The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 6

S2, E6

There is a lot made up in this episode, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some helpful things here too.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Though many details have been added, David did eat bread from the temple while fleeing from Saul. This is recorded in 1 Sam. 21.

• While there is no record of the disciples having a conversation about breaking John the Baptist out of prison, John was imprisoned (Mt. 14:1-12; Mk. 6:14-29; Lk. 3:19-20).

• Though the details seem to be very different in the chosen, the healing of the man with the withered hand is probably a very dramatized version of the healing found in Mt. 12:9-21; Mk. 3:1-12; and Lk. 6:6-11. All three gospel writers who record this, record the picking of wheat on the Sabbath as happening before the healing of the man with the withered hand in Mt. 12:1-8; Mk. 2:23-28, Lk. 6:1-5. In this episode,

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• None

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• Matthew and Peter’s opening scene of waking up, making breakfast, and searching for Mary Magdalene isn’t from the Bible. Neither is there any clue in the Bible that Matthew may have been attracted to her. Not just the opening scene, but the continuing scenes of Matthew and Peter’s search for Mary are also written for the Chosen but not part of the biblical record.

• Ramah is a fictional character never found in the pages of the Bible. Therefore, the conversation with Mary the mother of Jesus and Ramah is fictional.

• Since both of the previous scenes involved searching and conversing about Mary Magdalene, it should be noted that there is no biblical record of Mary Magdalene disappearing and being searched for.

• The scene with Mary gambling and drinking in a bar is entirely fictional.

• The disciples counting the lentils, and James’ and John’s conversation about Simon and the Zealots is fiction.

• The scene of the Shmuel and another rabbi in the temple trying to seek conviction against Jesus isn’t in the Bible. In fact, other than Nicodemus, there is no record of any religious leader being neither patient nor dismissive of Jesus. Very early on in Jesus’ ministry, the religious leaders seek to trap Jesus in his own words. The highest of religious leaders seem to have a problem with Jesus from very early on in his ministry.

• Mary Magdalene’s return, probably obviously by this point, is made up for the video series.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While the disciples counting lentils is fictional, the reality that Jesus and the disciples were poor is clear from the pages of the Bible. So though fictional, it is helpful to remember that Jesus and the disciples were dependent upon others for their provision.

• We see at several points in the gospels that the disciples struggled to understand what Jesus was teaching, and most likely doing as well. James’ and John’s conversation about their struggle to understand, while made up, is helpful in seeing this.

• While there is no indication in the Bible that Mary Magdalene ever wavered in her obedience to Jesus, the point of these scenes involving her leaving, gambling and drinking, and being found by Matthew and Peter all make an important point. Jesus describes himself as gentle and lowly. He is patient with the repentant. Jesus is certainly tough with the prideful, especially the religious prideful, but with the repentant, he is tender.

• Jesus’ reaction to Mary Magdalene’s return is helpful. Jesus doesn’t require much, but what he does require can be very hard to give. He wants our hearts, all of it. He wants us to treasure him above all else. He wants repentance, and that is exactly what Mary shows. Jesus restores Peter after his denial of Jesus. But in this scene, Mary shows repentance, and Jesus offers forgiveness.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode, and for that reason, I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of The Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches The Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of The Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• The synagogue that Jesus and the disciples go to is not represented in a way that is accurate. Ten heads of households were required to have a synagogue. But only in highly populated cities would there be a large synagogue. A synagogue in the middle of farm fields would not have been likely. There would have been a small synagogue in small Jewish towns and larger ones in larger towns.

