John 20:17 What does this verse mean?

John 20:17 is a verse in the Gospel of John in the New Testament. The verse takes place in Jesus's tomb just after Mary Magdalene has realized that he has returned from the dead.





"Jesus saith to her, Touch me


not; for I am not yet ascended


to my Father; but go to my


brethren, and say to them,


I ascend to my Father and your


Father, and to my God and your God."





I am interested to see how others think about the meaning of this verse. Especially that last sentance.

John 20:17 What does this verse mean?
Once you have accepted Christ, you become a joint-heir with Him and can thus call God "Father" just as Jesus could.





Romans 8: 14-17





14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.


15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.


16. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:


17. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;





Jesus was relaying to her how much more personal their relationship had become with God because of His death.
Reply:The meaning of the verse is - Jesus had not been in heaven while dead! He had not presented Himself before His Father since the moment of His death. He was dead (asleep) just as we will sleep in death until called to life in the resurrection.


Kind of throws a monkey wrench into the idea that you go straight to heaven when you die. We do not receive immortality until Jesus comes back and gives us that gift at the resurrection. The idea we go straight to heaven or hell (ergo immortal) upon death is directly from Greek/Roman mythology, therefore pagan in origin! It was brought into the church of the Dark Ages and has been believed by many sincere Christians who have not looked up the truth themselves.


Satan said "Ye shall not surely die", calling God a liar, and those who don't study God's Word still believe it. In a concordance, look up every passage of scripture that deals with death, grave, dying, sleep, and anything else to do with death. You may be amazed at the truth you find. Or you can not study to show yourself approved and just believe those who say they know, and trust them to get you to heaven on their word/coattails. God will bless those who want to know the truth, praise Him with great praise.
Reply:Some older translations of the Bible give the impression that Jesus told Mary Magdalene not to touch him. For instance, the King James Version renders Jesus’ words: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.” (John 20:17) However, the original Greek verb, which is usually translated “touch,” means also “to cling to, hang on by, lay hold of, grasp, handle.” Reasonably, Jesus was not objecting to Mary Magdalene’s merely touching him, since he allowed other women who were at the grave to ‘catch him by his feet.’—Matthew 28:9.





The New Jerusalem Bible, and The New English Bible, help us to understand the real meaning of Jesus’ words by rendering them: “Stop clinging to me.” Why would Jesus say that to Mary Magdalene, who was a close associate?—Luke 8:1-3.





Evidently, Mary Magdalene feared that Jesus was about to leave and ascend into heaven. Moved by her strong desire to be with her Lord, she was holding fast to Jesus, not letting him go. To assure her that he was not yet leaving, Jesus instructed Mary to stop clinging to him but instead to go and declare to his disciples the news of his resurrection.—John 20:17.





In Mary Magdalene’s case, Jesus was dealing with a misplaced desire to prevent him from leaving.





When Mary saw the tomb was open and apparently empty, she rushed off to tell the startling news to Peter and John, who ran to the tomb. (Joh 20:1-4) By the time Mary got back to the tomb, Peter and John had left, and it was now that she checked inside and was stunned at seeing two angels in white. Then she turned back and saw Jesus standing. Thinking him to be the gardener, she asked where the body was, that she might care for it. When he replied “Mary!” his identity was immediately revealed to her and she impulsively embraced him, exclaiming, “Rab·bo´ni!” But there was no time now for expressions of earthly affection. Jesus would be with them only a short time. Mary must hasten to inform the other disciples of his resurrection and that Jesus was ascending, as he said, “to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God.”—Joh 20:11-18.
Reply:HE WANTED MARY TO SPREAD THE WORD THAT HE WAS RESSURECTED BEFORE HE ROSE TO HEAVEN...
Reply:Jesus had just risen from the dead. At this point He didn't


ascend to heaven to be finished. In other words He was a


spirit and not fully human at that point. But when she left, God completed Him. When He appeared before the disciples Jesus showed them his hands and feet. Thomas had


touched him. John 20:27. He was human then.
Reply:touch me not = do not be holding me (Gr. hapto). In our language it means "do not be holding me up, I have things to do".
Reply:Ok, what I think he's saying is...well first of all he's ...how can i say it...he doesnt want her to be confused, he says dont touch me, meaning to not confuse him with the all mighty God. I ascend ot my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God...Our Father and God, hes going up to be beside his father our one true Father and God. its kinda hard to put it in ...normal words i guess. but do you kinda understand me?