the Lord their fear was turned to rejoicing. We see Him every day through His word.

Joh 20:20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Joh 16:22 "Therefore you too now have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you.

The scars make His bodily recognition unmistakable and undeniably made of flesh. Yet the scars have a greater significance for all of eternity as His body will be the only one that has them.

His scars are not just signs for them to recognize Him but they are signs of His victory forever.

Though a physical body Christ did not rise in the same earthly body but the heavenly one that the Trinity transformed.

Php 3:21

who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Php 2:8-9

And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name

1Co 15:49

And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1Co 15:53

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

The only reaction of the disciples in this appearance is mentioned here as rejoicing.

Joh 17:13 "But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves.

Joh 20:21 Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."