Jesus the Son of Man · Chapter
Joanna the Wife of Herod’s Steward explained
Joanna, a woman deemed a prostitute for loving a Sadducee who was not her husband, recounts how she was seized by the Sadducees and brought before Jesus as a test.
What happens
Joanna, a woman deemed a prostitute for loving a Sadducee who was not her husband, recounts how she was seized by the Sadducees and brought before Jesus as a test. Jesus refused to judge her, instead shaming her accusers and setting her free. From that moment, her life transformed from bitterness to sweetness, and she became a woman without a tainted memory.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
Claudius’s sudden, involuntary loss of composure—a hardened veteran who has faced death without fear now rende…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Social Justice and the Marginalized
Jesus defends a woman condemned by society, showing compassion over judgment.
- Hypocrisy and Religious Authority
The Sadducees use Joanna as a trap for Jesus, revealing their hypocrisy.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“They say that Jesus heeded not the law of Moses, and that He was over-forgiving to the prostitutes of Jerusalem and the countryside.”
People accused Jesus of ignoring the Law of Moses and being too lenient with prostitutes.
Joanna acknowledges the criticism Jesus faced for His mercy.
“But Jesus judged me not. He laid shame upon those who would have had me shamed, and He reproached them.”
Jesus did not condemn me; instead, He turned the shame back on my accusers and rebuked them.
Jesus' response to the trap set by the Sadducees.
