and Scott's Lexicon, frequently means "fasten oneself to, cling to, hang on by, lay hold of, or grasp." Homer constantly uses the word in this sense. This deserves special notice. Schleusner and Parkhurst agree with Liddell and Scott.
The words, " for I am not yet ascended to my Father," are even more difficult than " Touch Me not ; " and the connection between the two sayings is the hardest knot of all the sen- tence.
(a) Some think that the sense is, " I have not yet ascended to my Father. Till 1 have ascended and taken my seat at His right hand, my work as your Saviour is not perfect and com- plete. Do not therefore touch Me and fasten upon Me, as if you would fain keep Me upon earth forever, now that I have risen again. Remember that my ascension is as much a part of my great work of redemption as my crucifixion and resur- rection, I have not yet ascended. Do not, therefore, behave as though you wished to detain Me here below, and never to part with Me again."
(6) Some think that the sense is, " I am not yet ascending to my Father. I shall not ascend for forty days. There will, therefore, be abundant time for seeing, touching, hearing, and conferring with Me. Do not therefore now waste precious time on this eventful morning by embracing my feet, and dem- onstrating your affection to my person. Kather rise, and lose no time in going to my brethren, and telling them that I am risen. Think of others ; and do not occupy yourself, as you are disposed to do, in touching my feet and gratifying your own feelings. Natural as it is, there is other work to do now. Go and do it, and do not linger here. Touch Me not." This is the view of Beza, Brentius, and Bishop Hall.
(c) Some think, as Melancthon, that our Lord had in view His second advent and kmgdom, when all who have known and loved Him on earth, shall at length dwell with Him in ho- ly familiarity, and go out from His presence no more. Me- lancthon says, " It is as if Christ would say, Then shall you touch Me, when I have ascended to my Father : that is, when I shall bring thee and all my Church to the Father at the last day. Another kingdom and another life remains yet to be given, in which you shall enjoy fellowship with Me and my Father."
I honestly confess that I find it almost impossible to say which of the three opinions I have here described deserves most attention. If I must decide, I incline to prefer the second one, and I think it is more in keeping with the latter part of the verse. The weakest point of this view is the future sense which it puts on the words, " I am not ascended." The Greek word is in the perfect tense, and the perfect is undoubtedly used sometimes in the sense of a future. (Compare Horn. xiv. 23, John xvii. 10 ; and see Telf's Greek Grammar, vol. ii., p.