Exegesis - Help!

[PilgrimsProgress]

As some of you know, I'm attempting to do the lay preachers course. The first assignment went well - and now I'm about to embark on the study of the New Testament.

I'm at a disadvantage - not only because of my age - but because I didn't grow up in a church family - or even attend church myself for many years.

So, I'm sending out an SOS to my Canadian church family -as I know you study the same lectionary as our Uniting Church of Australia.

Can you give me a definition/understanding of the word "exegesis", please?

The text I have chosen for my sermon is Mark 1:40-45 - Jesus cleanses a leper. (We had a choice of five - and I think I was influenced by seeing the dermatologist for skin cancers -a hazard of being fair skinned in a sunny climate!)

Most of the exegesis questions I can answer on this text except -
a. What stage of Jesus's ministry does the passage occur?
b. Are there connections to other parts of the Bible in the passage? What are they?
c. What theological issues does the passage raise?

Sooo, can any ministers, lay preachers or Biblically knowledgeable folks here help me out?

 

[chansen]

"Exegesis" is what you get out of a text - what you "exit" a text with after careful examination.

For completeness, "eisegesis" is reading things *into* a text, such as your own biases and what you want it to say.

When attempting exegesis, many people fall into the trap of eisegesis.

I can't help you with Jesus' spa treatment. No idea what happens in Mark 1:40-45, though I'm sure you will pore over the words.

 

[Jaebius]

What is good biblical exegesis?

Also key when preparing a sermon to exegete your community, your congregation, and yourself.

 

[revjohn]

Exegesis is the critical interpretation of the text. Technical translation is "to lead/guide out of." Specifically it is the intent to let the text speak for itself. It is compared/contrasted with eisegesis which reads meaning into scripture.

A) the pericope is located early in Jesus' ministry.

B) the pericope is shared in Matthew and Luke. It repeats a pattern found in the Gospel of Mark which shows that while Jesus will perform miracles Jesus shows a marked preference for a teaching/preaching ministry so much so that Jesus instructs those who benefit from miraculous activity to keep their silence.

C) theologically there is a textual issue in 1:41 where observation is made with respect to Jesus reaction to the leper's request. Where the pericope is repeated in the other synoptic gospels there is to textual question noted. So what does that mean to Mark?

Also of theological import is the command to silence, instruction to present himself to the high priest and the fall out for Jesus because silence was not kept.

 

[Waterfall]

Is it important to know what "cleanse" means historically? Is it the same as healing? Spiritual or physical?

 

[PilgrimsProgress]

"Exegesis" is what you get out of a text - what you "exit" a text with after careful examination.

For completeness, "eisegesis" is reading things *into* a text, such as your own biases and what you want it to say.

When attempting exegesis, many people fall into the trap of eisegesis.

I can't help you with Jesus' spa treatment. No idea what happens in Mark 1:40-45, though I'm sure you will pore over the words.

chansen, I believe you can do the course online..... With your knowledge and humour we'd make a dynamic duo.

Thanks for the heads up on "eisegesis"!

 

[PilgrimsProgress]

Is it important to know what "cleanse" means historically? Is it the same as healing? Spiritual or physical?

Yes - I intend to stress cleanse, not healing, in my sermon. I'm looking up stuff on what being a leper meant socially and culturally in Jesus's time - and connecting it to today examples of being "unclean". I'll also mention the spiritual component....

 

[PilgrimsProgress]

Exegesis is the critical interpretation of the text. Technical translation is "to lead/guide out of." Specifically it is the intent to let the text speak for itself. It is compared/contrasted with eisegesis which reads meaning into scripture.

A) the pericope is located early in Jesus' ministry.

B) the pericope is shared in Matthew and Luke. It repeats a pattern found in the Gospel of Mark which shows that while Jesus will perform miracles Jesus shows a marked preference for a teaching/preaching ministry so much so that Jesus instructs those who benefit from miraculous activity to keep their silence.

C) theologically there is a textual issue in 1:41 where observation is made with respect to Jesus reaction to the leper's request. Where the pericope is repeated in the other synoptic gospels there is to textual question noted. So what does that mean to Mark?

