Monday, April 7, 2008
Mary Magdalene
I'm little lost with Sunday's reading. The author identifies that there is difference between handling and holding Jesus but doesn't really elaborate why Jesus wouldn't allow Mary to hold on to him. Can anyone share their thoughts on this and how this can be applied to our lives? Thanks.
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4 comments:
Hello!
I don't know if I understand it fully, but this is how I understood it when I read the difference between handling and holding. Stott stated that Mary was not allowed to hold onto Jesus because the old friendship could not continue, and how I related it to present time is that once we accept Jesus into ourselves, we cannot hold onto our old habits, and the way our old lives were. But i'm not sure if that's right or anything.... ^.^
I think Mary had crush on Jesus.... I'm not trying to be funny, but don't you think that's a possibility???
What a great question: Why wouldn't Jesus allow Mary to hold on to him?
How should we interpret verse 17, "DO NOT HOLD ON TO ME, FOR I HAVE NOT YET RETURNED TO MY FATHER BUT GO INSTEAD TO MY BROTHERS AND TELL THEM..." Why couldn't Mary hold on to Jesus? The Greek word for "hold" means "to cling to something". In her joy of seeing the resurrected Christ, it's understandable that Mary expressed great joy in seeing him. Maybe she was "clinging" to him too long and failing to obey his urgent command to go and tell the disciples. And also, perhaps the relationship they previously had is now different, now that he has risen from the grave and will be ascending to the throne of God.
As for Stott's distinction between handling and holding... I don't find this helpful?
Posted by Pastor James
This is how I processed Stott's distinction between handling and holding.
Unlike the other disciples whose belief in the resurrection was confirmed by touch, Mary believed as she saw Jesus with her eyes. Perhaps the other disciples needed time to "handle" Jesus to calm a set of feelings and emotions that are different from what Mary was experiencing - their doubt and fear. The "handling" of Jesus to verify His actual presence was not necessary for Mary. She really believed in His physical return because she wanted to accept and relate to Him as she had always known Him-in His human form. She saw Jesus and immediately knew it was Him and perhaps that is why she wanted to "hold" on to Jesus because to her, His return would reverse the grief and pain of losing His presence in her life. However, I think Jesus wanted to challenge her to grow out of the comfort of having Jesus as a friend whom she can behold with her eyes and hold with her hands.
Stott also states, "Once he had ascended, a new relationship would become possible". This new relationship would allow her to trust Jesus to be by her side without Jesus being bound within the perimeter of space which Mary's eyes can behold or be restricted within the reach of her two hands. It would also allow Mary to trust Jesus in ways that are beyond what her eyes allow her to perceive and her hands allow her to feel. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, Mary will be able to have a relationship with Jesus in a way that is not of this world-not in a way that she thought was ever possible. She will be able to communicate with Jesus and carry on a relationship without sight or touch but by faith.
Through this story, I was reminded that though we can experience great comfort and joy in having Jesus in our lives, His ultimate purpose for coming into the world was to fulfill the will of God. I think we often make the mistake of hoping that Jesus would serve the purpose of comforting us with His presence and helping us fulfill our hopes and dreams. Perhaps it is time to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus wants to challenge us to believe in Him with greater faith and also to remember the task He gave all His disciples starting with Mary- to spread the good news.
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