Your Question?

Why did Jesus tell Mary not to touch Him, but later tell Thomas to touch Him?”……Answer: (John 20:17)Jesus tells Mary, "Touch Me not"(The King James version of the Bible)I use the New Living translation and it has been changed, lets read from verse 14 just for abit of context 14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. 15 "Dear woman, why are you crying?" Jesus asked her. "Who are you looking for?" She thought he was the gardener. "Sir," she said, "if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him." 16 "Mary!" Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, "Rabboni!" (which is Hebrew for "Teacher"). 17 "Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I haven't yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them,

But then later, in verse 27 speaking to Thomas, He says, 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"28 "My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

The seeming incongruity of Jesus' statements is resolved when we examine the language Jesus employed and consider the basic difference between the two situations.……In John 20:17, the word translated "touch" is a Greek word which means "to cling to, to lay hold of." This wasn't just a touch; it was a grip. Obviously, when Mary recognized Jesus, she immediately clung to Him. (Matthew 28:9) records the other women doing the same thing when they saw the resurrected Christ. 9 And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him.……Mary's reaction was motivated, possibly, by several things. One is simply her loving devotion to the Lord. Mary is overwhelmed by the events of the morning, and as her grief turns to joy, she naturally embraces Jesus. Another motivation is Mary's desire to restore the fellowship that death had broken. She had lost Him once, and she was going to make sure she didn't lose Him again-she wanted to keep Jesus with her always. Also, Mary may have been thinking that this was the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to return, in which case He would take her (and all believers) with Him to heaven , when He said,

(John 14:3)3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am".……However, it was not Jesus' plan to stay in this world always, and His resurrection was not to be seen as His promised return (His second coming). That is why He tells Mary of the ascension. His plan was to ascend to the Father and then send the Holy Spirit.

Fellowship with Jesus would continue, but it would be a spiritual communion, not a physical presence.(See the verses at the end explaining it)……In loosening Mary's hold on Him, Jesus was, in effect, saying this: "I know you desire to keep Me here, always present with you. I know you want everything to be just the same as before I died. But our relationship is about to change. I'm going to heaven, and you will have the Comforter and Counselor in My place. You need to start walking by faith, Mary, not by sight."……When Jesus spoke to Thomas, it was not to counter a misplaced desire but to rebuke a lack of faith. Thomas had said he would not believe until he had touched the living body of Jesus

(John 20:25))25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

Jesus, knowing all about Thomas's declaration, offered His body as living proof of His resurrection. This was something He did on another occasion as well

(Luke 24:39-40))39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

So, both Mary and Thomas needed more faith. Mary needed faith enough to let Jesus go. Thomas needed faith enough to believe without empirical proof. Mary needed to loosen her grip; Thomas needed to strengthen his. The resurrected Christ gave both of them the faith they needed.

(John16:7)7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

(John20:21-22) 21 Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."22 And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit"

(Acts 2:1-4) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them..