From: Cooper Greg (CooperG@wsdot.wa.gov)
Date: Tue Jan 27 1998 - 19:55:19 EST
Oh, boy...I hesitate to do this...but here goes (and I do so very
respectfully).
Jesus was being "humourous," he was cracking a "joke?"
That seems so......weird.....so unlikely. What could possibly
be in the text to suggest that???
What leads anyone to think that Mary was "simply overjoyed"
to see Him? Especially, given the context of the whole experience.
When He appeared in the upper room to His disciples they were
plain and simply SCARED. And, given that Jesus was not even
recognized when He first appeared from the grave, it seems to me
that none of these reconstructions are possible.
Joy may have followed.....but fright and shock, surely, were the
initial reactions.
Is there ANYTHING in the Greek wording or phraseology that would
lend credence to humour, joking or being overjoyed???
Gregory Lee Cooper
>----------
>From: George Athas[SMTP:gathas@mail.usyd.edu.au]
>Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 1998 4:27 PM
>To: b-greek@virginia.edu
>Subject: Re: multiple ascensions
>
>Ben Crick wrote:
>
>> IMHO the translation of MH MOU hAPTOU is better "Do not keep clinging to
>>me"
>> (suggested by William Hendriksen, /John/, Banner of Truth Trust, 1959,
>> ad loc). Hendriksen writes "What Jesus probably means is this: 'Do not
>> think, Mary, that by grasping hold of me so firmly (cf Matt 28:9), you
>> can keep me always with you. That uninterruptible fellowship for which you
>> yearn must wait until I have ascended to be forever with the Father.'
>>Jesus
>> did not object to being /touched/. Otherwise, how can we explain his word
>>to
>> Thomas?" (op cit, p 455). How indeed.
>
>I agree with your translation, Ben, of Mary not to *cling* to Jesus. However,
>I
>beg to differ on the interpretation of this incident that you gave.
>
>I think that what Jesus was saying to Mary was humourous - he cracked a joke.
>What he is implying is that Mary was holding onto him so hard and for so long
>that if she didn't let go, Jesus would not be ascending to his heavenly
>father
>after all! It is, I believe, a light hearted comment from Jesus about Mary's
>joy
>and devotion to the him - obvious from her calling him *Rabboni* rather than
>just
>*Rabbi* or *Master*, and the fact that she grabbed at him. Surely Jesus was
>not
>beyond humour or feeling - you just have to read some parables to see he
>wasn't.
>I don't think Jesus' statement should be taken to mean "My wings haven't
>dried
>yet" or "You should not cling to me because you can cling to me after you
>have
>the Spirit and I'm in Heaven." I do not think that Mary had "uninterruptible
>fellowship" on her mind. Mary was just simply overjoyed to see the man who
>had
>cast 7 demons out of her, whom she had followed and put her hopes in, whom
>she
>had watched die a barbarous death nailed to a cross, now standing fully alive
>in
>front of her. And so, by the sounds of it, was Jesus happy to see her. But,
>he
>wanted Mary to go tell the others that he was ascending. If Mary didn't let
>go
>and go tell the others, then he wouldn't be ascending and his "brethren"
>would
>know about it.
>
>Best regards!
>George Athas
> < gathas@mail.usyd.edu.au > Ph: 0414 839 964 (ICQ #5866591)
> (PhD Candidate, University of Sydney)
> (Tutor of Hebrew, Moore Theological College)
>(Visit the Tel Dan Inscription Website at)
>(http://www-personal.usyd.edu.au/~gathas/teldan.htm)
>
>
>
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