There are some who are not convinced that Jesus ascended to the Father on the day He was resurrected. A passage they point to is Acts 1:1-3 [RSV]. 1. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2. until the day when He was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3. To them He presented Himself alive after His passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the Kingdom of God.
Yes, Luke says Jesus ascended after “He presented Himself alive His passion by many proofs,” but this does not negate in any way the many other passages that show He had to present Himself unblemished to the Father first. Here is an illustration that demonstrates this truth.
For instance, if I told you, "I assembled with the saints last Sunday after visiting a member in the hospital in the afternoon," are we going to assume that this statement prohibited me from assembling with the saints in the morning prior to the hospital visitation? That is what one is doing with Luke's statement from Acts 1 if one reads it and concludes that Jesus could not ascend to the Father prior to His final ascension. One is making Luke’s comment that Jesus ascended AFTER He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs as prohibitive of Jesus ascending at any other time. But is my original statement about assembling with the saints Sunday evening after I visited a member in the hospital Sunday afternoon somehow false if I say that I did, indeed, assemble with the saints last Sunday morning, too? No, it does not. In fact, I did all of these things this past Lord’s Day, and my original statement still holds true, and it was not at all false, deceptive or misleading.
If Jesus allowed Thomas to touch Him at a later point, as He did, then this would have to hold true as He did not allow for Mary to touch Him just after He was resurrected from the dead. Jesus’ holy and perfect sacrifice would have been made impure had Mary, because of her fallen flesh, touched Him. So Jesus had to remain clean and pure to enter the Holy of Holies in Heaven when He ascended to God the Father. Jesus alone was qualified to do so on our behalf, as He is the expressed image of God the Father. 1. In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; 2. but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world. 3. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power. When He had made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4. having become as much superior to Angels as the name He has obtained is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4 [RSV])
On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:27 [RSV], Peter quotes David from the Old Testament, applying this fulfillment of prophecy to Jesus, saying, “For Thou wilt not abandon My soul to Hades, nor let Thy Holy One see corruption.” Couple this with what we see in Acts 13:37 [RSV]: “but He Whom God raised up saw no corruption.” Jesus was raised bodily from the dead. He did not see corruption. So when He first appeared to Mary that glorious morn, He could not allow Himself to be touched. He had not yet presented Himself to God the Father as the pure, undefiled Firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4 [RSV]). Remember, He had said earlier in His Sermon on the Mount, “For truly, I say to you, till Heaven and Earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17 [RSV]). Even at this point, Jesus was still concerned with following ALL of His Father’s will in everything, including the minutia of the Law of Moses! What a great further demonstration is this of His wondrous and infinite love for the Father, and for fallen mankind!
Under the Law of Moses, no one was allowed to enter the Temple who had touched a dead person or any unclean animal for this made him or her ceremonially unclean. This restriction applied even more so with the High Priest, for he was not allowed to enter into the Temple or the Holies of Holies if he touched any dead thing. Touching something dead made him thus impure, and he was incapable of performing his duties as God’s High Priest. There were strict laws governing these things. Jesus is our High Priest under the New Covenant (Hebrews 2:17), and as our High Priest He, too, could not allow Himself to become ceremonially unclean by allowing someone, in this case, Mary, from touching Him prior to His going to the Holy of Holies in Heaven to present Himself to the Father, for corruption cannot enter the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
So we see it here with Jesus, Who is the heavenly pure and perfect without spot or wrinkle, Who knew no sin and became sin for us Savior (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because of His great sacrifice, those who are washed in His holy garments (Galatians 3:27) will see our own corruptible flesh one day put on incorruptible flesh (1 Corinthians 15:41-50), and we will be able to see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).
So yes, it shows here in John 20:17 that in the case of Jesus with Mary that He had to present Himself to God the Father first. After doing so and being accepted as the Firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus later on allowed the apostles, and even encouraged Thomas, to touch and handle His glorified, resurrected body (John 20:27).
Yes, Luke says Jesus ascended after “He presented Himself alive His passion by many proofs,” but this does not negate in any way the many other passages that show He had to present Himself unblemished to the Father first. Here is an illustration that demonstrates this truth.
For instance, if I told you, "I assembled with the saints last Sunday after visiting a member in the hospital in the afternoon," are we going to assume that this statement prohibited me from assembling with the saints in the morning prior to the hospital visitation? That is what one is doing with Luke's statement from Acts 1 if one reads it and concludes that Jesus could not ascend to the Father prior to His final ascension. One is making Luke’s comment that Jesus ascended AFTER He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs as prohibitive of Jesus ascending at any other time. But is my original statement about assembling with the saints Sunday evening after I visited a member in the hospital Sunday afternoon somehow false if I say that I did, indeed, assemble with the saints last Sunday morning, too? No, it does not. In fact, I did all of these things this past Lord’s Day, and my original statement still holds true, and it was not at all false, deceptive or misleading.
If Jesus allowed Thomas to touch Him at a later point, as He did, then this would have to hold true as He did not allow for Mary to touch Him just after He was resurrected from the dead. Jesus’ holy and perfect sacrifice would have been made impure had Mary, because of her fallen flesh, touched Him. So Jesus had to remain clean and pure to enter the Holy of Holies in Heaven when He ascended to God the Father. Jesus alone was qualified to do so on our behalf, as He is the expressed image of God the Father. 1. In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; 2. but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world. 3. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of His nature, upholding the universe by His word of power. When He had made purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4. having become as much superior to Angels as the name He has obtained is more excellent than theirs. (Hebrews 1:1-4 [RSV])
On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:27 [RSV], Peter quotes David from the Old Testament, applying this fulfillment of prophecy to Jesus, saying, “For Thou wilt not abandon My soul to Hades, nor let Thy Holy One see corruption.” Couple this with what we see in Acts 13:37 [RSV]: “but He Whom God raised up saw no corruption.” Jesus was raised bodily from the dead. He did not see corruption. So when He first appeared to Mary that glorious morn, He could not allow Himself to be touched. He had not yet presented Himself to God the Father as the pure, undefiled Firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4 [RSV]). Remember, He had said earlier in His Sermon on the Mount, “For truly, I say to you, till Heaven and Earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17 [RSV]). Even at this point, Jesus was still concerned with following ALL of His Father’s will in everything, including the minutia of the Law of Moses! What a great further demonstration is this of His wondrous and infinite love for the Father, and for fallen mankind!
Under the Law of Moses, no one was allowed to enter the Temple who had touched a dead person or any unclean animal for this made him or her ceremonially unclean. This restriction applied even more so with the High Priest, for he was not allowed to enter into the Temple or the Holies of Holies if he touched any dead thing. Touching something dead made him thus impure, and he was incapable of performing his duties as God’s High Priest. There were strict laws governing these things. Jesus is our High Priest under the New Covenant (Hebrews 2:17), and as our High Priest He, too, could not allow Himself to become ceremonially unclean by allowing someone, in this case, Mary, from touching Him prior to His going to the Holy of Holies in Heaven to present Himself to the Father, for corruption cannot enter the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
So we see it here with Jesus, Who is the heavenly pure and perfect without spot or wrinkle, Who knew no sin and became sin for us Savior (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because of His great sacrifice, those who are washed in His holy garments (Galatians 3:27) will see our own corruptible flesh one day put on incorruptible flesh (1 Corinthians 15:41-50), and we will be able to see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).
So yes, it shows here in John 20:17 that in the case of Jesus with Mary that He had to present Himself to God the Father first. After doing so and being accepted as the Firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus later on allowed the apostles, and even encouraged Thomas, to touch and handle His glorified, resurrected body (John 20:27).
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