Also of theological import is the command to silence, instruction to present himself to the high priest and the fall out for Jesus because silence was not kept.

Thanks, revjohn, your knowledge is much appreciated......

Um, I haven't heard the word "pericope" before - what does it mean?

Also, could you please give more information on B. and C. What do you mean by textual issue, ,textual question, theological import? (I can see already that theology -it's language and its intent - will be something that will be a struggle for me.)

 

[PilgrimsProgress]

Afterthought @revjohn -
I think in the actual course - before we have to do this assignment - they'll probably explain to the class what theology is about.

All the same, I would benefit from having some prior knowledge, as it would mean I'd at least have some prior idea.......

 

[Luce NDs]

"Exegesis" is what you get out of a text - what you "exit" a text with after careful examination.

For completeness, "eisegesis" is reading things *into* a text, such as your own biases and what you want it to say.

When attempting exegesis, many people fall into the trap of eisegesis.

I can't help you with Jesus' spa treatment. No idea what happens in Mark 1:40-45, though I'm sure you will pore over the words.

If you wet lamb's kin (outer parts) with appropriate waters and expose then to the sun ... you get a new page to record a story. There are mental processes that do this with de memes ... but if you don't believe in the Shadow of that anthropomorphism ... you're a chit (bit out of luck)!

There's a hint that to nothings can get it together (ecce) in the dark ... and sparks may ensue ... a metaphor of flint and ferrites matter!

In the mean-time ... will a few words carry you on?

 

[Seeler]

Pilgrim - I knew when you first mentioned your class that I would enjoy taking it with you - alas, I am too far away, aand too old and feeble to try it online.
But - Your questions, and the wise (and witty) replies will help me follow along.
So many words that we think we know but really don't. Exegesis - I've run into this word before when studying scripture. I've used context to figure out what the sentence meant. But couldn't give a definition. Now I know.
Keep asking. You are not the only one who benefits.

 

[Luce NDs]

Pilgrim - I knew when you first mentioned your class that I would enjoy taking it with you - alas, I am too far away, aand too old and feeble to try it online.
But - Your questions, and the wise (and witty) replies will help me follow along.
So many words that we think we know but really don't. Exegesis - I've run into this word before when studying scripture. I've used context to figure out what the sentence meant. But couldn't give a definition. Now I know.
Keep asking. You are not the only one who benefits.

@Seeler such words come and go in the point of mind ... a psyche focus?

 

[Pavlos Maros]

Exegesis is critical examination of a scripture to aid explanation of said scripture, in context and without extrapolations. Else as Chansens said it becomes Eisegesis. However you are taking the scripture from the Bible which has had an abundance of extrapolations additions etc. Since it's first writing, and that came from oral tradition, a long line of chinese whisper/the telephone game. So you do have your work cut out, to try to avoid Eisegesis. Just go with it, say what you think. You wouldn't be the first.

 

[Luce NDs]

Exegesis is critical examination of a scripture to aid explanation of said scripture, in context and without extrapolations. Else as Chansens said it becomes Eisegesis. However you are taking the scripture from the Bible which has had an abundance of extrapolations additions etc. Since it's first writing, and that came from oral tradition, a long line of chinese whisper/the telephone game. So you do have your work cut out, to try to avoid Eisegesis. Just go with it, say what you think. You wouldn't be the first.

The outcome is expounded widely ... but mortals have difficulty with anything other than single liners ... the Great I? The square root of things less than positive? According to Riemann's Conjecture significant zeros don't count ... as they cause reduction of all factors ... some complex mental functions may be required to follow such thoughts ...

 

[revjohn]

Um, I haven't heard the word "pericope" before - what does it mean?

Pericope means extract of the text. Whenever we break scripture down into parts we make them pericope. They are a part and not a whole.

This means that in looking at any text in particular. In this case Mark 1: 40-45 we cannot allow these five verses to become divorced from their context. The verses before and after that we are not assigned to study will have an effect on how we come to understand these five verses.

