Hi. Welcome to my recap and reaction to The Chosen, the crowd-funded, first ever multi-season TV series about the life of Jesus and his disciples. You can find my prior posts about the show HERE.
THE QUICK AND CLEAN SUMMARY:
via wiki:
In Syria, the disciples take shifts to help Jesus deal with a large crowd, hoping to be healed. Philip continues to mentor Matthew, while Mary Magdalene and Ramah start to study Torah. A long, exhausting day turns into night as the disciples share how they perceive the Messiah. Mary arrives from Nazareth to help with her son’s students. Around the campfire, over dinner, the group tries to get to know each other better. They discuss their experiences and inner turmoil, but tensions erupt when Simon argues with Matthew about being chosen. Tempers flare as sides are taken as the disciples forget the purpose of why Jesus chose them in the first place. Suddenly, an exhausted Jesus returns and says good night to them, and Mary attends to him. The disciples listen and watch in shame.
THE EXTRA DUSTY RECAP:
The episode opens with Matthew and Philip continuing their discussion from the previous episode. Matthew wants to know where he should begin his studies and after making several suggestions, Philip replies that he thinks Matthew should start in the Psalms of David. Philip quotes Psalm Psalm 139:8 to Matthew. Matthew counters, noting that he has never ascended to heaven nor made his bed in the depths, but Philip tells him that he must come to truly believe those things if he is to make real progress in his studies.
The two men are walking alongside a crowd. They are interrupted by a woman passing by, and Matthew attempts to get notes from her about what has just happened, but she leaves rejoicing. Philip resumes his lesson with Matthew, pointing out to him that no amount of learning can bring him closer to God, or to make him more or less precious to Him, as He is always present with him. When Matthew says he does not feel it, Philip answers that feeling does not always come first. Sometimes you have to believe first. They are hugged by another man alongside the crowd, after he learns the two are students of Jesus. They arrive at a camp where the other disciples are sitting, and Philip calls out to Thaddeus and Little James that they are up.
Matthew begins taking notes about the size of the crowd when Mary Magdalene and Ramah approach him to ask if he has been given some ideas for where they should study. He then repeats to them what Philip has taught him.
The group begins discussing what is happening around them, at their camp fire, marveling at the size of the crowd asking themselves what they are apart of. They discuss the growing fame of Jesus – and through Him themselves – when Philip warns them from experience that with fame comes enemies. Matthew comments that he’s used to that, but Philip reminds him that he was protected before and his enemies were not in power.
Their discussion changes to what they would have thought, as a child, had they known they would eventually be a student of the Messiah. Thomas says he would have objected to this over his own lack of military training. Big James then discusses his fantasies, as a boy, of living in a time when the Messiah would kill all of the Romans. Ramah shares that she used to imagine as a girl that the Romans were breaking into her home and just as they were about to get her, the Messiah would arrive to rescue her. Big James confesses that he never imagined the healing part of this and points out that their current lives are what they will be doing for the next five years, such that they’ll never get to the fighting part. Mary Magdalene confesses she had no expectations. She asks why they expect a warrior. Thomas quotes Zachariah 14 to her, concerning the Lord leading a battle after the capture of Jerusalem, but Philip replies that they do not even now when that will happen, or even if it will happen in this lifetime.
John says that it is his understanding that the Messiah is supposed to come at a time when all is holy. One of them jokes that this is why the Pharisees do not believe Jesus is the Messiah, suggesting that they are waiting for him to clean up the Red Quarter, first. Mary says that He is not waiting for them to be holy. He is here because they cannot be holy without Him.
Philip: [to Mary Magdalene] That’s good. The Baptizer will want to use that.
Little James joins the group and requests that Big James go to help with crowd control, noting that he is not much help in that area due to his health. Thaddeus catches him up on what has been happening. Little James shares his concern that these people would not be following Jesus if he was not healing them. Thaddeus asks him about his own malady and Little James tells him that he has a form of paralysis.
