I have watched many films, videos, and productions about the Life of Christ. My expectations to watch another film on Jesus was very high. I usually have something to say about the set or the person or the props etc. I never seem satisfied, especially with other faiths not of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who portray the Savior on film.
This movie, “The Chosen” is flat out the best I have ever seen and it is made by a great Evangelical man named Dallas and distributed by a team of Mormons called Vid Angel. I sat down with my wife and we watched the first 3-episodes and we just looked at each other and cried. It was an awesome Spirit and I have to share it with you.
The Chosen starts off very differently and initially I have a hard time knowing who I am watching and when. One of the first scenes is about Mary of Magdala, who at first I had forgotten she was possessed with seven devils. The first time I see Jesus in this movie is when He heals Mary Magdala. Wow! What a powerful scene. That’s what caught my eye. Then it goes on and shows the life of Simon Peter, Andrew, Matthew, and Nicodemus and it gets better and better. Don’t trust me watch it now at:
https://studios.vidangel.com/the-chosen
From LDS Living we read, “The Chosen” explores the life of Christ through the eyes of those who knew Him. The narrative multi-season show has received high praise from viewers and critics alike, earning a 9.8 out of 10 rating on IMDB. But with the praise, it has also attracted skeptics. Some don’t believe evangelical Christians should be working with Latter-day Saints on a show about Jesus or vice versa, and others believe scripture should only be portrayed exactly as it is written without creative liberties. The show’s writer and director, Dallas Jenkins, believes that exploring faith, especially in relation to the Savior, is something that requires trust. On this week’s episode, he shares the triumphs as well as the challenges of depicting the life of the Son of God.
“Even though He spoke to crowds, He was always talking personally, and He was always seeking that personal relationship. And that’s what He wants from your heart. He wants that more than your accomplishments, and He wants that more than any kind of mass movement. He wants the personal.”
Th Chosen is the first-ever-multi-season TV show about the life of Jesus. Created outside of the Hollywood system, The Chosen allows us to see Him through the eyes of those who knew him. No matter where you are at in your journey with Jesus Christ, this TV show is for you. Source LDS Living
EPISODE REFERENCES:
Video: Can you trust The Chosen? – The Chosen Youtube Channel
Watch Episode One: The Chosen: Complete Episode One
Video: Behind the scenes: The Miracle of the Miracle of the Fish
Book: The Chosen Devotional Book
Video: Season 2 update: “I’m in a tough spot” 2020 Chosen update
Video: Interview with Jonathan Roumie: The immense weight of playing Jesus
Video: Vertical Worship – Faithful Now (Live)
Video: Season 2 Sneak peek: Chosen cast reads scene from Season 2
https://www.ldsliving.com/pages/allin-e90-dallas-jenkins-behind-the-scenes-of-the-chosen
Words of the Producer Dallas Jenkins
“And in the last week and a half since that video, I don’t even have time on an entire podcast episode to tell you what God has been doing in the last week and a half, including in my life. Just a couple of days ago, I experienced the sunrise in Goshen, Utah, where the beautiful Jerusalem set is located. I just went there and watched the sunrise and prayed with a couple of my friends, my brothers and sisters from VidAngel. And God has shown up. I mean, He has been answering prayers and making things clear and releasing doors to be opened, so fast that I can’t even believe it. Miracles have taken place just in the last week and a half. And at the end of the day, it’s not about the miracles of the show that is moving me so much, it’s just what He keeps teaching me over and over on a personal level. So many different lessons. As I’ve talked about publicly before, it’s not your job to feed the 5000, it’s only to provide the loaves and fish. Another lesson that was learned just two days ago, I was standing there, staring at the horizon, waiting for the sunrise. And that’s why we had gone out to this place that was just out in the middle of nowhere, just to watch the sunrise. I’m standing there staring at the horizon, and I don’t stand still for anything. I had my phone in my hand, actually, because I was going to take some pictures. And we sped out there because we started to see the light emerge, like, “Oh, we’re gonna miss it.” We get out there and we stood there, and for like, 30 minutes, the sun just wouldn’t come up over the mountains. It was ridiculous. I’m thinking, “What am I doing? I’m just standing here, staring at the horizon.” And at one point I actually started to walk away, because I’m like, “I have to leave soon.” I was gonna go do kind of a walk around the area that we were in, and I was gonna look at some things. I just felt this “No, no, stay here. Just be quiet for just a minute. Just be quiet and be still, and just look at the horizon and rest and abide and don’t do anything else. Don’t look at your phone or anything else.” So I did. And eventually the sun came over the mountains way after the app had said it would. One of the women that we were with when we gathered together to