We are currently watching “The Chosen” on Sunday night at 6:00 and are in season three. It is an
interesting program. I, and many others, have been asked if the show is accurate in its portrayal of the
Gospels. The answer is yes…and no.
As far as I’ve seen, Jesus is shown as He is shown in the Bible: He was born of a virgin and He is the long-
awaited Messiah. I’m fully expecting that His crucifixion and resurrection will be accurate, also. But, as
for the “no” answer, the writers take a lot of “poetic license” with character development. They fill in a
lot of back stories for many characters that are not spoken about in scripture. These depictions of the
lives of the disciples and other characters do no harm to Jesus’ purpose or works.
For instance, Simon the Zealot is shown to be member of a group known as the Zealots. That
designation for a group of men wanting to overthrow the Roman government wasn’t used until some
time after the time of Jesus (no one really knows why he was given that nickname). And, he is shown to
be the brother of the paralytic healed at the pool, though the scripture never even hints at that.
“Little James” is never referred to as such. The only time he is called anything other than James is when
Mark refers to him as “James the Lesser,” probably to differentiate him from the other James, who is
older. And the Bible never says that he was short or had a disability.
There are many other characters that have unsubstantiated back stories. This “fleshing out” of the
various characters is for entertainment purposes only, not to teach us anything about the Bible. It does
not change Biblical beliefs or doctrine one bit. Having said that, my biggest fear is that people will view
it and think everything is backed up Biblically. It doesn’t hurt to think that Thomas had a crush on
Ramah, but it doesn’t help, either. Just watch it with an eye for entertainment and know that the
embellishments do not change the Gospel. And, who knows, maybe Jesus did call Lazarus “Laz”.
Say good things about your Savior and His church on the Bluff.
interesting program. I, and many others, have been asked if the show is accurate in its portrayal of the
Gospels. The answer is yes…and no.
As far as I’ve seen, Jesus is shown as He is shown in the Bible: He was born of a virgin and He is the long-
awaited Messiah. I’m fully expecting that His crucifixion and resurrection will be accurate, also. But, as
for the “no” answer, the writers take a lot of “poetic license” with character development. They fill in a
lot of back stories for many characters that are not spoken about in scripture. These depictions of the
lives of the disciples and other characters do no harm to Jesus’ purpose or works.
For instance, Simon the Zealot is shown to be member of a group known as the Zealots. That
designation for a group of men wanting to overthrow the Roman government wasn’t used until some
time after the time of Jesus (no one really knows why he was given that nickname). And, he is shown to
be the brother of the paralytic healed at the pool, though the scripture never even hints at that.
“Little James” is never referred to as such. The only time he is called anything other than James is when
Mark refers to him as “James the Lesser,” probably to differentiate him from the other James, who is
older. And the Bible never says that he was short or had a disability.
There are many other characters that have unsubstantiated back stories. This “fleshing out” of the
various characters is for entertainment purposes only, not to teach us anything about the Bible. It does
not change Biblical beliefs or doctrine one bit. Having said that, my biggest fear is that people will view
it and think everything is backed up Biblically. It doesn’t hurt to think that Thomas had a crush on
Ramah, but it doesn’t help, either. Just watch it with an eye for entertainment and know that the
embellishments do not change the Gospel. And, who knows, maybe Jesus did call Lazarus “Laz”.
Say good things about your Savior and His church on the Bluff.