Thaddeus: So why hasn’t He healed you? Having to watch healings all day… doesn’t it bother you?
Little James: Fair questions. I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about all of this. I suppose one big thing is that I haven’t asked.
Thaddeus: Why not?
Little James: I don’t know.
Just then, Mary the Mother of Jesus arrives. They do some introductions before she sets out to help by making them food.
Much later, now well after dark, many of the disciples, as well as Mary the Mother of Jesus, are gathered around the fire talking. They discuss their ambitions and their thoughts of money, with the conversation getting awkward when directed at Matthew – the only one of them who has had a significant amount of money.
Mary Magdalene asks Jesus’ mother how it felt and feels to be His mother. She tells them the story of His birth and her initial surprise at how human he was – including that he needed to be cleaned after his birth. She adds also that she was surprised too that he was cold, crying, and needed her help. She tells them that even though, as a Jew, she is excited to see what He will do for their people, that as a mom it makes her a little sad sometimes to see Him grown up and not needing her anymore.
Mother Mary: So it’s good to be with all of you for a bit. I can find ways to help.
She asks Simon if he thought Jesus would be much longer and he answers that it is difficult to tell, noting that the line is dying own but that Jesus would not send anyone away. She leaves them to go check on Him.
After she goes, they discuss not knowing Jesus had lost a parent. Mary Magdalene, when asked, says that she also has lost her father. She explains that this loss made her angry and that she eventually left home and everything else behind her. She alludes to worse things that happened later, and Big James tells her that now she can catch up. She agrees, saying she can do so with Matthew and Ramah. The others tell her that she is not as far behind as she probably thinks, with Andrew saying that none of them continued studying after finishing school. He says that this is what surprised them about all of this. They then share stories about example of their past mistakes.
After a lull in the conversation, Simon asks Matthew about his experience as a Jew. The question is antagonistic. When Matthew replies that his life has not been easy, Simon asks whether escaping Roman persecution by working for them was more painful, or escaping his guilt with all the money.
Simon: [to Matthew] And now you’re catching up on Torah and wanting to follow the Law. Why now all of a sudden? Why not all the other times you had the chance?
John: Simon…
Simon: No, no, John, I want to know. Mary had horrible trauma. She did not choose all that happened to her. [to Matthew] What’s your excuse?
Matthew: What do you want me to say? I don’t know what you want from me.
Andrew: An apology!
Matthew is confused, but Andrew continues and points out that while Simon could be more delicate, he is not wrong. He adds that Matthew made his own life even harder than it already was. He adds again that Matthew has not apologized. As Matthew looks on the verge of doing that, Simon stops him, tells him not to do it, adding that he won’t even forgive it anyway. John angrily cuts in though, and asks Simon why he never apologized to him and Big James for what he almost did to them with the Romans.
Simon responds, still angrily, that he did not go through with it, and then he adds that the only reason he ever considered it was because of what Matthew was putting him through. Simon gets to his feet and asks Matthew if he even knows what it’s like to be Jewish. He tells Matthew he betrayed that and spit on it. He shouts that he cannot forgive it and that he will never forgive it. Big James cuts in and tells Simon to sit down, noting that he has now said what he needed to say. Simon tells him to sit down first.
Their argument is interrupted as an exhausted Jesus walks past them to his tent. Mother Mary goes to him, to help him, washing his hurting feet. The rest of the group watches them in an ashamed silence.
REACTION:
For reference, since it’s the episode’s title, here is Matthew 4:24:
24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen any episode of television end in a shamed silence (both for the characters and to some extent the audience.) The argument that caused the disciples to forget the bigger picture of their mission also successfully distracts the audience in the same way. Then all of a sudden, an exhausted Jesus hobbles back to the camp and goes to bed. This was just a really effective, and effecting, moment.
