Exegesis Essay John free essay sample

I will use the process of exegesis by talking about the socio-historical criticism, literary criticism, and ideological criticism. In this passage a woman who commits adultery is brought to Jesus to receive her punishment. Jesus then announced that anyone who hasn’t sinned would be able to throw a stone at her; not a single person threw a stone. The woman was then released and was told to never sin again. By using the three different types of criticism, I now have a better, more thorough understanding of this passage, and the other passages we have studied as well. Using socio-historical criticism I have learned that â€Å"stoning† was a form of punishment. Being â€Å"stoned† meant that the person who did wrong was to have stones thrown at them by the crowd. Sometimes the person being stoned would die from this punishment. This was usually a form of public humiliation as well and everyone was invited to throw stones. We will write a custom essay sample on Exegesis Essay John or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although, in this passage, no one was able to throw stones because they were all sinners like the woman who committed adultery. Another thing I noticed in this passage was that the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman who committed adultery to Jesus, instead of an officer or someone of high authority. I believe that in this time vigilantes were very common. That shows that many people took matters into their own hands. If they see anyone doing something that are against the rules, in this case Moses’ commandments, then they had the right to get that person in trouble on their own. Everyone had the right to persecute one another if caught breaking the rules, or sinning. Through literary criticism I have discovered that this passage is about learning your lesson and to not be so quick to judge. The irony in his passage is that all these people were so quick to accuse this woman of being sinful, when in reality; they all were sinners as well. Jesus allowed whoever was free of sins to throw a stone at this woman, and one by one they all left the area because they realized that they have all sinned before in their lives too. The characters in John 8:1-11 are Jesus, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the adulterer. Jesus is a teacher, and is found in the Mount of Olives or at temple. The scribes are the ones who wrote and documented things. The Pharisees are members of a Jewish group who strictly observed the traditional and written law. Both the scribes and the Pharisees were the ones who attempted to test Jesus’ commitment to the rules by brining the convicted woman to Him. The woman who ommitted adultery doesn’t say much in the passage, but she never denies the charges against her. In conclusion, with ideological criticism, I have been able to relate this passage with my daily life, and the daily lives of others. In this day and age, there is still cheating or â€Å"adultery† going on. Many people that are in relationships like marriage or just being boyfriend and girlfriend, can be victims of having their significant other cheat. I have been cheated on, and have done the cheating mys elf. It is not a good feeling either way; I took it as a lesson learned the hard way. In this time, people still do consider cheating/adultery a very harsh thing to do. There can be consequences for it, but none such as stoning or anything that could lead to death. Although, there are those that think cheating isn’t a big deal and that it is fine to do. Personally, I don’t think anyone should get into a relationship if they will ever be tempted to cheat. It is always an option. No excuse makes it an okay thing to do, even if it’s for revenge. This passage was short, but it was full with a lot of hidden information. Using these types of criticism really helped me see past the plain text and to interpret it to my understanding. I discovered so many new life lessons that were hidden, and I found ones that I never thought would relate to this passage. Also, this process opened my eyes to how similar these ancient short stories can be to present-day life. I really enjoyed using the exegesis process to uncover the tons of hidden information a couple of paragraphs can hold.