What Do We Make of "The Chosen"?

What should we make of “The Chosen?”

Lots of Christians are watching the series, “The Chosen,” about Jesus’ earthly life, and the lives of His 12 disciples. It has been hugely successful at least in terms of the number of people who have watched it. It has been viewed more than 300 million times by more than 100 million people. Three seasons have been made thus far and my wife and I have watched each of them twice. I must confess, we enjoyed them thoroughly.

As you would expect with any portrayal of Jesus Christ that has become this well known, it has attracted a great deal of controversy.

The Chosen deals with one of the most difficult theological issues in all of history—the Incarnation. What did it mean for Jesus to be human? Many religious groups have stumbled here. There have been two extremes. One extreme denies Jesus’ deity; that Jesus is fully God. Two examples are the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witness’, but there have been scores of others. The Bible teaches that Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He had no beginning. He has always existed as the second person of the Trinity. Many marginal Christian groups deny this.

But many groups have gone to the other extreme—they deny Jesus’ humanity. One of the earliest heresies confronting the Christian church was Docetism. It comes from a Greek word meaning to seem or to appear. The Docetist heresy argued that Jesus did not really become a man but that He just seemed to. He appeared as a man but was not really human. When you read the history of the first several centuries of the church this a constant issue. And we see it today. There is much Catholic and Protestant art that gives Jesus an “other-worldly” appearance. He just isn’t human.

So both extremes have existed in Christian history.

The creators of the Chosen emphasize Jesus’ humanity. He is a real person. He is fully human. He has all the emotions humans have, and He lives the kind of life that humans would live. The same is true of His disciples. They are ordinary men. Weak, sinful men. They are clearly portrayed as such in the Bible.

This emphasis on Jesus’ humanity has created strong criticism from both Catholic and Protestant circles. Typical are the blog posts from Leila Miller, a Roman Catholic writer. She accuses The Chosen of creating a “false Christ” a counterfeit Christ. She is bothered by the emphasis on Jesus’ humanity. He is your buddy, your best friend. She says this Jesus is acceptable, inoffensive, and nonthreatening. He sits around laughing with you. She also criticizes the portrayal of Mary, saying, “The Blessed Mother is the homeliest woman in Jesus’ circle.” That last observation is completely subjective. I don’t think the Mary of the Chosen is homely at all. Miller thinks Jesus in the Chosen is all too human. In reading several of her blogs I didn’t find her one time saying the Jesus of the Chosen violated Scripture. She claims He violates two thousand years of Catholic teaching. But I think he primarily violates her sense of what Jesus ought to be like. To be honest, she reminded me of the Pharisees who were really bothered that Jesus would go to parties and eat with tax collectors and sinners.  Miller’s Jesus would not be caught dead at Matthew’s house.

Another criticism is the involvement of non-Christians in the project. Many are Mormons and simply secular non-Christians. This does not bother me. I am concerned that a production communicates biblical truth. If it is well presented so much the better. But I certainly understand believers who do not share my view and I respect them.

There are others who say the script writers take too much liberty with the text and I understand this. But I have read lots of fictional, biblical stories over the years. Ben Hur was the best-selling book of the 19^th century. I loved it and the movie made from it in 1959. Ben Hur did exactly the same thing as The Chosen does. It took liberties with the biblical accounts of Jesus’ life. I have no problem with this as long as they accurately communicate biblical truth.

Having said all this I want to recommend the first three seasons to Christians and everyone else. (I am reserving judgment on future seasons.). Here’s what I liked:

In my opinion it is the best portrayal of Jesus I have ever seen. If you could jump in a time capsule and journey back to the first century I think this is very much what Jesus and the disciples would look like. Jesus in the Chosen is clearly the Sovereign Lord of all. He is the supernatural Son of God. He performs miracles. He teaches eternal truth. Not one thing put in His mouth by the writers is contrary to biblical truth. One Jewish writer who began with real suspicions about The Chosen, became entranced with it. Why? Because Jesus and His disciples were so Jewish. Which, of course, they were.

More importantly, I think The Chosen succeeds in its fundamental aim—it shows what a ragtag bunch the disciples were, which is exactly what the Bible teaches in Acts 4:13; their Jewish audience saw them as uneducated, common men. As I watch The Chosen I keep thinking. This sorry collection of people is going to become the most influential of all time. How can that be? We know the answer. The Jews themselves figured out. Again from Acts 4:13: they took note that they had been with Jesus. When Jesus gets inside you, you become a person of enormous power. 

One other thought. Drawing attention to Jesus is never a good strategy for Satan. If people get interested in Jesus and begin to investigate Him, they are engaging in high-risk behavior. Getting to know Jesus can radically alter the trajectory of your life.

Joseph Holmes, writing for Religion Unplugged summed it up very well: “There is a simple reason for the series’ popularity: It portrays a Jesus who feels like Jesus to people and surrounds this Jesus with people the audience can relate to. This means that, when Jesus tells the characters in the story that he loves them, forgives them of their sins and will always protect them and guide them, they feel like the real Jesus is talking to them.”

And the real Jesus does all these things. He can do it for you right now. If you haven’t already, ask Him to forgive you and save you. He will.

Thanks for listening. May you encounter the real Jesus today and find your whole life transformed. 

More:  A Jewish writer strongly recommends “The Chosen:”

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-this-jew-is-binge-watching-the-chosen-and-maybe-you-should-too/

A harsh attack from a conservative Roman Catholic:

https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/the-false-christ-of-the-chosen?utm_source=Crisis+Magazine&utm_campaign=e6c38ea75a-Crisis_DAILYRSS_EMAIL&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a5a13625fd-e6c38ea75a-28475396&mc_cid=e6c38ea75a&mc_eid=a40cb5b88c

Joseph Holmes, review for Religion Unplugged: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2022/11/23/the-chosen-season-three-is-a-triumphant-mixed-bag?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA29auBhBxEiwAnKcSqkHyu2LuJUM9vM_4Cx5O2WSGTpaXgKqh1HIsOcuu2RQUaekVSWJ29RoCLuAQAvD_BwE

Christianity Today has a take on the series: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/july-web-only/chosen-vidangel-made-us-like-christ-mimetic-desire.html