04/06/2026
Amen.
After the resurrection, Mary stands outside the tomb weeping. She turns and sees Jesus, but at first does not recognize Him (John 20:14–15). Then everything changes in a single moment. Jesus says her name, “Mary,” and instantly she knows it is Him (John 20:16). The one she thought was gone is now standing alive in front of her. Naturally, her response is to hold onto Him. But Jesus says something unexpected. “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17).
At first glance, this can feel confusing. Why would Jesus, who just rose in victory, tell someone who loves Him not to hold onto Him? But this moment is not rejection. It is revelation. Jesus is not creating distance. He is redefining access. What Mary is reaching for is the way she knew Him before the cross. What Jesus is introducing is something greater than she has ever experienced.
Before the cross, access to Jesus was physical and limited. He could only be in one place at one time. If you were near Him, you could experience Him. If you were far from Him, you could not. Mary’s instinct to hold onto Him makes sense in that context. She does not want to lose Him again. But Jesus knows something she does not yet understand. The resurrection is not restoring the old way of relating to Him. It is introducing a completely new one.
When Jesus says, “Do not cling to Me,” He is not saying, “Do not come close.” He is saying, “Do not hold onto the old form of access.” Because if Mary holds Him in that way, she limits Him to what He used to be to her. But what He is about to become through His ascension is far greater. He is about to be accessible not just to one person in one place, but to all people at all times.
This is confirmed in what He says next. “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God” (John 20:17). This is the shift. Through the finished work of Jesus, the relationship He has with the Father is now being extended to humanity. Access is no longer external and physical. It is internal and permanent. The resurrection is not about bringing Jesus back to earth in the same way. It is about bringing humanity into union with Him.
The deeper revelation is this. What looks like distance is actually expansion. Mary thinks she is losing proximity, but she is gaining something far greater. Jesus is transitioning from being beside her to being within her. This is what He promised before the cross. “I will not leave you as orphans… you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:18, 20).
After the ascension, this becomes reality through the Holy Spirit. Jesus is no longer limited by location. He dwells in every believer (Romans 8:10–11). That means access to Him is no longer based on where you are physically. It is based on what He has already finished. You do not have to reach for Him. You live in constant union with Him.
In everyday life, this changes everything. You are never distant from God. You are never trying to get closer. You are not waiting for access. Through Jesus, you already have it. In your car, at work, in your home, in your hardest moments, He is not far away. He is present within you. This is the result of the finished work, not something you have to earn or maintain (Colossians 1:27).
Practically, this means you stop relating to God as if He is somewhere else. You stop striving to feel close and begin to rest in the truth that you already are. When you pray, you are not trying to reach heaven. You are communing with the One who already lives in you. When you worship, you are not trying to get His attention. You are responding to His presence that is already there.
Learning to rest in this truth means letting go of the need to hold onto old ways of experiencing God. Just like Mary, we can sometimes try to cling to what is familiar. But Jesus invites us into something greater. Not occasional encounters, but continual access. Not external closeness, but internal union. This is not distance. This is fullness.
This is why this moment matters so much for Resurrection Sunday. The resurrection is not just about Jesus being alive again. It is about access being completely transformed. What was once limited to a few is now available to all. Because of the finished work, you do not have to chase His presence. You live in it. And what felt like letting go is actually the doorway into never being separated again.
