Charles Ellicott Commentary John 20:17

"Jesus saith to her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father: but go unto my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and my God and your God." — John 20:17 (ASV)

Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.—The probable explanation of these words is to be found in the fact that she had cast herself at His feet with the customary reverential embrace of the knees, and perhaps to make doubly sure that it was the Lord’s body, and that His words are meant to prevent this.

The words themselves must be carefully considered. “Touch” represents a Greek word that means to “cling to,” to “fasten on,” to “grasp” an object. The tense is present, and the prohibition is, therefore, not of an individual act, but of a continuance of the act, of the habit: “Do not continue clinging to Me.”

Her act supposed a condition that had not yet been accomplished. He had not returned to earth to abide permanently with His disciples in the presence of the Paraclete , for He had not yet ascended to the Father.

There should come a permanent closeness of union in His presence in the soul; but the spirit which her act was manifesting was one which would prevent this presence. The coming of the Paraclete depended upon His going to the Father , but she would cling to a visible presence and has not learned the truth so hard to learn: It is expedient for you that I go away (John 16:7).

But go to my brethren, and say unto them.—Compare to Notes on Matthew 28:10, and on John 15:15. There is a special force in the word “brethren” as spoken by the risen Lord, in that it declares the continuance of His human nature .

I ascend unto my Father, and your Father.—The present is used of the future, which He regards as immediately at hand. The message to the brethren is an assurance that the going to the Father, of which He had so often spoken to them, was about to be realized.

The victory over death has been accomplished. This appearance on earth is an earnest of the return to heaven.

Unto My Father, He now says, and your Father. It is a more emphatic expression than “our Father” would have been. “I ascend unto My Father. Because He is My Father, He is also your Father, and you are My brethren. My victory over death was the victory of man, whose nature has in Me conquered death. My ascension into heaven will be the ascension of human nature, which in Me goes to the Father.”

My God, and your God.—This phrase contains the same fullness of meaning, and adds the special thought of the continuity of the human nature of our Lord, which has already appeared in the word “brethren” (see Note above).