One of the projects I started working on this summer is a collection of short stories about people in the Gospels who have a life-changing experience but don't have a name. I had been thinking about doing it for a while because I was intrigued by their stories and wondered what the rest of their lives might have been like. I knew that there was a greater depth to some of these stories than the Gospel writers mentioned. I decided to write each story from the person's perspective so readers could explore how these people viewed their interactions with Jesus.
The first story I tackled was that of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:3-11). A sermon I heard earlier this year talked about this story. In the sermon, it was mentioned that the law stated that both parties caught in adultery should be stoned, yet only the woman was brought out. I began thinking about who the man was and why he was not implicated as well. Later on, I read the passage from Leviticus that gives this law, and I was inspired to begin writing. The story not only answers the question of who the man was and why he wasn't persecuted, but also the questions of what caused the adulterous act and what Jesus was writing.
The next story I started on was the Samaritan woman, whose story takes up the better part of a chapter in John (4:7-42), but is known only by her nationality. The more I heard her story, the more I realized that there had to be more to it. I've always pictured her as relatively young, and five failed marriages that early had to have had really good reasons that they failed. If they failed because she was domineering or promiscuous, she would have no problems flaunting her success at every opportunity she could get. The shame that drove her to get water in the middle of the day shows that she didn't ask for any of the problems she's had with men.
I have also always questioned her characterization as a five-time divorcee. For as much trouble as these five past marriages have caused her, I figured at least some of the men had died under suspicious circumstances. As I wrote her story, I not only gave her a name, but I gave each of them one as well. Each of the men had a personality to match their name that ultimately led to their divorce or untimely death. I even gave a name to the immature sixth man who refused to marry her.
The stories of these two women are just a few of the ones I ultimately want to write. Others I have considered include the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:2-20), the boy in the linen cloth (Mark 14:51-52), and the woman suffering from a twelve-year hemorrhage (Mark 5:25-34). These stories are just a part of the larger story of Christ's time on Earth, but each of them is important and deserves to be remembered. Writing my version of the stories gives these people a name and a backstory that they have never had before.
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