• As noted above, all three gospel writers who record the picking of wheat on the Sabbath and the healing of the man with a withered hand record that the wheat was picked first. Luke even records that these events were not even on the same Sabbath.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 5

S2, E5

This is an episode that is deeply speculative. Additionally John the Baptists character seems to be a bit silly. I’m guessing the people represented in the pages of the Bible knew how to have fun, but it seems to me that John is presented in much more reverent terms than seen here. Though these things are true, there are some helpful things along the way as well.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Immediately after the title sequence, the man who had been healed at the pool of Bethesda is being questioned by the Pharisees. While there are many details added in the chosen, this happened and can be read about in John 5:10ff.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• None

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• In the opening scene, where Mary Magdalene is picking persimmons, Mary sees some Roman soldiers. She hides from them, apparently in fear. This scene is not found in the pages of Scripture, and I am curious as to where the writers are going with it. Certainly the Jewish people did not like the occupation of Israel by the Romans, but there isn’t anything in the Bible that would suggest people were struck with terror at the sight of a Roman soldier.

• As previously mentioned, Atticus is a made-up character for the chosen. His interaction with “Jesse”, the man healed at the pool of Bethesda, is fictional. “Jesse” is here put in quotation marks because we are not told the name of the man in John 5, the only portion of the gospels that records his healing.

• The fireside scene of “Simon Z”, called in Scripture Simon the Zealot to distinguish him from Simon Peter, and his interaction with the demon-possessed man is not in the biblical record. Interestingly, Simon Z uses the phrase “waterless places” to speak of where the demon would go if the possessed man were to die. The phrase “waterless places” is used by Jesus in Matthew 12:43 and Luke 11:24. In the Bible, Jesus is the only one to use this term.

• Jesus’ interaction with John the Baptist is not found in the Bible; however, it is based upon some things that are recorded in Scripture. Herodias was the wife of Philip, the brother of Herod Antipas (Mt. 14:3). Philip had indeed married Herodias (Mt. 14:3; Mk. 6:17). And John the Baptist had spoken out publicly against this (Mt. 14:4; Mk. 6:17). The continuing conversation with Jesus and John isn’t in the Bible either. However, I find this conversation odd. Jesus never seemed to have any problem confronting sin, but here is represented that way. Certainly, Jesus didn’t pick every fight he could have, but this seems a little out of character. John’s statement that he was miraculously conceived by two old people to pave the way for Jesus is also a true statement (Lk. 1).

• Ramah is a fictional character. Obviously, the scene where Mary Magdalene is teaching her to read isn’t from the Bible. Although Mary’s statement that some letters in Hebrew are “swallowed up” by others is accurate. This part of learning Hebrew is very difficult. Matthew and Thomas’s interaction during this scene is also fictional.

• This episode harkens back to previous episodes where Jesus casts demons out from Mary Magdalene. Luke 8:2 records that 7 demons were cast out from Mary Magdalene, but when the demon-possessed man shows up in the camp and calls Mary Lilith, this is drawing on things outside of Scripture. Mary is never called Lilith in the Bible. Scripture records that Jesus could cast out demons that Jesus could not, but it never records these events with a demon-possessed man named Caleb.

• There is also no biblical record of how Simon the Zealot became a disciple. His name occurs in the lists of the disciples of Jesus in Matthew 10, Mark 3, and Luke 6. Several of the scenes include parts of Simon the Zealot’s calling. All of the scenes whereby “Simon Z” is called to be a disciple are speculation.

• While the Pharisees questioned Jesus and the man healed at the pool of Bethesda, there is nothing in the Bible that records any filing of formal complaints. This scene with Shmuel trying to follow up on formal charges was written solely for the Chosen.

• Jethro is not a biblical character in the Gospels. All the interactions of Mary and Jethro are not taken from the biblical record but rather written for the show.

• The closing scenes of the show where Jesus is practicing a sermon, the disciples and others are gathered around a fire in camp, the Pharisees are plotting to try and figure out who Jesus is, Mary’s escape to go see someone named Jethro, and Peter and Matthew’s departure to find Mary are all fictitious.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• In the scene where the demon-possessed man wanders into the camp of the disciples, Jesus arrives and immediately casts out the demons from the man. While this story is fictional, it shows the power of Jesus over demons. We should expect that Jesus had this kind of power over demons.

