The Lord Bringing Forth Many Brothers
THE LORD BRINGING FORTH
MANY BROTHERS
In John 20:17 after His resurrection the Lord Jesus said to Mary, "Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God." In this verse the Lord refers to His ascending to the Father. On the day of His resurrection, the Lord ascended to the Father. This was a secret ascen sion, the ultimate fulfillment of the going pre dicted in 16:7, forty days prior to His public ascension before the eyes of His disciples (Acts 1:9-11). On the day of resurrection, early in the morning, He ascended to satisfy the Father, and late in the evening He returned to the disciples (20:19). The freshness of His resurrection must first be for the Father's enjoyment, as the first fruit of the harvest was, in type, brought first to God.
In her experience, Mary nearly experienced what God the Father experienced shortly there after. The Lord Jesus revealed Himself to Mary even earlier than He did to the Father when He