pray, because we’d kind of split up to watch the sunrise, she started sharing what God taught her during that moment and she said, “You know, where I’m from the originally, the sun rises immediately. I was sitting there, just waiting for the sun to come up.” And I’m like, “Me too!” I was just like, what is happening? She’s said it was taking so long, and God just knocked her out and said, “This is about my timing. My timing and my will is what I want you to submit to.” It was like He was just clearly teaching all of us that same lesson in that moment. And that has been the lesson of this show, is we are not on our own timing. We are on God’s plan, and I am happy to submit that. It’s what my wife calls “the manna program,” where God gave manna to the Israelites, just enough for that day. He even said, “If you try to store up more than I’m giving you, I’m going to make it rot.” He wanted them to be hands outstretched to God every day for their daily manna, and not any more than that. And that’s what he’s been teaching us every single day on the show. It’s been a beautiful lesson for me to learn, and my life has changed because of it. Source: Words by Dallas Jenkins
Comment Section (I Love this Exchange)
Glenda Shaw du Toit My concern is that you have made Mary Magdala to be a Prostitute! That is a Catholic interpretation. She was NOT a prostitute!! And Mathew the Tax Collector looks like a 14 year old boy. Why couldn’t you use a man for that part? I have only watched one episode. I hope there are not going to be too many “in the dark” scenes. But I am really really upset that you made Mary of Magdala to be a prostitute. You are LDS. Why did you do that??? And who’s idea was it to also make her “mad. Like · Reply · 10w
Charity Angelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_MagdaleneLike · Reply · 10w
Neal Harmon Glenda, thanks for voicing your concern and I’m glad you brought this up because there may be others who share your distrust of the content. I have a few thoughts on your comments.
First off, where in season one of The Chosen does it suggest that Mary is a prostitute? I saw abuse, I saw sadness and a broken life, I saw possession and then I saw her redemption. But I never saw Mary agree to what was happening to her for pay. Quite the opposite. Go back and watch those scenes and lines carefully. It seems you are imposing that interpretation of prostitute onto the script yourself.
Secondly, to clarify my role: I don’t write the scripts. I don’t direct the show. I’m in a supporting roll as the CEO of the distributor of the show, VidAngel. And VidAngel’s goal as a distributor is not to control what creators make, but to provide audiences the ability to skip stuff they find objectionable so that the creators know where they are getting off track from the audience. If the creators make stuff you want to watch in its entirety, then they get bonuses. We’re attempting to solve this as a market rather than dictating what the creators have to do. Dallas Jenkins, an Evangelical, and his team are the creators of The Chosen, not me. Here’s how Dallas Jenkins responds to people who are wary of the content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1E-gFGKVWw
Additionally, there were a few things that I disagree with in Season one and there will be more in the future. For example, I don’t like the line from the kids hiding from their parents that they’re going to visit a traveler in the wilderness in Episode 3. I asked Dallas to consider removing that line. He didn’t. There will be scenes and lines in this show that I will likely not agree with as a Latter-day Saint.
That said, our life is definitely better for having watched The Chosen (and admittedly episode 1 is the darkest of the entire season – please give the rest of the season a chance before making your final judgment on the show). Our family has enjoyed separating fact from fiction in the show by combing back over the lines from the New Testament and comparing them with what we watched. We’ve been surprised at how many times we thought something was creative license and it actually appears in the New Testament.
In conclusion, The Chosen is so beautifully done and I’m personally very grateful for it. VidAngel is thrilled to distribute it. Please watch it with an understanding of what it is and what it is not. It is a show, created by a faithful Evangelical, who is trying to tell the stories of those who walked with Jesus from a fresh perspective. It is not scripture; it’s a show. It is entertainment based on the Bible. Hopefully The Chosen draws you closer to the scriptures and ultimately to Jesus Christ as a Latter-day Saint.
Thank you again for expressing your concern so I could address this point for you and others who will feel similarly.
What stands out to me from this project is, when it comes to Jesus Christ, how much we of all different faiths share in common. That is what is so beautiful, to me, about The Chosen.Like · Reply · 9 · 10w
The Shepherd (Pilot Episode of The Chosen)
Now, “The Chosen” team is working on funding season 2 and sharing their energized message of Jesus with the world.
“This series is in over 180 countries and being translated into 52 languages currently, and we are just getting started,” Harmon said. “Our goal is to reach the world with this show, and specifically we would like to break the 1 billion view record set by HBO’s Game of Thrones.”
