Q3. Holding On

[Pastor Ralph]

Q3. (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to “hold on” to him? What is the mission he gives her?

[SoiKosum]

(John 20:14-18) What has been Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to “hold on” to him? What is the mission he gives her? 

 

Mary is weeping loudly and without restraint because she believes that Jesus' body has been stolen - 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.'" (John 20:13) Mary seems to be in shock as evidenced by the strangeness of her conversation with the angels and the supposed gardener. Jesus told Mary not to cling on to Him "... Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father." (John 20:17a) Instead, Jesus gives Mary a mission, "Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" (John 20:17b)

[JanMary]

Q3. (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus?

 

Mary was still stunned by all that she had witnessed Jesus suffer on the cross, and was numb with grief, despair and hopelessness at the thought of never seeing Jesus again.

 

Why does Jesus tell her not to “hold on” to him?

 

He was letting her know that He was not going to stay on earth in His resurrected form, but was going to ascend to Heaven....He was hinting that One was coming Who would indwell her and would never let her go...she would not have to cling to His physical form. He would live in her.

 

What is the mission he gives her?

 

He told her to return to His brothers (no longer just friends and disciples) and tell them that "I AM returning to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God."  (typical, as in the previous question, "They did not believe her"...a woman)

[blezed]

(John 20:14-18) What has been Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to “hold on” to him? What is the mission he gives her?          

1.  Mary was deeply grieved. 

2.  Jesus tells Mary not to "hold on" to him because he had not yet returned back to the Father. 

3.  The mission that Jesus gave Mary was to go tell his brothers that he was returning his Father and our Father.

[haar]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus?  
 

Mary's emotional state prior to recognising Jesus was that of high emotional sorrow, probably confusion too and depression.

 

Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to him?

 

The reason He gave her on that was that He had not yet gone to His Father. He also had others to reveal Himself to and she had a message to take to His disciples- His brothers.

 

What is the mission he gives her?

 

The mission He had for her was "Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"

[hanks]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18) 

What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? 

Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to Him? 

What is the mission He gives her?

She was in a state of shock and overcome with grief. But on finding our Lord alive, she is overwhelmed with joy and gratitude, and reacts out of excitement by touching or holding on to Jesus. Moments before, she thought her heart would break with grief that wracked her soul. Now, she thought her heart would fairly burst with joy. Jesus was not being rude to her. We read later that He allowed Thomas to touch Him. Thomas had doubted and Jesus invited him to prove the reality of His resurrection by putting his hand into the spear wound in His side. With Mary it was not that she doubted, but rather that He required her to go and tell the others that He had risen. There would be time later for her to show respect to Him before His Ascension. She was to give them a very important message that although He had not yet ascended to His Father, that event would happen soon. Now that the penalty for sin had been fully paid, Jesus could tell them, “I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” 

 

[lighthouse2014]

Q3. (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to “hold on” to him? What is the mission he gives her?

Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus was one of complete grief. She was at the cross when Jesus died and when he was buried. Now supposedly some one has taken his body. What horror could possibly come next?

Because Mary now recognizes Jesus after he calls her "Mary why are you weeping", she is over whelmed with joy, he is alive and well. She embraces him as if she had just found a long lost friend, she continues to hug and hold Jesus. So long has she held him, that he tells her to let him go.

The mission Jesus gives Mary is to go and tell the disciples and others that he is alive, she has seen and talked to him and that he would be going to the Heavenly Father and God, their father and their God.

[Jen]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to him? What is the mission he gives her?

 

Mary was in a state of grief, confusion, bewilderment.  She was deeply feeling the loss of her Lord.

Jesus tells her not to hold on to Him ( touch) because He had not yet ascended to the Father but to go to the brethren and tell them that He is alive and ascending to the Father.

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

[PeteD]

Lesson 22 Question 3

Mary is distraught.

Jesus tells Mary not to hold on for he has things to do yet, that is, to go back to the Father.

Mary is to relay to the disciples that she has seen Jesus and has actually  held him - to convey the message that he must return to his Father and to his God who is also her Father and God.

[RebeccaMallinson]

Mary was confused and grief-stricken.  When she realised it was Jesus, not a gardener, she swooped on him and hugged him tightly in great joy.  He asks her to go and tell the disciples that he has risen from the dead and that he would be returning to his Father.  I think he probably asked her not to ‘hold on’ to him because he didn’t want her to dwell in her own emotions, but take action.

[Stanley Tavaziva]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to him? What is the mission he gives her?

 

Mary did not want to lose Jesus again. She had not yet understood the Resurrection. Perhaps she thought this was his promised second coming (14:3). But Jesus did not want to be detained at the tomb. If he did not ascend to heaven, the Holy Spirit could not come. Both he and Mary had important work to do.

 

Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first. Her grief had blinded her; she couldn’t see him because she didn’t expect to see him. Then he spoke her name, and immediately she recognized him. Imagine the love that flooded her heart when she heard her Savior saying her name. Jesus is near you, and he is calling your name. Can you, like Mary, regard him as your Lord?

 

Jesus’ words show that the way to eternal life, though unseen, is secure—as secure as your trust in Jesus. He has already prepared the way to eternal life. The only issue that may still be unsettled is Marys willingness to believe.

[royk]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to him? What is the mission he gives her?

Mary is devastated by the loss of the great love of her life, he only reason for being alive. She had not heard all that Jesus has said to the disciples, yet they had not really understood. She only understood when through all her grief, she recognized Him using he name, like a sheep who knows her master. What glorious love and grief, turned to joy beyond belief. Hugh emotional shift!

