Dec. 4, 2022, column from the Amarillo Globe-News:
New 'Chosen' episodes show disciples' reaction to first mission
On a movie theater screen Nov.
18, a group of 12 men formed a circle and prayed. Dressed in first-century
clothing, their arms around each other’s shoulders, they appeared eager and apprehensive
at the same time.
With dramatic night lighting and moving music, they asked God to be with them as they started their first assignment without their leader. They were to go in pairs to communities throughout the region, telling the residents that the kingdom of God was near. And they were to heal people’s ailments and command impure spirits to go away – things they had seen their teacher do but that they had no idea he would give them the power to accomplish themselves.
It was the closing scene of “The
Chosen: Season 3, Episodes 1 and 2,” premiering in theaters across the country
in anticipation of the regular streaming presentation of Season 3 of the first
multi-season series depicting the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.
Headlines after that first
weekend of the theatrical release included the words, “surprised,” “shocked”
and “stunned” regarding the box office ranking of “The Chosen.” It opened in
the No. 3 spot behind only No. 1 “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and No. 2
“The Menu,” both heavily financed Hollywood productions. Then it moved up to
No. 2 with a take of $11.8 million, ahead of “The Menu” at $11.3 million and
behind “Black Panther” at $82.9 million. “Black Panther” was shown on 4,396
screens, according to boxofficemojo.com, and “The Menu” was on 3,228 screens. “The
Chosen” was on only 2,021 screens.
Of course, “The Chosen”
primarily is a streaming production, filmed in Utah and increasingly near Midlothian,
Texas, and financed by crowdfunding, sales of merchandise and theater tickets so
that it can be offered free on its streaming app. It’s a sort of intruder into
the entertainment field – maybe like Jesus himself was perceived by religious
leaders 2,000 years ago.
It has grabbed the attention of
Christians of many stripes as well as others who might not be inclined to enter
a church. It has generated some controversy, including from those who think
nothing about Jesus should be presented unless it’s word-for-word from the
Bible.
Dallas
Jenkins, its creator and director, has explained clearly that “The Chosen”
isn’t the Bible but that it does not contradict scripture. One of its purposes
is to show Christ’s first disciples as human beings with worries, joys and
extended families and friends. The storylines for Mary Magdalene, Matthew and
Peter, for example, speculate on what might have been going on in their lives
as Jesus chose them and as they came to believe and follow him.
Episode
2 of Season 3 shows Jesus encouraging James, son of Alphaeus, who has a
physical ailment and wonders how he will be able to heal people when Jesus
hasn’t healed him. That conversation isn’t in the Bible, but as Jenkins says,
it is a creative, plausible supposition that fits into the biblical narrative.
Christ probably didn’t have that exact talk with James in real life, but the
scene reminds us that the disciples were real people who would have had serious
discussions with their rabbi and savior. And Jenkins cites many examples of
viewers turning to the Bible to read the scriptural context of the “Chosen”
stories.
The
prayer circle that the 12 form after receiving instructions from Jesus to go
out “two by two” and tell people about him is an entirely likely occurrence
that follows the New Testament accounts, and “The Chosen” makes it an emotional
time for the men who have become brothers.
I
remember a sermon many years ago by the late Roy Wheeler, who was the senior
minister of Paramount Terrace (now Hillside) Christian Church. He described a
football game where the home team’s 11 offensive starters were huddled in the
middle of the field with the opponents’ defense waiting for them to break the
huddle and run a play.
But
in Wheeler’s scenario, the home team stays in the circle, talking about the X’s
and O’s of the next play. While the defense waits, the offense doesn’t move.
The obvious comparison is to the church, where often we worship on Sunday,
attend Sunday school lessons and encourage each other – but don’t go out into
the world to spread the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.
In
“The Chosen,” the disciples are preparing for their next offensive play, and I
assume we’ll see them in action in subsequent episodes. We know that in scripture,
they did follow Jesus’ lead in reaching people with healing and word of the
coming kingdom of God.
God changed the world through them. Many believers hope he will continue that revolution through “The Chosen” and through other methods. And all of us need to break the huddle and run the play.
