Chapter 20:11-18 in the Gospel of John describes the meeting between Mary Magdalene and Jesus at the empty tomb. A conversation starts up between them, in which the mysterious words are spoken “Noli me tangere”:

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because 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.” ’ 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.

"Noli me tangere" is the Latin version of the original Greek expression "mê mou haptou". These three words can be translated in different ways: “do not touch me”, “do not hold on to me”, “do not approach me”, and so on. Depending on the translation, the action of Mary Magdalene can be interpreted in a different way: does she try to touch/embrace/hold Jesus, and is this not allowed? Or, has she embraced Jesus, and does she have to prepare for a new relationship towards the Risen Christ? Does she hold on to him, and then have to let go of him so that they can each go their own way?

Even given what the original meaning was, the three words “Noli me tangere” caused a whole chain of meanings and interpretations throughout history. This is why the theological and art historical faculties of the KULeuven, Belgium and Saint Paul University Ottawa are collaborating in a research project, financed by the Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders: "Mary Magdalene and the Touching of Jesus. An Intra- and Interdisciplinary Investigation of the Interpretation of John 20:17 in Exegesis, Iconography and Pastoral Care”.

Noli me tangere, anonymous, print inserted into Flemish manuscript
parchment, 270 x 310 mm,
Heverlee, Parc Abbey, Collection of the Centre for Religious Art and Culture 

In this interdisciplinary research project the disciplines of exegesis of the First and Second Testaments, art history and practical theology will be combined to investigate the meaning, reception history and present-day relevance of “mê mou haptou” in John 20:17. The element of continuity in this multidisciplinary study of John 20:17 is the theme of touching/holding/letting go.