Also, could you please give more information on B. and C.

Sure.

What do you mean by textual issue, ,textual question,

These two are related. In the apparatus (notes and what not) that cover this pericope it is noted that there is a textual variation in Mark 1: 41.

Which means that there are two ways the verse has been written. The first is that Jesus was indignant, the second is that Jesus was filled with compassion. The editors of the text you are working with have made a choice to go with one particular translation so the first question would be why did they run with the variation that they ran with. The second would be what, if any, is the impact made by the variations. Do they change our understanding of the text?

With respect to Mark 1: 41 I think that most would recognize Jesus becoming indignant communicates a very different message than Jesus being filled with compassion. Part of the exegesis will be to determine which variant is more faithful to the original and this is why the surrounding verses become so important and isolating ourselves to the pericope so potentially limiting.

theological import? (I can see already that theology -it's language and its intent - will be something that will be a struggle for me.)

Theological jargon doesn't need to present huge obstacles. It is important for the preacher that we understand what is going on in the text and sometimes the theological jargon helps us to say something big, quickly. That doesn't help if the people we are communicating with do not have the same jargon to lean on. Ultimately we have to learn to communicate the ideas contained by the jargon in words without the use of jargon.

Theological import is basically the theological thrust of the text. What does it intend for us to know about God, ourselves or our circumstance? Jesus' ability to heal has a theological import. Jesus' desire for the cleansed leper to be quiet about the healing has a theological import. Jesus' instruction for the leper to present himself to the priests has a theological import. Jesus' decision to stay out in the country when he could no longer enter a city freely has theological import. All of that tells us something more about God, ourselves and the circumstances we find ourselves in.

 

[revsdd]

John has said most of what I would have said. I do note, though, that you say you are going to stress "cleanse" as opposed to "heal." Given that there is apparently healing in the passage - "the leprosy left him" the passage says, if I were listening to you stress cleansing, I'd probably as a congregant want to know why you didn't stress "healing" - or at least give it equal weight. I think you need to be clear with yourself (and perhaps with your listeners) why you choose to stress one over the other. Is it simply personal comfort (ie, "I get really queasy about miracles") or do you think that the author also stressed cleansing over healing? (Incidentally, the text does give more prominence to cleansing - two mentions - over healing - one mention.) I just think you need to be clear on your own reason for stressing one over the other. You might also want to delve into the difference between cleansing and healing. (I would suggest that healing is physical; cleansing is communal.) Note also that the text requires a second step in the process of cleansing for the cleansing to be complete - "... go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” So a wee bit of an opportunity to delve into the relationship of Jesus and Gospel to the Law of Moses, methinks.

Otherwise, there's the significance of touch. Jesus touched the man with leprosy; one whom others feared to touch. I cannot read this passage without thinking about the response that many (most?) people used to have to those with AIDS - they didn't want to touch them or even be near them. Remember "you can get AIDS from a toilet seat." It brings to mind Princess Diana and her well publicized visits to AIDS patients - touching them, hugging them - at a time when the common response was fear and even abject terror. The touching implies compassion, thus coming back to John's note about the textual variant.

John notes the so-called "Messianic Secret" - Jesus acts and then tells others not to tell anyone. Why silence? Jesus seems to express that his teachings are more important than his miracles, or at least that he prefers to be known less for miracles and more for what he teaches. Why? Implications for today's church? How do we keep these things in proper balance in our preaching and in our lives as Christians and as communities of faith?

A very rich text with many directions you could go. Best wishes. I hope you might share your sermon with us at some point.

 

[revjohn]

Yes - I intend to stress cleanse, not healing, in my sermon.

That is unfortunate.

Not because cleansing isn't important so much as because you limit the text before you allow it to speak for itself. This is the fine line between exegesis and eisegesis. Whether you let the text speak for itself or whether you intend to tell the text what it is supposed to say to others.

Understanding greater context. What the term leper meant in that time and place, what social norms surround that term and govern its use are also important. Are they the story of the text though? Which is why the artificial blinders of the pericope boundaries (five verses) need to be examined in the immediate context of the surrounding narration. Does Jesus do something different here than elsewhere? What is consistent in Jesus' approach.

