Touch Me Not

Touch Me Not

By Georges Roualt

“Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

John 20:16-17

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It was still dark when she came. The Sabbath had passed, and Mary Magdalene made her way to the tomb as morning was still breaking. She came carrying spices to anoint a body. She came expecting death. She came because even after everything had been taken from her — her Lord, her hope, the future she thought she understood — she still could not stay away. 

When she arrived, the stone had been rolled back and the tomb was empty. The apostles Peter and John came and went. But Mary stayed. She stood outside the tomb and wept. Even after two angels appeared and asked why she was crying, she did not leave. And then a voice behind her spoke a single word: “Mary.”

In that instant, she knew. The man she had mistaken for the gardener was Jesus — risen, glorified, alive. She reached for Him, as anyone would reach for someone they loved and thought they had lost forever. And He said to her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father” (John 20:17). This was not a rebuke. It was a redirection. Jesus was gently telling Mary that their relationship was not ending — it was changing. He was not leaving her. He was ascending to prepare a place for her, and for all of us. 

Perhaps the most tender part of this account is not only what Jesus said, but who He chose to say it to. Gordon B. Hinckley reflected on this with reverence: “All the hosts of heaven had looked forward to this great event. The ancient prophets had spoken of it and yearned for it. But who was favored to see it first? A woman — a faithful, believing woman, Mary — there in the garden, near the tomb, where the angels spoke to her. The Savior’s atonement was the most important thing that has ever happened. His resurrection was the crowning achievement of it all. And it was shown first to a righteous, believing woman.” Charles Spurgeon made a similar observation, noting that Mary had so much love that she would not leave the sepulchre but kept her place there, watching and waiting, not satisfied until she could see Him.

Jeffrey R. Holland captured the beauty of the moment with unforgettable imagery: “On that first Resurrection Sunday, Mary Magdalene first thought she saw a gardener. Well, she did — the Gardener who cultivated Eden and who endured Gethsemane. The Gardener who gave us the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valley, the cedars of Lebanon, the tree of life.”

Mary did not come to the tomb that morning with perfect understanding. She came with grief and love and the simple determination not to abandon the One who had never abandoned her. And that was enough. It is always enough. When we show up — brokenhearted, uncertain, but unwilling to walk away — Christ meets us where we are and speaks our name.

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