“The Chosen” television series is an international phenomenon that tells some of the well-known biblical stories about Christ and his disciples—callings, miracles, teachings—and weaves into them fictional stories about the life of Christ and his disciples. What happens before and after all that multiplying and casting out? And how does it all hang together?
An episode of the series will often take two genuine Gospel stories and braid them together with a fictional link. In the world of “The Chosen,” for instance, the man Jesus heals at the Bethesda pool turns out to be the brother of Simon the Zealot. It is a clever bit of invention and evokes the imaginative prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola as a way of contemplating the “what ifs” of the Gospel. What if the healing of the paralytic and the conversion of the revolutionary happened at the same time?
Since its debut in 2017, “The Chosen” has released four seasons and is preparing to release a fifth season next Spring. It is the most successful crowd-funded TV show or film ever created. Shot in Utah and Texas, and now settled into a permanent home in Midlothian, Tex., thousands of people have volunteered to be extras—or even paid for the privilege. Over its first four seasons, it has been seen by an estimated 200 million viewers and has garnered 13 million social media followers. This summer “The Chosen” app was No. 1 on the Apple TV store and the No. 2 free app in the iOS mobile app store. The show is so popular there was even a “Chosencon” in March of this year.
Along with its millions of fans worldwide, the show has acquired fans at America as well. America staff members were asked to share about their favorite episodes. Their responses are below.
‘I have called you by name, you are mine’
One of the most moving elements in Jonathan Roumie’s portrayal of Jesus in “The Chosen” is his gentleness. Sadly, the Gospel text lacks stage directions, so actors who play Jesus are left to their own devices, often depicting Christ in a manner that veers overly stoic, even apathetic. In this retelling, however, Roumie’s performance shines, giving us a fuller image of Christ, who is both human and divine. We see the Messiah not only as wise and powerful but as one truly “moved with compassion” (Mt. 14:14).
In the first episode of the series, Mary Magdalene encounters Jesus, but he does not appear until the final minutes of the episode. Before that we follow Mary Magdalene around her hometown as she suffers from an affliction of evil spirits, a possession. In addition to the spiritual pain she endures, Mary is seen by her community as crazy, ill and dirty. She is in the depths of despair when Christ finally meets her.
In what is ultimately the exorcism of Mary Magdalene, Christ speaks directly to her. Slowly taking her face into his hands, Jesus repeats the words God entrusted to the prophet Isaiah (43:1):
Thus says the Lord,
who created you, and formed you:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are mine.
Overcome with emotion, Mary begins to weep. Watching this unfold, I cannot help but weep, too. This scene captures that moment we all long for in our faith, when Scripture does not feel so distant and it is as if we can hear God speaking to us, for us. It evokes the meditation Anthony de Mello, S.J., spoke of, to “behold the One beholding you.”
Noah Banasiewicz, S.J., editorial intern
The vulnerability of Nicodemus and Matthew
The seventh episode of “The Chosen” primarily follows Matthew and Nicodemus, both on their individual journeys seeking the truth in God. Though I knew how each individual’s journey would proceed (with only one of the men choosing to follow as an apostle by the end of the season), the episode was nevertheless powerful in its demonstration of vulnerability and trust in Christ.
Nicodemus’s story takes us to his private meeting with Jesus. In the dimly lit shots, the conversation is sincere, and I was surprised by the openness and curiosity Nicodemus so eagerly demonstrates. The conversation eventually leads to Jesus asking Nicodemus to follow him.
Parallel to this story, Matthew grapples with the miracles he has seen Jesus perform and what they might mean for his once extremely structured life as a tax collector The invitation to join Jesus and his disciples, despite being a much despised agent for the Roman government, is shocking to himself and the other disciples—as well as to the audience.
It was deeply moving to witness the vulnerability of both Matthew and Nicodemus in this episode. Attempting to reconcile their faith and their lived realities, their struggles and doubts are human. They transcend their specific time period. The reactions of the other disciples are also relatable––questioning what Jesus might be thinking when he invites such men to join them, but ultimately trusting in his judgment. This episode is a powerful reminder that we are all on our own individual journeys, constantly seeking God’s love and mercy.
