John 20:11-17 NASB [11] But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; [12] and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. [13] And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” [14] When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. [15] Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” [16] Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). [17] Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” …
Matthew 28:9-10 NASB [9] And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. [10] Then Jesus said to them,“ Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” …
John 20:27 NASB [27] Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.”
Haven’t you ever wondered why Jesus told Mary Magdalene to stop clinging to him? You might say that the answer is obvious because, in verse 17 of John 20, Jesus said she had to stop clinging to him because he had not yet ascended to the Father. The problem with that answer is that, as you see in the verses above, he didn’t tell the women who took hold of his feet and worshiped him to let his feet go, and he encouraged Thomas to touch him by putting his hand into his side. So, back to the original question, which, by the way, is one I have been asking for many years; “Why did Jesus tell Mary to let go of Him?” Let me throw out an idea that I have come to believe is the reason why Jesus told Mary to stop clinging to Him in light of the fact that He was going to ascend to the Father. First, let me remind you that Jesus went to the Father so that the promise of the Holy Spirit might be poured out.
I believe that Mary Magdalene and the prostitute who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears were the same person. It says about Mary Magdalene that she was freed from seven demons, and, in her encounter with Jesus, her extravagant expression of devotion and worship was defended by Christ when He said that she loved much because she was forgiven much. I believe in a very special way, Mary Magdalene loved Jesus with extreme intensity. I believe that Jesus responded to the level of her passion for him by revealing himself to her first in the resurrection. When John and Peter followed her to the empty tomb, they, after looking into the tomb, left Mary there alone. I believe Mary stayed lingering because she felt so lost. Jesus was her home.
The point of all that I’ve said is to simply say I believe that Jesus was telling Mary not to cling to an old experience of him that she did not want to let go of, no matter how good it had been because there was more. The Holy Spirit was yet to be poured out, and when she got filled with the Holy Spirit, she had an experience of Jesus that was far greater than anything she’d ever known. Jesus wasn’t just with her anymore; he was now in her, living His life through her. It’s so tempting to cling to the familiar, but Jesus is always taking us into new encounters with him that are bigger and better. As we walk with Him, the best is always yet to come because the riches of Him are so unsearchable. I believe He told Mary to stop clinging to him simply because he was trying to communicate a spiritual lesson. Don’t cling to the old experience of Him, no matter how good it was, because there is always more, and it is always new. The best of the old you can bring with you into the new, but if you continue to cling to the old, you will never be able to come into the bigger and better new.