Example research essay topic: Gospel Of John Synoptic Gospels - 1,138 words

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An Analysis of The Story of the Adulterous Woman Look which of you that never sin wrought, Cast at her stones and spare her not, (N-Town: Woman Taken In Adultery: Medieval Drama; Bevington, David; Houghton Mifflin, 1975) Who among us has never sinned? And, in our place as fellow victims of our own all too human nature, have we any right to pass judgement on those who do the same as we do, if with less discretion? If so, this begs the question of whether morality lies in following the social mores or if it is all in hiding from the public eye how often you dont follow them. It seems that Jesus, or at least Johns version 1 of Jesus and, later, the playwright of the N-Town Cycle, following in his footsteps, believed that the appearance of a moral life is worthless without the genuine article to buttress it. It sounds like a solid principle, and one that could be applied, even today, but despite the similarities in the texts, did the mediaeval context provide less charitable messages along with the storys original intended moral? And, for that matter, is there more than first appears to that original moral?

Among the gospels, only John makes mention of the Adulterous Woman, which brings to question the probability of the actual occurrence. However, the differences between John and the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) have led many scholars to believe that John may have been written to supplement the material found in the other three gospels. It is believed that the Gospel of John was written later than the Synoptic gospels, but the debate still stands as to how much later; estimates range from 75 A. D. to 145 A.

D. However, scrolls containing versions of Johns gospel dated to 135 A. D. have been found as far as Syria, which improves the likelihood of Johns claim that he is a disciple of Jesus. This would place the original writing of the gospel at no later than 100 A. D. , and very likely somewhere around 80 A.

D. Johns writings, then, are the reminiscences of an elderly man looking back on his time with the Messiah; the views presented in the gospel are more likely to be what he felt and could believe in at the time of the writing, not at the time of his discipleship. This gives Johns gospel a more mature ambiance than those of the Synoptic writers, who were younger men, and more inclined to write clear-cut, propaganda packed texts. Unlike the Synoptic writers, John avoids descriptions of the origins and early childhood of Jesus, which none of the gospel writers would have known much about, except through less accurate tales than the ones upon which the rest of the writings are based. John also includes a significant amount of material not found in the Synoptics. In addition to the Adulterous Woman, all the other material in John 2 - 4, which covers Jesus' early Galilean ministry, is not found in the Synoptics.

Prior visits of Jesus to Jerusalem before the Passion Week are mentioned only in John. Nor do Matthew, Mark or Luke mention the resurrection of Lazarus found in John 11. John presents his material in the form of extended dialogues or discourses rather than the pithy sayings found often in the Synoptics; this holds a certain appeal to the scholarly mind, which seeks accuracy rather than epigrams. This air of accuracy may be what originally persuaded the N-Town playwright to keep his text so true to the gospel account. The N-Town play of The Woman Taken in Adultery follows the account in the Gospel of John very closely, and with only one notable embellishment the scene wherein the adulterous woman is abducted from the brothel, including the young man present in that scene. I suspect that this addition was not purely for comic purposes as may be assumed, but that the forceful capture of the adulterous woman invites the audience to have sympathy for her predicament.

I believe that the gospel was followed more closely here than in other plays because, in addition to Johns general air of accuracy, there was little that could be added to make his portrayal of the event more evocative, or if youre a Pharisee, provocative, except for the brothel scene. Both John and the N-Town playwright have Jesus talking to his followers and writing in the dust as the accusers approach and make their case. Throughout their presentation, Jesus ignores the three men; he is too busy teaching goodness to appear to listen too intently to their folly. However, despite his best efforts to ignore the three men, they persist in requesting his assistance in a simple matter of Law, which is clearly stated in both Leviticus 20: 102 and Deuteronomy 22: 223. It is an interesting side note that three men stand to accuse the adulterous woman, just as there are three parts to so many things in the Christian tradition; the three kings, the Holy Trinity, and the number of times the angel comes to Mary Magdalene, just to name three. The three accusers set an interesting trap for Jesus by bringing the adulterous woman before him; if he maintains his own teachings, and says she should be spared, he speaks against the Law, and will have to be duly punished.

If, however, he maintains the Law, he will be a hypocrite to his own teachings, and again subject to punishment. Despite the intentions of the Mediaevally composed accusers, it seems that the historical accusers may have held no definite ill will toward Jesus, for Rabbi Gunther Plaut, in his commentary on what became Talmudic teaching on Leviticus 20: 10, says: The Talmudic rabbis, with their great concern for the sanctity of human life, were openly opposed to capital punishment. But, since they had to recognize the letter of the Torah law, they sought a variety of means to render these penal laws inoperative. Thus, in some instances, they held that the Torah referred to death by divine intervention, not to death imposed by a court. They further devised a system of technicalities to prevent the conviction of a defendant for a capital crime. This somewhat offhand approach was relatively easy for them, since the Roman government denied Jewish courts jurisdiction over capital cases. (The Torah: A Modern Commentary; Plaut, Rabbi Gunther; The Union of American Hebrew Congregations, p. 907. ) In Johns account, there are two marked irregularities in the accusers presentation of their case.

First, they provide no witnesses, thus Jesus has not been presented with the information necessary to correctly judge the use of the Law in this matter. Second, the accusers speak as though Mosaic law requires the death penalty for adulterous women only, when, in actuality, Mosaic...

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