Question: Why did the Lord not allow Mary Magdalene to touch Him when He appeared to her, but allowed Thomas to touch Him before He ascended to the Father?
Answer: I know my last article is difficult (see here), but it is summed up in the summary I added afterwards at its beginning. Here it is:
“The following text is both a theological reflection and a focused study—not a leisurely read. Its aim is to challenge the commonly accepted popular interpretation of John 20:29b—‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’—by showing that it does not reflect the true intent of the author. The verse should not be read as opposing faith and experience. Rather, it reflects a key principle of the spiritual tradition: crede ut intelligas—‘believe in order to understand’, that is, to reach an experiential understanding. Faith in the Risen Lord must come first; only then can the experience of His presence follow. This summary offers the central thesis for readers who may not have the time or energy to study the full argument.”
We need to distinguish two aspects in each apparition:
- recognising that the one who appears is the same person whom they knew and who died, and
- an important grace / teaching.
Let us see this in each account:
If we look at what the Lord says to Thomas afterwards (which is the subject of the article), we can clearly see the Lord’s teaching: He doesn’t want anybody to touch Him; He invites all of us to believe by saying: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
So, why did He initially allow Thomas to touch Him? In fact, touching Him per se wouldn’t lead Thomas to say: “My Lord and my God”—which is an immense grace, not directly linked to the act of touching. Touching the Lord’s wounds simply tells Thomas (and us, the readers) that the Risen Lord is the exact same Jesus he knew (he sees and touches the wounds) who suffered and died: we call this “numerical identity”. This means that, in the episode of Thomas, we need to notice that there is an added invisible grace at work (beyond the touching) —a grace that leads Thomas to the recognition of the divinity of Jesus. Moreover, there is the clear teaching that touching is not the path (see the same article). So, we may say (of course, the passage is very rich and contains much more) that there are two aspects: proving that the one who appears is the same one they knew, and a deep grace, combined with a teaching.
Let us now consider the apparition to Mary (which in fact happened before Thomas’s, in chapter 20 of St John). For Mary, it was by calling her “Mary” that He revealed Himself: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’” (John 20:16). But still, that wasn’t enough. After having said to her, “Do not touch me,” He added a very strong message: God is your Father as He is My Father— “I am ascending to My Father and your Father.” (John 20:17) This is a very, very deep teaching—just as, in the case of Thomas, allowing him to touch Him reveals His divinity and leads to the exclamation: “My God…” (John 20:28). One thing is the physical act of touching or not touching, and another is the communication of a deep grace in both cases—a grace that leads each of them to understand: that Jesus is God, that Jesus is the Son of God, that God is our Father (as sons of God we are not God by nature, but by participation).
Let us also remember that this message given to Mary Magdalene— “But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17) —establishes Mary Magdalene as the Proto-Apostolon, the first Apostle. She is the first one to receive His apparition, and on top of this, she is sent to the Apostles with this deep message.
Bottom line, the two apparitions and their respective messages lead us to the proper act of faith, which precedes the experience. The experience is not an experience of physical touching, but the experience of “touching God” (rather “being touched by God”), the divinity of Jesus. To stop at his physical body could, paradoxically, hinder the act of faith. The act of faith according to John leans first on the physicality of the Incarnation (we see Him), but the act itself uses it like a trampoline—not relying on the flesh or human means, but on God’s grace, which lifts us and introduces us into God himself. We see this in both apparitions: the act of faith leads to Jesus’ divinity, and this experience then confers grace.
This is the structure of the act of faith and, in a way, of the entire Gospel of St John: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:30–31). By seeing Jesus, the Son of Mary, the incarnate God, and by the grace of God, we are introduced to his divinity—and therefore we receive the Divine Life (see the following article too).
In a way, we may say that the goal of the Gospel of St John is achieved, realised, accomplished with this touch of St Thomas: not the touch of Jesus’ wound, but the touch Jesus gives him through his divinity. Indeed, Jesus’ heart has been opened to us (see John 19:34–35); this is heaven opened (see John 1:51), and this allows Divine Life to flow to us.
Read also
Blessed Are Those Who Believe Without Seeing (John 20:29b) (Difficul
Is John 1:14 About the Incarnation?
The Meaning of St. John’s Gospel and its Implications for the Life of the Church
Jesus’ Passion in St. John’s Gospel
“The Gospel of St. John and Spiritual Life” Course. 13 Lessons each of two hours. (See here for more details) See the Page of the Course First Video (you can ask for the videos)