• In Jesus’ calling of Simon the Zealot, he throws Simon’s dagger into the lake. This scene is fictional and doesn’t line up with some of the events we see in the Bible as there are times when the disciples have swords. However, there is something helpful here. Jesus called the disciples to leave whatever lives they were living to follow him. Mary did follow Jesus. Peter, as well as others, gave up fishing. Matthew left the tax booth. We should expect that Simon was expected to give up his life of political aspirations as a Zealot. Jesus had much bigger plans for “Simon Z” than the political aspirations he had previously.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode, and for that reason, I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• There are a few, but they are inconsequential.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 4

S2, E4

One of the things that The Chosen is prone to do is create drama or a cliffhanger using events that aren’t in the Bible. This episode is an example of this. My concern is that they are using fiction to create an emotional response instead of true things.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• While we don’t know his background, we do know that there was a mean, healed by Jesus, who tried to enter the waters of the pool of Bethesda in order to be healed. People would try to enter the waters while they were being stirred up in order to receive healing. This is recorded in John 5:2-15. There are multiple scenes where we are presented with the backstory of this man, all of which is fictional.

• Simon Z, though not referred to in this way in the Bible, is the disciple often called Simon the Zealot. This distinguished him from Simon Peter since there were two disciples named Simon. While we don’t know much about Simon, the Zealots were a Jewish resistance group that sought to overthrow Rome, including using violent means. While we don’t really know his backstory, this is a helpful depiction. Much of it is therefore fictional, but Simon Z was in fact Simon the Zealot.

• The feast of tabernacles was celebrated annually by the Jews. It is sometimes called the feast of booths. This feast commemorated the leaving of Egypt when the people had to dwell in booths, or tents, in the wilderness. Each year families would build booths and live in them for the duration of the festival.

• When Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda, the man was told to pick up his mat, and the Jews did correct him for this. Jesus had withdrawn and the man didn’t know who he was. This is all recorded in the previously mentioned verses in John 5. Later Jesus found the man in the temple and told him not to sin anymore. We are also told that Jesus was persecuted because of this.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• None

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The opening scene where a boy falls out of a tree and breaks his leg is fictional. This is later revealed to be the man at the pool of Bethesda. We don’t really know much background, or for that matter any, for those in the gospels who Jesus healed.

• There is no biblical record of the activity of the Zealots. In fact, the only use of the word is the four times it is used in the gospels and Acts to refer to Simon. Whatever activity, training, leaders, etc. of the Zealots that are depicted in this episode is fictional.

• Zebulun is one of the tribes of Israel, and thus is a territory in Israel. There is no biblical record of a Zealot coming from there. Its name occurs only in 3 places in the New Testament. Twice in Matthew 4 when Jesus goes there and fulfills a prophecy about Zebulun. And once in Revelation 7 where the 12 tribes of Israel are named.

• No Roman soldier is named in the gospels.

• The scene where the disciples and Jesus are celebrating the festival of booths is fictional.

• The scene with Matthew, Peter, and one of the other disciples into Jerusalem isn’t recorded in the Bible.

• The conversation with “Jesse,” the man at the pool of Bethesda, and Jesus is greatly elaborated on. While this healing happened, and while there are elements of this story that are true, there is much that has been added. Additionally, Jesse’s searching for his brother and the plot to assassinate a Roman official are not recorded in Scripture.

• The disciples never asked Jesus why he healed the man on the Sabbath, and Jesus never replied that sometimes you must stir up the water.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While the opening scene with the boy who broke his leg may not be recorded in the pages of the Bible, there is some helpful info here. It is easy, in light of modern medicine, to think that people could have just splinted a broken bone and it would heal, and there may be some truth to this. However, this would depend upon the severity of the break. A bad break would be very unlikely to have been healed in a way that would have allowed the individual to fully regain use of that limb. Additionally, since there isn’t much background info given in the Bible regarding those who Jesus healed, this type of background, though fictional, serves to remind us that the people Jesus healed were real people, with real stories, and real anguish.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode and for that reason I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Wax candles are still not something that would have been often used. Small oil lamps were used to provide light.

