John 20:17 Commentary and Bible Study

Evidently she has grasped his sleeve and clutched hold of him. It is my Lord. He is alive. She does not know how to react, and Christ says to her, gently no doubt, No, Mary, ‘touch me not; for I am not yet ascended. I am here just to appear. I am going to ascend to my Father, now you have to live by faith. I am only appearing; I am not returning to resume my walk with you. This is just an appearance, so do not think it is like before and you can touch my shoulder and sleeve and anoint my hair or whatever. Do not think it is like that. You must love me by faith. One day you will see me in glory and I shall take you home.’ He does not say all that but that is the sense.‘Tell my brethren, my family. It is the first time he calls his disciples his brethren in the whole of his ministry. Tell them that I am going to ascend.’ You see the gentleness in which it is done, the intimation, the empty tomb. Now Mary, a woman, sees him first and she gets the big caution. ‘Tell them Mary; make it clear to them that I am only appearing. I am going to glory, I am going to ascend. And our relationship in the future will be by faith. I will be alive but invisible to you. I will be near you but not felt by you.’ So they are introduced in stages to the resurrection so that they grasp it without misunderstanding. Why was Mary Magdalene the first to see the risen Lord? She was the lady out of whom the Lord cast seven demons. There is no evidence in the New Testament she was ever a prostitute. There is certainly no evidence she was married to the Lord, as some have absurdly suggested. But she was present throughout the last hours. She stood near the cross, she sought with others to anoint his body. Her faith was weak, she did not understand he would be raised from the dead, but her love and gratitude to him for saving her soul was very strong. But why first to Mary Magdalene? We can only say that it must not be to one of the apostles. Imagine if Christ had appeared first to Peter or to John, there would have been all kind of misconstructions put on that. Whoever it was would surely have been the chief and premier apostle. So Christ appears first to one of the women, and there is not going to be any foolish misunderstanding.