If you’re unfamiliar, The Chosen is a dramatized TV version of the Gospel accounts, available on the Angel Studios app. It’s received wide acclaim, but also at times has sparked questions. How are we to think about this and similar forms of entertainment? I want to be clear that our church has no official position. We don’t want to bind your conscience one way or another into either thinking either that you must enjoy The Chosen or that it’s dangerous to enjoy The Chosen. This is an area of Christian freedom. I personally enjoy it, but maybe it won’t be helpful to you based on your unique perspective or experiences. And that’s ok!
Obviously portrayals of Jesus are only as useful as they are biblical. If the makers distort the biblical account in order to trumpet their own ideology, or for the purpose of making their Jesus more palatable and therefore more lucrative, that could be quite destructive. Fortunately, in the case of The Chosen, the makers’ motivation seems to be grounded in worship. Whatever the quality of their work, it’s not hard to believe that these writers and producers just want Jesus to be widely known and loved and worshiped.
But what is the quality of their work? Every portrayal of Jesus’ earthly ministry will be flawed in some way, because none of us were there! The Scriptural account tells us much, but doesn’t fill in details such as appearances, conversations, personalities, exact timing and connection of events, the tone of certain relationships, etc. Interpretation is required. Just because more than Scripture is being portrayed, that doesn’t necessarily make it wrong – so long as we recognize the limits of this form of art. It’s really no different than works of visual art about biblical figures or narratives in centuries past. People could use these paintings or sculptures to assist in their meditation on the biblical accounts. There’s no problem unless we read the work of art back into how we read the Bible, using the conjecture to control and overshadow what God has made plain.
If it feels taxing for you to keep clear in your mind what is from the Bible and what is conjecture and “filler” content, then I would suggest one of two things. First, maybe you should steer clear of works like The Chosen until you’ve read through all four Gospels for yourself. And that doesn’t take long. You could read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John at a steady but observant pace and be done in a week or two. But if you’re well familiar with the Gospels and still find the process taxing, you could also just watch more works like The Chosen. If you’re going to watch content like this, make sure that you don’t have only one view of “video” Jesus and the world in which He walked. A number of good movies have come out in recent years, such as: The Gospel of Mark , The Gospel of John, and The Nativity Story. Seeing a number of these sorts of works will help you to remember that while we don’t know exactly what Jesus was like, all responsible interpretations draw out aspects of His identity that cause us to love God and others more, hate sin more, and gain hope as we cling to Him.
So, granted that every video interpretation of Jesus will contain conjecture, what do we think about the conjecture contained in The Chosen? [Warning: if you haven’t seen The Chosen but have wanted to, this article will be a SPOILER going forward] For example, did Simon Peter have a debt problem prior to meeting Jesus? Was Matthew really estranged from his parents? Was Simon the Zealot brothers with the paralytic? Did Zebedee open an olive oil business? To all of these sorts of elements we can say, “probably not…but maybe!” We can appreciate these side stories as designed to help us connect with the setting in which Jesus did ministry. They help us see our need of Him as we identify with the people who encountered Him in the flesh back then. Though admittedly I can grow tired of these extra little dramas :o)
But now we get into the more controversial issues…the aspects of the show that make you scratch your head and say… ”I’m not really sure it could have happened like that.” When you feel that, press in extra close, search your Bibles, and ask, “Why do I feel that way?” Maybe you’re right, and it couldn’t have happened that way. Maybe you’ve identified something that the makers got wrong. If so, take notes, and let’s talk about it! I haven’t seen every episode, and there are more episodes coming out in the future, so it’s totally possible that the makers could make a misstep. If we’re observant, then watching that misstep won’t hurt us…it will only make us firmer in the truth as we together close in on what wasn’t right and why.
But more than likely, from what I’ve seen of the show so far, it’s not that the portrayed interpretation must be wrong. The tension you feel might just be because you hope it’s wrong, because it makes you quite uncomfortable if it’s right. And this is exactly the value of art like this…it makes us come to terms with how our own view of Jesus might be deficient. For example, it might do us good to remember that in addition to being fully divine, Jesus is fully human:
- He perhaps did intensely practice His Sermon on the Mount. Just because He would never speak error doesn’t mean that He wouldn’t have had to rethink and tweak His planned format of presenting those truths.
- He perhaps was clumsy at physical games, disappointing his teammates and trying their patience.
- He likely did get homesick for Nazareth, concerned for his cousin John, and stunningly weary after a day of healing.
For others of us, Jesus’ humanity is easy to accept, but the nature of His divinity becomes harder to reconcile. We expect Him to swoop in like Superman and make everything better for everyone He cares about. Instead, The Chosen portrays that:
- A disciple’s wife could still have a miscarriage
- An apostle himself could have a physical malady that Jesus didn’t choose to heal
- Jesus could have let Mary Magdalene intensely struggle with temptation to return to her previous lifestyle, because in His wisdom it would accomplish greater good than if she was instantly and forever free from those influences.
- There were times when Jesus purposely contradicts and [in their minds] snubs his friends and family, because He knew He could serve them best ultimately by being laser-focused on His mission.
In addition to wrestling with the mysteries of His full divinity and full humanity, there are also cultural issues that this portrayal of Jesus can help us see more clearly…
Regarding women: in a society (then) that used women, and in a society (now) that seeks to flatten any natural distinctions between men and women, Jesus honestly observes as good and preserves the differences in how we are created. Yet far from this leading to oppression or lesser dignity for His female followers, His approach understands them, exalts them, and creates true unity and understanding between the sexes.
Regarding power: in a society (then and now) where secular power can be brutal, and where religious people all too often chase their own power to counter this, Jesus creates a conundrum. He is more powerful than all, though not in terms that they can engage with or dismiss. These segments are some of the most fun to watch!
In summary, there is much that could be gained for the discerning viewer of The Chosen. Even so, it could be unhelpful if you use it as a replacement or filter for the very words of Scripture. My hope is that the way you watch it will open many useful questions that we should have been asking all along. If The Chosen can send us back to the Bible with greater intentionality and eagerness, then that is a very good use of our time.