John 20:17 | From Clinging to Following

John 20:17 (World English Bible) is one of the most misunderstood and most beautiful lines Jesus speaks after the resurrection. Mary Magdalene has just recognized him when he says her name. The instinct is to hold on and never let go. And Jesus responds with a sentence that is not rejection, but reorientation: “Don’t hold me.”

In this episode of Formation to Transformation: A Worship Devotional, we slow down and sit with what Jesus is doing here. He is teaching Mary how to relate to him on the other side of resurrection. Not by clinging to a moment she can control, but by following him into what is next. Resurrection is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of a new kind of life, and Jesus’ ascension is part of that story. He is not drifting away. He is taking his rightful place as Lord, and opening the way for his people to live as family.

Then Jesus gives Mary a commission that carries the heart of the shepherd theme we have been living in through Psalm 23 and John 10. “Go to my brothers.” After betrayal, denial, and scattering, Jesus calls them brothers. That is the voice of the Good Shepherd. He gathers his people with family language, not shame language.

And the message Mary carries is theologically loaded and deeply personal: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.” This is adoption language. The Son who knows the Father brings you into the Father’s house, not as a visitor, but as family. This is where Psalm 23’s dwelling and John 10’s shepherding land in real life. Belonging. Home. Communion.

This episode connects grief, worship, and formation in a practical way. Worship is not only a moment of closeness. Worship is obedience that flows from relationship. It is releasing your grip and taking the next step Jesus gives you. It is moving from clinging to following, from isolation to reattachment, from comfort to calling.