 

So He tells her not to hold on, to let go of "needing what she thought she had lost." Don't hold onto grief, if your loved one is a believer, you shall see them in paradise, if you so believe. We can't criticize her, we do it ourselves at funerals of parents who were Christians.

 

Jesus is so wise in His advice, and then He tells her what is the obvious, "go tell the others, my disciples" This is not a complex mission, nor are any that God gives us. We over think, try to do too much or ignore when He calls us to a simple mission. This is how we can and should remain in Christ, be listening, not grieving, remaining in the fruit of the spirit. Then we're ready to do His bidding in the moment. She got it right! But how often do we ignore, or intellectualize or rationalize not doing what God calls us to do? I am so guilty of this I cold spend days listing how I missed His call to do simple things . Let us find new hope by seeing how simple God's plan is from where we are right now. Praise His wisdom, grace and of course His Glory!

 

[pickledilly]

Prior to recognizing Jesus, Mary was a grief-stricken emotional wreck who may have been astounded and shocked at her conversation with angels and was now completely distraught over His missing body. I think when she saw Jesus standing there outside the tomb she didn't really look closely at who it was through her cloud of tears and just guessed that it must be the gardener. But when she heard Him say her name, she knew. When you hear someone you love say your name, you know who it is.

 

I haven't experienced what it's like to be reunited with someone you thought was lost to you. But I can imagine that you would want to grab and hug and hold, and never want to let go! And I can imagine Mary felt that way, at least to some degree. She had watched her beloved Lord and honored Teacher put to death and be buried, but now here He was standing right in front of her! She wanted to hold on to Him forever and never lose Him again, expecting to things to be as they had been before. But Jesus' resurrection changed everything. She could not cling to the relationship they had in the natural world where she and Jesus could walk and talk and minister and eat and laugh together with the disciples or where she could bow down and grasp His feet as she worshiped Him. Jesus would no longer be here to physically dwell among them, and He wasn't going to be here to establish the earthly kingdom in Israel that they were expecting. Jesus was promising something supremely better that she didn't understand yet – a spiritual position and relationship they would now share through their Father and God. The one she should now cling to would be the One He had promised to send once He returned to His place of glory in heaven – the Spirit who would live within her and never leave her.

 

Jesus implied there was no longer a reason for grieving as He gave her the clearly defined mission to go and tell what she had seen and heard from Him. Salvation from sin and redemption to God had now been forever secured, and she was to go and tell the good news!

[Joe_Applegarth]

Mary had witnessed one a most horrific death of someone that she loved (Jesus) and her emotional state was most likely one of shock to the nth degree.  In her emotional state she may have been hanging on him (clinging to) and He told her to stop because he had not yet ascended to His Father.  Her mission was to go to the apostles and relate the good news that He had arisen.

[Old Jerry]

Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus was distraught and was looking for Jesus’ body. Jesus probably told her not to “hold on” to him because she had an errand to do. She was to tell the others what she had seen.

[Godswriter]

Q3. (John 20:14-18) What has been Mary’s emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Why does Jesus tell her not to “hold on” to him? What is the mission he gives her?  She has been distraught and lost and wondering what happened to His body. She thought He was the gardener.  He told her not hold onto Him because He had yet to go to His Father. She was to tell others what she had seen. 

[Paula Price]

Mary's emotional state was confusion and shock and sadness. Before recognizing Jesus she was shocked and panicked to see that the tomb was opened and Jesus's body gone. Once Jesus makes himself known to her she is so excited to see him that she wants to throw herself in his arms and hug him because that 's what we women do!!! (we are huggers and so emotional). She too is unaware of the spiritual nature of Jesus so he tells her not to touch him because he has not yet returned to the father or that he is no longer physical and he is not to be touched.  Perhaps he needed to prove to his disciples first, because he knew she believed in his presence without touching him and needed no proof of physical touch. He tells her to go and tell the disciples what she has seen.

[Lisema Ralitsoele]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18)

1.    What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus? Mary has been emotionally distraught as we can imagine after seeing Jesus die a most barbaric, undeserving and horrendous death, topped by her believing that the body of Jesus had been stolen.

2.     Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to him? Jesus tells Mary not to “hold on” to him because he is yet to return to the Father.

3.    What is the mission he gives her? He gives her the mission of informing the disciples the good news that He is returning to God our Almighty Father.
 

[Jonathan Edwards]

Mary was very upset.  She actually thought that Christ's body was stolen; this fact alone would add to the immense grief that she already experienced during Christ's trial and crucifixion.  St John underscores "spiritual eyesight"; those who "see and believe' have been drawn by the Father.  Spiritual eyesight is the work and gift of God.

Christ was teaching Mary that the new relationship between their and the worshipper will not be one of physical contact.   When we study and meditate on John 6:62; we cannot help but be reminded that the glorified Christ is present in the Holy Communion service.

Mary has SEEN THE LORD; she is convinced deep in her heart now that Christ is deity, not just a phantom.  With this truth boiling in her heart; she announces that Christ is going back to His Father and their Father.  

[Irmela]

Q3.  (John 20:14-18)

What has been Mary's emotional state prior to recognizing Jesus?

Why does Jesus tell her not to "hold on" to Him?

What is the mission He gives her?

Mary is overcome with grief and uncertainty.

Jesus still has a mission to accomplish before going back to His Father and He gives Mary something to do as well. It would not do to just cling to Him.

Jesus tells her to tell the others that "I am going to My Father and  your Father, to My God and your God."  (They were acknowledged as part of His family).