Is Jesus indignant for full of compassion? Why?

These are questions that rise out of the text?

Are we dealing with a healing or a cleansing? What does the text have to say about that?

Are healing and cleansing even primary to the text or is there something buried below the surface narration waiting to be recognized?

I'm looking up stuff on what being a leper meant socially and culturally in Jesus's time - and connecting it to today examples of being "unclean". I'll also mention the spiritual component....

Which is commendable. Knowing more should never be a handicap to understanding better.

What is the knowledge for though? Is this knowledge for you to share with others about the plight of those with skin diseases during Jesus' day? Is that what you think the intention of the text is? A brief treatment of Jesus as dermatologist?

Or is there something bigger at play?

And if there is something bigger than Jesus as dermatologist what in the text supports that notion?

 

[unsafe]

unsafe says
No one has mentioned relying on the Holy Spirit for direction ----is this important or unimportant when dealing with Spiritual Scripture -----to get the Spiritual meaning that is ---Or are we content just to rely on our own interpretation and present a worldly surface meaning to the Church not caring about the Spiritual meaning to us today ------

We can have all the theological background but is that helping the Spiritual end to the message ------



unsafe says and posted Greek word ------For instance ---this word cleanse in the Greek means to purify ---to prune


2508. kathairó ►
Strong's Concordance
Short Definition: I cleanse, purify, prune
ognate: 2508 kathaírō – make clean by purging (removing undesirable elements); hence, "pruned (purged)"; eliminating what is fruitless by purifying (making unmixed). See 2513 (katharos).



unsafe says---- and posted definition ---------Here is the dictionary meaning of cleansed -----

cleanse
klenz/
verb
past tense: cleansed; past participle: cleansed

1. make (something, especially the skin) thoroughly clean.
   "this preparation will cleanse and tighten the skin"
   
   • rid (a person, place, or thing) of something seen as unpleasant, unwanted, or defiling.
     ""cleansing the environment of traces of lead"
   • free (someone) from sin or guilt.

unsafe says
So here we see the worldly meaning and the spiritual meaning ------the Bible is a Spiritual Book with a spiritual meaning -----so if your just preaching from the worldly view of the Leopard skin being cleanses ---Then you miss the whole point of the Spiritual Message ----because Jesus had the authority to free this man of His sins so He could be cleansed and become whole ------


So you have to decide which message you want to present ---the surface message or the real message -----One message glorifies the person ---the other glorifies God ----so which is important to the person preaching ---that is the real question


unsafe says---- and posted Greek ---------This is the word heal in Greek ----

Strong's Greek: 2390. ἰάομαι (iaomai) -- to heal - Bible Hub
biblehub.com/greek/2390.htm
Phonetic Spelling: (ee-ah'-om-ahee) Short Definition: I heal. Definition: I heal, generally of the physical, sometimes of spiritual, disease. HELPS Word-studies. 2390 iáomai (a primitive verb, NAS dictionary) –healing, particularly as supernatural and bringing attention to the Lord Himself as the Great Physician


unsafe says
All up to us as to what we want the Church to hear -----Jesus spoke what His Father told Him to not what He Himself wanted to say -----John 12 :49 and 50 ----

Bible Gateway passage: John 12 - GOD’S WORD Translation

 

[Luce NDs]

Was Jesus a rogue to those powers on either side of the line? Thus the brighter medium went down ... sub dude to the grave ... thus all the dark literature ... to support something else again ... the lighter energy thus was reflected outwards in forms of Shade ... Umbra's?

The darker shades of pale are hard to grasp as scripted ... as the patriarchs ... didn't wish the pagans to know contrary to Erasmus and his related schools ... only nonsense truly exists? Common sense is out of it ... that idealism rests, as knowledge is a pain ... pa thee?

 

[chansen]

chansen, I believe you can do the course online..... With your knowledge and humour we'd make a dynamic duo.

Thanks, but needless surgery is looking like a better option to me.