Touch Me Not

[Augustine3]

Referring to the context of when St Mary Magdalene was about to touch Jesus after she realized who he was, but Jesus wouldn’t let her touch him because he said “for I have not yet ascended to the Father” . I’ve read all kinds of commentaries leaving some holes in terms of explaining why Jesus said that. Then I heard in a debate the simple explanation of Jesus who was in his glorified body would not allow a sinful person to touch him in order to present his sacrificial body to the Father as an acceptable offering.

However what do this say about Jesus eating the fish after his ascension?

 

[JerryZ]

Well, Did Jesus present Himself to the Apostles at the fish scene immediately after showing Himself to Mary of Magdala?
We need to understand that it is difficult to guage time sequence in many passages of the Bible. How many hours or days passed between those 2 events, we have no clue.

However Jesus was first seen by the women that had gone to “properly” prepare His body for burial.
Remember Jesus had been laid to rest in haste because the Sabbath was upon them and the Jews could not perform any work, including burials.
How long did it take Him to present Himself to the Father, again we have no clue. We just need to accept His word for it and leave it at that.

–

 

[FaustinaJulia]

I have heard that this restraint on her was due to Jewish custom/law at the time which pretty much forbade physical contact between a man and any woman who was not of his blood family or his wife. I believe this prohibition is still practiced among certain extreme orthodox Jewish sects. She, being human was startled enough to disregard propriety, but he, being God of course, recalled it to her. While this may seem to contradict the story of the fallen woman who annointed Jesus’s head with a container of costly oil and bathed his feet with her tears and hair, the context and the intent of the two women need to be kept in mind.

 

[Railsplitter]

I digress, but I have heard opinions that the fallen women who anointed Jesus’s feet may or may not have been the adulteress he prevented the stoning of or Mary from whom he exorcised seven demons etc. In other words some people don’t believe Mary of Magdala was the biblical “Forrest Gump.” Interesting, I’m not sure.

 

[SecretaryMonday]

Other translations say “do not cling to me.” Others were allowed to touch him, or were at least invited to (i.e. Thomas). All of the disciples had to let Him go at the Ascension; when they were “clinging” by standing there looking up where He had last been seen, angels told them to quit it. He needed to leave them, not to be clung to, in order to reveal Himself even more fully to them in His apparent absence?

Just makin’ stuff up here.

 

[WaitingForJesus]

Other translations say “do not cling to me.” Others were allowed to touch him, or were at least invited to (i.e. Thomas). All of the disciples had to let Him go at the Ascension; when they were “clinging” by standing there looking up where He had last been seen, angels told them to quit it. He needed to leave them, not to be clung to, in order to reveal Himself even more fully to them in His apparent absence?

Just makin’ stuff up here.

I have always wondered what Jesus meant in this passage and am really interested in hearing what others say. I think what you are saying makes sense…that he is telling her she needs to let go of his physical presence so that he reveal himself to her more fully in a spiritual sense. We need to trust that he is hear with us even when we don’t feel it.

The timing of this is interesting too me. I am feeling bad for several days and was thinking as I drove in to work: “Where are you Lord? When will this darkness end?” What you wrote reminds me that HE is here and has been all along.