John 20 contains so much encouragement and peace as the resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples. It is a transitional time in history. Change is underway.
This change begins as Jesus reveals himself to Mary in the garden. Seeing the grave clothes, the angels, and even the resurrected Jesus himself have not broken through Mary’s grief. However, hearing his voice (the voice she loves more than any other) speak her name finally pierces the darkness of her soul. Mary appears to reach out to touch him – either through an embrace or by falling to his feet. Jesus says, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God,” (John 20:17). Jesus’ response to her is: Don’t cling Mary. There’s more to come. I am still on the move. Change is underway. I’m heading back to Father’s House! You can almost hear the joy and anticipation in his voice. Now go, Mary, and share the news. She has just found him and he sends her away with a commission to be his witness. Make no mistake, when you find Jesus, you are commissioned and sent to tell others (no theology degree required)!
But there’s more change indicated by this verse. It’s the message she brings that points to a shift in the relations between the Father, the Son and the disciples. Jesus says, “Go to my brothers and tell them.” As Rod Whitacre writes in his commentary on John, “This is the first time in the Gospel that Jesus refers to the disciples as his brothers. This implies that Jesus has inaugurated a new level of intimacy between himself and the disciples. The new community he founded during his ministry became a new family at the cross and now the disciples are to enter into this new form of relationship.” They are given the right to move from being mere learners and servants, or even friends, to being family (see John 1:12-13). This new relationship with God the Father comes through relationship with God the Son. Because God is Jesus’ Father, he is also their Father; because he is Jesus’ God, he is also their God. And this relationship change will be experienced by them once Jesus has ascended to the Father and with the coming of the Holy Spirit into their lives with power.
John declares at the end of chapter 20, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the 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). The GOOD NEWS is that when you believe in Christ, you receive his life and you are admitted to the family of God. No doubt, a beautiful change is underway!
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