Review: Why Couldn’t Mary Touch Jesus?

In a short article “Why Couldn’t Mary Touch Jesus?” Dr. Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg presents an oft-overlooked curiosity in John 20:17 and 27. Here Jesus says to Mary Magdalene: “Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” (NWT) The ESV similarly has: “Do not cling to me.” Other translations simply have: “Do not touch me.”^[1] But to Thomas, he says just the opposite: “Put your finger here … and take your hand and stick it into my side.”

Dr. Eli presents this contrasting comparison this way:

One text that remains an enigma to most Christ followers is the post-resurrection story of Jesus cautioning Mary against touching him (John 20:11-18).

Oddly, a week later Jesus allows Thomas to touch the wounds in his hands and side. The obvious question is this:

Why did Jesus deny Mary, but later encourage Thomas?^[2]

The answer he gives relies on ritual purity. Since Jesus had already died, he fulfilled the Atonement Day drama of leaving his sacrificed body behind as he passed through the spiritual curtain to the spiritual Most Holy to present the value of his lifeblood to his God Jehovah.^[3]

So, following his resurrection, he appeared in a materialized body to Mary outside of his now-empty tomb. Dr. Eli explains:

Purity and Priesthood
In order to understand Jesus’ very different instructions to Mary and Thomas, we need to understand the purity requirements for the Jewish High Priest on the Day of Atonement. The High Priest was forbidden to come into contact with anything that was ceremonially unclean in order to avoid being disqualified to enter God’s presence the following day. So much depended on this ritual purity!

After His resurrection, Jesus (as our ultimate High Priest) would shortly be ministering in the heavenly tabernacle (Heb 9:11). It is significant that Jesus appeared to the disciples and told Thomas to touch him after eight days, because it takes seven days to ordain a priest (Exod 29:35).

He is referring to the important time marker in John 20:26 of “eight days later.” The previous verse explains why eight days had passed: Thomas had issued a challenge that he would only believe if he saw the nail wounds “in his hands,” and, most significantly, “stick my finger into the print of the nails and stick my hand into his side.” Because he added physical touching to his demands, that passage of time, over seven days per Exodus 29:35, became necessary. Jesus was listening!

Dr. Eli continues:

Jesus and the Heavenly Tabernacle
The most-likely reason for Jesus’ instructions to Mary had to do with the fact that He was determined to enter the heavenly tabernacle in a ready-to-serve, consecrated state. Defilement would not be a sin, but it would have disqualified Him (for a period of time) from entering God’s presence. Mary may have had a number of reasons for defilement (possible menstrual circle, stepping into the tomb, etc), Jesus’ priestly mission was too important to allow for any possibility of failure. By the time Jesus met Thomas, His priestly work is done. He had returned from completing His duties and possible defilement was no longer an issue.

Her being inside his tomb would be the reason according to the context. In his fresh body he needed to wait a week, and priests “could not defile themselves by touching a corpse or mourning for the dead; this would make them temporarily unclean for service.”^[4] This is made clear in Leviticus 21:1, “No one should defile himself for a dead person among his people.”

Dr. Eli concludes:

Jesus the High Priest
Jesus’ role as prophet was carried out during His earthly life. His role as king was yet to be realized at the time of the ascension. He first needed to be ordained a priest and carry out His duties in the heavenly tabernacle! Nothing could be permitted to stand in the way of his mission.^[5]

Thus, first came Jesus’ sacrifice, then his resurrection, then his post-resurrection appearances, and then finally, his visual ascension to his Father. (John 20:17; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:9)

In closing, it’s very interesting that Dr. Eli pointed out the significance of Exodus 29:35 in connection with John 20:26, explaining why Thomas had to wait eight days, and offering an explanation as to why he could not let Mary embrace him yet.^[6] A verification of this could have been Jesus letting Mary embrace him after Thomas, yet no such encounter is provided. We can only use our imagination if we think it did happen. It is possible then that Jesus would only fellowship with her spiritually after his ascension and her resurrection.


