When Mary Magdalene recognized the risen Jesus outside the tomb, do you remember what He said to her?
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:16-17)
He told her not to cling to Him because He had not yet ascended to the Father. Why do you suppose He said this? There are a lot of theories, and I’m no expert, but here is a thought.
Only after Jesus ascended and sat down in His place next to the Father, would the Holy Spirit be sent to us. And when the Holy Spirit falls down on us - like the praying disciples on Pentecost - we can speak out in confidence and faith of the One Who Saves.
Now that we are haunted by the Holy Ghost, we can truly cling to Him in Spirit and in Truth.
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth.”. (John 4:24)
Now we can cling to Him! Yes, we worship a risen Lord – but don’t cling only to the earthly aspects of the God-man with our sinful flesh, but instead cling through the Holy Spirit to the Truth of the Risen Jesus who sits at the Father’s right hand.
#LoveMatters