4/11 Through the Bible in Devotions

John 20

“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (v. 17)

I stand in awe at this verse; I can hardly contain the excitement that I feel at the thoughts contained here. First, let me say that Satan is very wily; he used the love of woman, a child of God to attempt to spoil the one-time sacrifice for our sins. If Mary would have touched Jesus, even in a sweet and loving caress, or a hug of appreciation and devotion, it would have polluted the sinless sacrificial blood that Jesus was yet to offer before the throne of God. Mary was not a wicked woman now, and probably was not even backslidden here, but a sincere act of love almost gave Satan the victory that day. What a scary thought. Can you see the depth of this thought? As devious as Satan is, he used a good, pure, loving gesture to attempt to undermine Calvary. This may be the only time he would have done anything good with something so precious. Thank God for the words “Touch me not”.

A second thought that comes to mind is that Jesus did delay His trip to Heaven for one, heart-broken woman. He did not have to stop and talk with her, and comfort her, before going to the Mercy Seat to present the atoning blood to the Father, but He did it anyway. That is love. He cared enough to delay His mission, to help one woman whom he knew loved Him; we would think that presenting the sacrifice was so important that there was no time for tarrying, especially for one poor woman. What was one woman compared to the redemption of all mankind? Jesus took time for people. What a loving God He is. Then Jesus offered an explanation for His words “Touch me not”. He did not have to do so, He was to be obeyed even without explanation, but He cares, so He does what is necessary.

Then, a third thought comes to mind here. Jesus identified with the woman, by His statement that God is His Father, and hers too, and His God as well as hers. This ought to encourage anyone who is downcast and despondent; God is the same to us as He is to Jesus! He brings her to the same level as He is; the same status with the Father as He is. What a wonderful thought. Mary was confused and wondering what was to happen next, but Jesus took time to be a comfort and a blessing to her. This is no less than amazing that Jesus should identify with a lump of clay, a hunk of sinful flesh.