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John 20 · a question people ask

Jesus tells Mary, "Don’t hold me" (20:17). To Thomas he says, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands" (20:27). How do the two fit?

In the text

Jesus gives Mary a reason in his own words: "Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’" (20:17). To Thomas he says, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing" (20:27). John 20 doesn't explain how his reason bears on "Don’t hold me", or how the two sayings fit together, and these notes don't either. They set the verses side by side and add nothing to them.

The verses

“Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’””
John 20:17 · World English Bible
“Then he said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see my hands. Reach here your hand, and put it into my side. Don’t be unbelieving, but believing.””
John 20:27 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of John 20

John 20: We have seen the Lord

The word nails is in only one verse of the whole New Testament, in Greek and in the WEB: Thomas's "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails" (20:25). After eight days, Jesus says to him, "Reach here your finger, and see my hands" (20:27).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions