ContradictionsReading order 140Bible context 2 min read
Was it OK to touch the risen Jesus before his ascension?
Jesus' prohibition to Mary contrasts with women holding his feet and explicit invitations for disciples to touch him.
- Textual conflict
- Interpretive tension
- The passages pull in different directions, but the conflict depends on how their wording, scope, or narrative context is read.
- Importance
- Foundational
- A central claim about origins, salvation, divine justice, or religious authority.
The ascension-based reason for refusing Mary contact strains other invitations to touch, but her instruction is not explicitly universal.
An editorial assessment of the quoted passages. Importance describes the stakes; it does not increase certainty. Reading order weighs both.
Jesus forbids Mary to touch him before his ascent
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.
John 20:17
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:John 20
Other resurrection scenes permit or invite physical contact
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
Matthew 28:9
Translation / edition: King James Version (KJV)
Read the full chapter:Matthew 28