John 20:16-20
 
John 20:16 (KJB)
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
 
As soon as Jesus said “Mary,” that was the voice she then understood and she turned and called Him “Rabboni” which means “my Lord or my Master.” The word “Rabboni” in the Greek is in the Vocative tense which means it is the tense of direct address. Mary’s first words to Him was recognizing His deity and that is why she called Him “my” Lord or Master. She also was stating that she was still His follower and He was her Lord. The word “Master” may also be translated as “Teacher.”
 
John 20:17 (KJB)
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.
 
Mary must have become very emotional at that point and was literally clinging to Jesus. Then Jesus says to her, touch me not, that almost sounds like Jesus is being mean to her as she was only showing affection toward Him. Of course, that is not the case. Mary was clinging on to the physical Jesus but now, since the resurrection, relationships are going to change. In forty days Jesus is going to ascend to Heaven as He is stating in this verse and no longer will He be in the flesh walking on the earth but He will now take His seat at the right hand of God the Father. What Jesus is conveying to her is that when He ascends, then He will be directing the affairs of the church until the last day. The relationship will no longer be as two friends walking down a dusty road but will be that of God and children of God. The relationship will now be more intimate as the Holy Spirit will now indwell every true believer.
 
Previously Jesus had just taught His disciples but they could not understand the spiritual aspects of it but now they will because they will be indwelled with the third person of the Godhead. This is why Jesus did not want Mary to cling to Him as a human but to cling to Him as God the Son. Jesus then commands Mary to go the other disciples, whom He calls “brethren” and tell them that His relationship with them shall also change. He will ascend to His Father and He extends that to the disciples that God is their Father also and that is why He calls them “brethren.” Then Jesus still speaking in human terms, tells them that God is His God and then extends that to the disciples that He is their God too. This in no way is stating that Jesus is less than God because He is extending the Family of God and includes Himself in that Family again going back to the word “brethren.”
 
John 20:18 (KJB)
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
 
Mary Magdalene had now returned to where the disciples were and I am sure that she was beaming with joy because of the message that she brought to them. She told them of the conversation that she had with Him. I am sure that they had listened intently to what she had to say and probably there might have been some skepticism among them to her claims. Since Peter and John saw the empty tomb, they may have begun to put the pieces together.
 
John 20:19 (KJB)
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
 
All the disciples were together that evening and because of all the events which just took place, they were in fear probably thinking that the Jews would be coming after them next. That is why they had all the doors shut as they probably had planned what their next move was going to be. Then, lo and behold, at the height of their fear, Jesus comes into their midst, not hindered by a locked door because of His resurrection body, stands in the midst of His disciples and says to them “peace be unto you.” It is not sure where this gathering took place. It could have been the upper room where they celebrated the Lord’s Supper two nights ago. Jesus knew their fear and that is why He was bestowing His peace upon them. (John 14:27 KJV) Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. In the midst of all troubles that believers go through, Jesus gives us His peace.
 
John 20:20 (KJB)
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
 
Glad - Rejoicing
 
After Jesus bid them peace, He then showed them His hands and His side so they would know that He had indeed risen from the dead, just as He stated many times and that death had no hold on Him. Then when they saw the marks, they knew that it truly was the Lord and they were rejoicing, not just a simple “being glad” but it was a time of rejoicing for them. What started out in fear for the disciples had ended in rejoicing peace. Jesus had risen bodily and He showed them the marks to prove it. His bodily resurrection from the dead was a precursor to the resurrection on the last day of the believers and unbelievers.

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