MORNING MANNA 8-22-22
THE ADVANTAGE OF THE LORDS ASCENSION
“Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.” John 20:17
One of the much-loved hymns for children says, “I think when I read that sweet story of old,/ When Jesus was here among men,/ How He called little children as lambs to His fold,/ I should like to have been with Him then.” Probably most of us have shared that sentimental desire at one time or another. We think how nice it would have been to enjoy the personal companionship of the Son of God during His earthly ministry.
But what we should realize is that it is better to know Him today, as He is revealed by the Spirit through the Word. Instead of being at a disadvantage, we are actually more privileged than the disciples. Look at it this way: Matthew saw Jesus through Matthew’s eyes, Mark through Mark’s eyes, Luke through Luke’s eyes, and John through John’s eyes. But we see Him through the eyes of all four Evangelists. And, to carry the thought a step farther, we have a fuller revelation of the Lord Jesus in the entire New Testament than any of the disciples had when they were on earth.
There is an additional sense in which we are more privileged than the contemporaries of Jesus. When He was mingling with the crowd in Nazareth or Capernaum, He was necessarily closer to some than to others. In the upper room, John leaned on His bosom, whereas the other disciples reclined at varying distances. But all that is changed now. The Savior is equally close to all believers. He is not only with us; He is in us.
When Mary met the resurrected Lord, she wanted to cling to Him in the same way she had previously known Him. She did not want to lose His physical, bodily presence. But Jesus said to her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father…”. He was saying, in effect, “Mary, don’t cling to me in an earthly, physical sense. When I ascend to my Father, the Holy Spirit will be sent to the earth. Through His ministry you will know me in a fuller, clearer, more intimate way than you have ever known me before.”
So the conclusion is this: Instead of wishing we had been with Jesus when He was on earth, we should realize, rejoicingly, that it is better to be with Him now.- William MacDonald
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, Tx.
