The Chosen

On a suggestion from a friend of mine I started watching this series.

So...I have thoughts but wanted to hear yours on the subject.

What do you think of the series?

Awesome. Beautiful. Inspiring.

A breath of fresh air. A great series.

For me, it more than makes up for any scriptural issues by breathing very real life into the people and places of the gospels.

The series had me with the scene at the end of episode 1.*

*will not say more because if you haven’t seen it, even though you may know it’s coming, it’s powerful that first viewing.

p.s. : It is crowd source funded and is available for free viewing, just download the link here
The Chosen, link

I enjoyed the series because it got me thinking about the disciples as regular people and not somehow superior super faithful followers.

The gripes I have are mainly that it showed the inspiration of scriptures in a way that didnt really look like inspiration and the way Jesus seemed sometimes to act as if he didn't know some things.

Aside from that it's got good acting, doesn't dishonour Jesus and gives background to the disciples.

One of the things with this series that I somewhat object to is how they portray the women...and the men sometimes.

Women were one half step above property...and they weren't nagging wives or prostitutes or little girl virgins and that's all. Male dominated, caste-based society... so they do get parts right in that. The men could and would divorce a wife, put away a wife, and get remarried at the drop of a hat. It was tantamount to wife swapping at times.

And people weren't that dirty as a general rule. Especially John the Baptist.

Now I understand that they can't exactly shoot the series in Israel proper....but things aren't that green in Israel. It's a rather dry area. And the Sea of Galilee is small...a small lake you can see two shores of from any point on the banks.

And the fuss between the Jews and the Roman's wasn't exactly just taxes....it was the proliferation of their "wicked ways" that caused the most uproar. The Roman's put up Idols at every spring and water source. They had co-ed bathing everywhere. (Which had the prostitutes as well) They had huge cities full of gymnasiums and Theaters.
And they had pagan temples to their gods.
Entrance to the marketplace often required a pinch of incense (that you purchased) offered to one of their gods. Also many jews frequented these things..."abandoning their faith" for worldly pleasures. The Roman's really favored taking over an area with the whole "carrot&stick" approach. Except the carrot was all sinful things for the Jews. Violators were routinely killed.

There are many things that they get right...the unity of the jews against the romans...
Matthew/Levi was a bit sissy...

Nicodemus was highly respected and above most Rabbi. He wasn't exactly a schmeekah Rabbi....but the next level under one. Which is why he was a member of the Sanhidrin.

The desperation of some of the people is really well portrayed...so I do like that. The miracles as so much "candy in his pocket" that Jesus hands out to very desperate people is exactly right.

So....it's got bennies and detractors. It is interesting to watch.

The John 3:16 scene with the Lord Jesus speaking to Nicodemus about the necessity of being Born Again is Awesome:

It is a great series. Every Biblical concept is accurate and where they add theatrical details, they are within the realm of not harming the truth of the scriptures but using the known knowledge to create the probability of who these men and women were.

I wouldn't say that it's exactly accurate. It isn't scripture.

And I have a thing about "going beyond what is written " .

But I do enjoy how it brings the Apostles and people to life.

Wouldn't be much of a show if you went straight by the scriptures which skip through time or only shows small glimpses into the Jewish/Roman culture.

Peter is portrayed as a fisherman, gambler, a man struggling with taxes, a fighter, and in denial that the Messiah had arrived.

Was he a fisherman? Yes. Was he struggling with taxes that led to him trying to gamble and fight for wealth? We are not told in scripture other than everyone struggled to pay taxes. Was that why Jesus filled his boat with fish to help pay off the debt? Again we don't know but neither does it take away from the scriptures.

That is the important part.

I see Peter as the guy who worried more about trying to be everyone's friend AND worried about what everyone thought.

He also took a huge amount of pride in his talents as a fisherman...because he loved to go fishing. It was his favorite thing to do always. The type of nets demonstrated in the show are not accurate. But getting someone to learn to throw a net is going to be a real challenge. It is a skill. Something akin to lassoing a bull.

Like I said before. There's bennies and detractors...

In your comments alone you add plausible details just like the show that isn't necessarily worded as in Peter trying to be everyone's friend (I don't see that) or worried about what everyone thought ( I don't see that either).

Nor do I see a sinful pride of his skill as a fishermen. Did he enjoy it? Maybe. We are only told that was his job. He sure gave it up quick to follow the Messiah.

The show like anything else is a artful portrayment of that time and the scriptures. No one is expecting a Bible audio series.

I think the chosen is an AWESOME show. But it doesn’t depict all that was in the Bible. Like there are extra things that happen on the chosen that aren’t said in the Bible

It's a joke. I'd rather listen to the Bible on audio.

I made my "guesses" about Peter's demeanor from extensive anthropological studies and direct questions and statements made by Jesus to Peter. Where the show focuses on Peter's instability...he wasn't exactly as unstable as commentators would have you believe.

Where the program has a populist viewpoint I tend to ignore such things. And anyone who had a blue collar career would still give it up to become a disciple of a rabbi. That's because they lived in a theocracy...always had. That's why Levi's/Matthew's story is a bit harder to believe. But since the first Gospel belongs to him...can't do otherwise.

People have motivators. Things That cause them to act/react in particular fashions.

As did the show.

I thought I had found it on tv, but it was some weird sci- fi thing. So I need to look again. I heard a lot about it but not sure what it is about.

But as we all know there are those who see the glass half full, half empty, or simply for what it is a glass of water.

People complain about everything regardless how good.

The first season is free on TUBI (a free media app)