Footnotes:
^[1] Others read: “You must not cling to me.” (Goodspeed) “Do not catch hold of me.” (21^st Century NT) The Jewish Annotated New Testament cautions that “It is not clear whether Jesus is asking Mary to let go of him or warning her not to touch him.” (It then notes similar language in Song of Solomon 3:4.) Additionally, the NLT Study Bible notes that “Mary thought that with the resurrection, Jesus would resume normal relations with his disciples. She was trying to cling to the joy she discovered in her resurrected Lord. But his fellowship with her would come in a new form,” and it then cites John 20:22 showing that it would be spiritual and not physical. (italics original).
^[2] From the email introduction to the article.
^[3] See: Passing Through the Curtain jimspace3000.blogspot.com/2014/12/passing-through-curtain.html Since the body he was born with was sacrificed, it would be confusing and inappropriate if he appeared with it after his resurrection, explaining why Mary failed to recognize her dear friend in John 20:14. (Compare with Luke 24:15, 16 and John 21:4.)
^[4] “Priest,” Insight on the Scriptures, vol 2. 685
^[5] lp.israelbiblecenter.com/lp-biblical-studies-content-why-couldnt-mary-touch-jesus-en.html
^[6] However, under “3. Mary Magdalene,” Insight on the Scriptures, vol 2. 349 offers a simpler explanation:

When he replied “Mary!” his identity was immediately revealed to her and she impulsively embraced him, exclaiming, “Rab·boʹni!” 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.

Credits: Image from Who Was Mary Magdalene? jw.org/en/bible-teachings/questions/mary-magdalene/

Delusions of Glory

In the Latter-Day Saint/Mormon theology and cosmology there are three degrees of glory (alternatively, kingdoms of glory) which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after they are resurrected. These are curiously called the Celestial Kingdom, Terrestrial Kingdom, and lastly, the Telestial Kingdom.

This article will focus on the Telestial Kingdom.

According to the official LDS website:

Telestial glory will be reserved for individuals who “received not the gospel of Christ, neither the testimony of Jesus” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:82). These individuals will receive their glory after being redeemed from spirit prison, which is sometimes called hell (see Doctrine and Covenants 76:84; Doctrine and Covenants 76:106) A detailed explanation of those who will inherit telestial glory is found in Doctrine and Covenants 76:81–90, 98–106, 109–112.^[1]

So the ones inhabiting this realm are of the lowest sort, and include “liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie” according to D&C 76:103 (from Revelation 22:15).

However, as the saying goes: Houston, we have a problem! “Telestial” is a term with no prior usage or etymology. According to one historian, it “reflects the idea of being far off or reaching the end.”^[2] This reminds one of the Greek word τέλος, telos, “purpose,” used in the word teleology (“a reason or an explanation for something which serves as a function of its end, its purpose, or its goal”). However, it can also be seen as deriving from τελεστώ, telesto, meaning “success.”^[3] This is clearly an inappropriate root word. The point is though, since it lacks a proper etymology, it looks made up.

The ramifications of this realization are troubling. Things that someone makes up for a religion are not from God. Making things up threatens to enter into the realm described in D&C 76:103 (from Revelation 22:15), of being a liar. Thus, the architects and maintainers of the degrees of glory are delusional and are being misleading. They are asking for an absurd amount of faith and trust from their students.

This failure can be likened to an unattended bullet wound in their cosmology.


Footnotes:
^[1] Kingdoms of Glory www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/kingdoms-of-glory?lang=eng The first paragraph included a definition from the Wikipedia entry Degrees of glory en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrees_of_glory.
^[2] Mark Staker. Hearken, O Ye People: the Historical Setting for Joseph Smith‘s Ohio Revelations. Greg Kofford Books, 2009. 327
^[3] Telesto (mythology) en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telesto_(mythology) This explains: “In Greek mythology, Telesto … was an Oceanid, one of the 3,000 water-nymphs daughters of Titans Oceanus and Tethys. She was the personification of the divine blessing or success.” The later definition stresses how inappropriate and astronomically ironic it is to have that name Telestial for ones who failed.