This episode is built around the idea of “what were the disciples doing while Jesus was doing the things described in Matthew 4:24.” Since the text does not tell us, the writers continued to build out their established character arcs, and to build on existing character tensions, with Christ’s works as the surrounding context. The episode does not contradict the verse above, at all. Jesus does the things described. However, none of the campfire discussions from within the episode are part of the Gospel.
We know the disciples were not perfect men. It is likely that moments such as this one happened in real life, as they grew and learned. I did not have any issues with the writers using literary license to depict this type of group argument. In fact, I could feel their sense of shame and relate it to moment sin my own life wherein I have acted shamefully in the same way.
The biggest point of tension in the series so far has been the relationship between Simon and Matthew, but more generally, the other Jews and Matthew (as Andrew also unleashed some anger at Matthew, too.) It makes a lot of sense that some of the disciples would have animosity toward a former tax collector, particularly if they had personal history together in their former lives (as may have been the case with real life Matthew and Simon in Capernaum.) Exploring that tension is great both for the drama of a television show, but also for bringing to life the realities of Christianity in general. There will always be difficult people who have also accepted the call to follow Christ. It is difficult to leave out a sense of pride.
“Yeah, I am a sinful man, but at least I’m not like him. I can’t believe he’s even here.”
Avoiding that tension would steal from the audience an opportunity to see them grow, and for us to learn from their growth and apply it to ourselves. Avoiding that tension also robs the audience of understanding why the Pharisees and others had such a hard time with the type of people Jesus called to follow Him. I thought the acting here was really superb, particularly with Shahar Isaac and Paras Patel. This anger of Simon toward Matthew – and Matthew’s lack of understanding/acceptance of that anger – has been building since even before Jesus called Matthew during season 1. It felt freeing to get it out into the open. It’s a tribute to Isaac that he is able to be angry with the likeable Patel’s Matthew, without damaging his own likeability as a disciple of Jesus. As likeable as Patel’s Matthew is, and as honest and as earnest as he is, he has never indicated that he feels any regret for his past life… which is interesting. He seems to be following Jesus not out of a conviction of his own sinfulness, but because it is the logical thing to do.
Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene is (once again) excellent in this episode, ranging from her study efforts with Ramah (Yasmine Al-Bustami) to her role in the campfire discussion and argument that the men were having.
I also think Vanessa Benavente has been fantastic as Mary, the Mother of Jesus, a role which is arguably just as difficult to inoffensively portray as that of Jesus Himself. She provides a deep warmth and wisdom that feels authentic to the historical person and to the character on the TV show. As to the latter, the character of Mary, the Mother of Jesus is extremely additive to the show, from a story-telling standpoint, because she gives Jesus the closest thing He can have to a peer and she provides a break from the much more flawed surrounding cast of characters who ocan be a little exhausting in their flawedness. It is nice to go on the character arc journeys with “the Chosen” but it is also nice to see someone who is already developed and capable of supporting the main character as He needs. This episode does a really moving job of depicting a physically exhausted Jesus (and the New Testament occasionally describes Him) and how He might then interact with his Mother in those moments.
The episode was short but pretty difficult to recap. It is what TV people might call a bottle episode, so it was dialogue heavy, and lacked very many moments of silent action. It was also difficult to recap because the disciples quoted Scripture several times, forcing me to go in search of the specific text they were reciting. The episode provides a great reminder, from the Scriptures, of why Christ’s followers believed He would be a military leader, while also citing a lot of other Scripture which do not paint that exact picture. As I’ve said before though, The Chosen aims to have its audience watch the episode and then look the Scriptures up. For me, it was once again a success at that.
We got to know the characters better and the interpersonal tensions are more dynamic than ever. I’m looking forward to seeing where the tension between Simon and Matthew goes from here. There will need to be some fallout. This episode felt like the airing of grievances, so I expect to see the path toward forgiveness and reconciliation beginning sometime soon. I am particularly interested in how the writers will approach Matthew’s side of that divide. Will he at some point feel genuine remorse for being a tax collector? Is feeling that remorse even important or necessary? What does it mean to repent?
Overall, this is a great episode.