After Jesus rose from the dead, He told Mary to stop clinging to Him, but then told Thomas to touch His hands. Why the difference?

TL;DR:

After Jesus rose from the dead, He told Mary not to cling to Him while He told Thomas to touch His hands. Jesus wanted Mary Magdalene and Thomas both to believe and trust in Him.

After Jesus' resurrection, Mary Magdalene found His tomb empty and was distraught until Jesus appeared to her. When she tried to cling to Him, Jesus told her not to because He had yet to ascend to the Father. In what appears to be a similar situation, Thomas doubted until Jesus invited him to touch His wounds, teaching the importance of belief without seeing. The two situations are very different. Jesus told Mary not to cling to Him because He would not stay on earth forever, and her holding onto Him could not keep Him there. He wanted Mary to believe what He had already told her: He would ascend and send the Holy Spirit to live in His disciples, pointing them to Him. He wanted Mary Magdalene to believe. Jesus also told Thomas to touch His wounds because He wanted Thomas to believe.

from the old testament

This story occurred in the New Testament period.

from the new testament

After Jesus' crucifixion, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb to finish preparing His body. When she arrived, the stone had been rolled away and Jesus' body was gone. Simon Peter and apostle John confirmed what she saw. While they ran to tell the other disciples, she stayed at the tomb, distraught, because her Savior was missing. Jesus cleared up her confusion by appearing to her. He was alive! Understandably, Mary didn't recognize Him at first. When Jesus called her name, she realized who He was. Her response was immediate and so emotional that Jesus said to her "Do not cling to me…" (John 19:38—20:18).
Shortly after, Jesus appeared to the disciples, but Thomas was absent. Despite firsthand accounts from the other disciples, Thomas remained convinced that Jesus was dead. He said, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe" (John 20:25). Eight days later, Jesus appeared to Thomas in the presence of the other disciples. "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe," He said to Thomas (John 20:27).
Why did Jesus tell Mary to stop touching Him but invite Thomas to touch Him? The answer is alluded to in John 20:17: "Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."'" Mary apparently wasn't just hugging Jesus as a friend or touching Him to convince herself He was real. She was clinging to Him, perhaps to keep Him from ever leaving her again. Jesus gave her a reason why she could not keep Him with her—He had to ascend to the Father. He had a job to do, and as much as He obviously cared for her, He could not indulge her feelings of fear. In fact, He already addressed the issue of her fear in John 14:16–17 when He promised He would send the Counselor to be with her, and all His followers, forever.

implications for today

Mary and Thomas had to learn the same lesson modern Christians face—how do we trust a Jesus we can't see? How do we trust He really is alive and won't leave us? We have faith. We trust the accounts of the disciples. We cling to what is good as Hebrews 10:23 says: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” As we have faith and trust in Him, we understand His power and presence in a way the disciples who had Jesus in their midst never did. As Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).

understand

After Jesus' crucifixion, Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb and was visited by Jesus, who revealed Himself to her despite her initial failure to recognize Him.
Thomas, initially skeptical of Jesus' resurrection, insisted on physical proof. Jesus later appeared to him, inviting Thomas to touch His wounds, leading to Thomas's belief.
Jesus’ responses to Mary Magdalene and Thomas emphasize that He wanted both of them to believe and trust in Him.

reflect

What do you most often cling to for comfort and security? How can we be sure to hold on to the right things?
Thomas's insistence on touching Jesus' wounds highlights the human tendency to rely on tangible proof for our faith. How do we walk by faith in things that we cannot physically touch or see?
How have your moments of doubt or fear allowed you to wrestle with your faith and draw nearer to Jesus?

engage

What do we learn about God in the ways that Jesus responded differently to Mary Magdalene and Thomas?
How do you reconcile Thomas's need for physical proof with Jesus' statement about the importance of belief without seeing? Our faith is not a blind faith, so what does this statement mean?
In what ways do we, like Mary and Thomas, struggle with trusting in Jesus' unseen presence? How can we cultivate faith and trust in Jesus despite not physically encountering Him?