Crazy about The Chosen

When you have been brought up in a Christian home and been a follower of Jesus for over 50 years, you can become overfamiliar with the Bible stories about him. The Chosen is different.

In my head the first disciples of Jesus had been sainted into bearded patriarchs spouting words of wisdom. In The Chosen they are real people with feelings, faults and a feeble (and therefore more relatable?) faith.

Keeping the main events and public words of Jesus as close as possible to the Bible accounts, I have found that the brilliant writers have filled in the personalities and back stories of his followers creating compelling and emotional storylines.

Have you ever wondered: How did Simon Peter’s wife cope with him giving up his income to wander off with a nomadic unconventional rabbi?

Have you ever wondered: 

How did Simon Peter’s wife cope with him giving up his income to wander off with a nomadic unconventional rabbi?

How did Mary Magdalene get possessed by not just one but seven demons?

How did Jewish fishermen oppressed by the Romans cope with Jesus inviting Matthew, a tax collector, into the inner circle? (In The Chosen, Matthew is portrayed as neurodivergent adding a further dimension around inclusivity.)

It seems to me that the creator Dallas Jenkins and team have used these and other questions to produce wonderful drama which will keep you wanting to know what happens next even though we may already know “The Ending”.

The inspired way in which their stories not only fit the culture of New Testament Israel but also link in with recorded Old Testament events is just brilliant. Some of these are obvious - a well dug by Jacob becomes the meeting place for Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Some are more subtle - as John the Baptist is about to lose his head Jesus sees a solitary lamb on a hillside.

The inspired way in which their stories not only fit the culture of New Testament Israel but also link in with recorded Old Testament events is just brilliant.

From my experience of watching the series, I would say prepare for a roller coaster of emotions. The most impactful part so far for me has been the end of season three which includes the feeding of the 5,000 and Simon Peter walking on and falling into the stormy sea.

His back story leading up to this moment is quite overwhelming. And if the clever cinematography wasn’t enough, I was drawn into a total new understanding of those times when I’ve yelled “Jesus, if you are who you say you are and I am following you, why are you allowing me to be battered by this storm …. especially when other people seem to get off so lightly?”.  I know I’m not the only one who needed a box of tissues.

I did find the beginning of season one slow - I wanted to see Jesus do stuff. Now the story is building towards the crucifixion and the characters are developing as they experience hostility from all directions, I’ve had to go back and watch the earlier series to remind myself where they each started their journey.

The casting is superb. Jonathan Roumie plays Jesus magnificently, allowing his own personal faith to guide him in getting just the right mix of humanity and holiness (not like the old cinema epics where Jesus wandered around with a halo giving proclamations in Old English).  

Shahar Isaac, who is from Israel, plays Simon Peter as a dynamic, feisty young man (with gym muscles) who mostly needs to be reined in by Jesus. Even Judas and some Romans provoke empathy.

The Chosen is not the Bible but it has certainly made me read mine more - to explore afresh the challenges faced by these ancient characters. We are not that different. And thankfully neither is Jesus. What he did then he can do now, and I am ready for more of that.