Leilani Fuentes, Joseph A. O’Hare fellow
A somber approach to the wedding at Cana
A Bible story you have heard and read and envisioned your entire life: The Wedding at Cana! Jesus’ first happy miracle! He saves the wedding! There was no more wine and then…there was!
In the hands of “The Chosen,” though, this seemingly benign and charming story is given flesh and life and gravity and foreboding.
The foreboding, in particular, is faintly done but clear as a bell.
“My son, they’ve run out of wine,” says Mary to Jesus in Episode 5 of Season 1 of the show.
A pause. Jesus looks at his mother.
“Why are you telling me this?”
A hint that Jesus knows where this is going. A foreboding in his voice and the question that is not really a question: “Why are you telling me this?”
Because Jesus knows exactly why Mary is telling him this, telling him that the parents of the bride have run out of wine (which would be to their eternal shame.) She wants himto fix it. And, in a way, by asking him to take care of the wedding crisis, Mary is asking him to begin everything.
“Mother, my time has not yet come,” Jesus tells her. He is not yet ready, or would prefer to not be ready, for what is ahead. This miracle will begin his public ministry, throw him into the spotlight utterly and completely. I am not quite ready to be THE MESSIAH and have everyone count on me, and adore me, follow me, worship me, want everything from me.... And then turn on me.
A Christ deeply human and reluctant to do the hard thing. Who cannot identify?
And then Mary all but disregards the grave and fraught pause and says to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you.”
And then he has them fill twelve jars with water….
Joe Hoover, S.J., poetry editor
Who gets healed?
A recurring theme on “The Chosen” is why Jesus chooses to heal some of his followers and not others. This leads to a great deal of pain and bewilderment. When Peter’s wife suffers a miscarriage, for example, Peter seethes with resentment as he watches Jesus heal others. Why, he wonders, does Jesus heal people he barely knows yet does not help those closest to him?
In Season 3, Jesus provides an answer, although one that may take a lifetime to understand. Along with the other apostles, “Little James” has been sent out by Jesus to villages in the area to heal the sick and the lame. But James is himself lame, so he wonders, how can this be? And he puts the painful question to Jesus: “Why haven’t you healed me?”
I am still reflecting on Jesus’ reply. He says, in part: “When you discover yourself finding true strength because of your weakness and when you do great things in my name in spite of this—the impact will last for generations. Do you understand?”
We all carry some kind of wound, some more public than others. And we have all wondered, at one time or another, why we have been singled out to bear this cross. There are no easy answers to these questions, but what Jesus is saying is that the answer can be found in the ways in which our wounds connect us with others.
I have been wounded, and now I must find ways to minister to others who have been wounded. It is a timeless truth of our faith, brought to powerful life in the encounter between Jesus and Little James in “The Chosen.”
Tim Reidy, deputy editor in chief
The steward of the young Christ
When I saw it, I wept. The episode is titled “Physician, Heal Yourself,” but I always think of it as the St. Joseph episode. The climax is when, in a synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus announces he is the Messiah. Members of the community attempt to throw him off a cliff.
But the parts of the episode seared into my memory have to do with St. Joseph. He stands in contrast with the community insofar as he welcomed Jesus, and they rejected him. What moved me was the tenderness in which the episode captures the love Jesus and Joseph had for each other.
After Jesus sidesteps the threat to his life, he visits Joseph’s tomb, where he recalls a moment from his childhood. Joseph gives the child Jesus a bit and bridle, a family heirloom handed down for 40 generations as a remembrance not only of their bondage, but of their freedom “of being led into the promised land.” Jesus will later use the bridle for the donkey he rides into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
“Jesus, I know I am not your father in the same way that your friend’s fathers are,” Joseph says. “We’ve talked about this. You understand? But the privilege and the blessing of stewarding your life here on earth, for the short time that I was granted, it is the greatest honor and gift I could ever ask for.... I pray that I’ve done right by you, Jesus.”
The words from Joseph, which are absent from the Gospels, cut to my heart. I am a father, and for me also it has been “the greatest honor and gift I could ever ask for.” I pray I do right by Jesus and my children.
J.D. Long García, senior editor
What’s your favorite episode or moment from “The Chosen”? Tell us in the comments below.