• The depiction of crucifixion isn’t accurate. In this depiction, the man on the cross is standing on a platform. Sometimes platforms were used to prolong agony, but the weight of the individual would have been primarily hanging on the victims arms. This would cause the victim’s lungs to fill with fluid and they would suffocate.

• The man at the pool told his brother that the upper city was less than a mile away. The whole city would not likely have been a mile wide. The images around Jerusalem, as well as this statement, present the area of Jerusalem as much larger than it actually was at that time.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 3

S2, E3

The title of this episode is “Matthew 4:24.” There are three passages in the gospels that refer to the events around this verse…Matthew 4:23-25, Mark 1:35-39, and Luke 4:42-44. All three of these passages, as you can see, are very short, and all three simply summarize that Jesus was going through Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and healing people of various kinds of diseases, and that his fame spread throughout the region as a result. It is therefore likely that almost all of this episode will be speculative, leaving it squarely in the “extra-biblical” category.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Jesus did go about healing people in Galilee, as recorded in the passage listed above. This seems to be the only thing that we know to be factually true in this episode.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• Other than at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, and until the cross, when Mary the mother of Jesus appears in the gospels, she is usually with her other children. Here in this episode, as with others, Mary is often seen traveling within Jesus, the disciples, and others. This doesn’t seem to align with what we most often see in the gospels. Cf. Matthew chapters 10 and 12.

• I don’t know where to put this comment, so I am going to put it here, but I have imagined the role the disciples played to be very different than what is depicted in this episode. In the episode, Jesus is healing while all of his followers are sitting around a fire talking. I imagine that the disciples would have been with Jesus, seeing the things that he was doing, managing the crowds, etc. I find it unlikely that Jesus was off working while the disciples were off reclining around a campfire.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• In the opening scene, Matthew is talking to Philip about the Psalms while people are lined up to receive healing by Jesus. There are a few things that should be mentioned here. First, there is no indication in the gospels that Matthew was ignorant of the Scriptures; we just know that he was a tax collector before he followed Jesus. Second, in the passages mentioned above, we are not given any details about how many people came to be healed by Jesus. However, I think this opening scene underestimates how many people were being brought to Jesus. Mt. 4:24 indicates that his fame spread through “all Syria” and that they brought him “all the sick.” This scene hints at what was going on in these passages, but probably on a scale that was too small. Additionally, the conversation of the disciples around the fire while Jesus healed people is not recorded in Scripture. This conversation is made up and, therefore, extrabiblical.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• The conversation around the fire might be helpful, even in a fictional context. We often see that Jesus was very different than the expectations that the people had for him, even amongst the disciples. As the disciples try to figure out what Jesus is doing in this scene, it no doubt helps us to see a bit of how they may have been confused by the way that Jesus went about his work.

• Often we see that when the crowds gathered around Jesus, he had to take time to get away to pray and rest. While this episode seems to be entirely fictional, the fact that Jesus is continuing healing into the night helps the watcher to see just how hard Jesus worked.

• When Peter is expressing his anger to Matthew, there is something helpful here. First, there is good insight into why the Jews hated tax collectors. They were seen as sellouts to Rome. However, once again, this scene assumes that Matthew didn’t know what it meant to be a Jew.

• When Jesus comes back to camp from healing the sick, Mary washes his feet. As Jesus goes to bed, he says that he is tired. God got tired. How unusual that 33 years of his time on Earth it must have been for Jesus. Though God of all creation, he lived by the rules of the weakness of humanity for 33 years. The almighty God was humble…

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode, and for that reason, I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

• As the conversations around the fires continue, a couple of the disciples have a conversation about why Jesus hasn’t healed one of them all while he is healing so many other people. This introduces a problem that is going to rear its head again in season 4. There is no evidence in the gospels that Jesus ever refused healing to anyone. There is no indication that any of the disciples need healing. And while the conversation admits that this disciple had never asked Jesus for healing, it must be noted that Jesus healed everyone who asked him to heal them, and even some who didn’t.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• While the disciples are around the fire talking about ways that they had broken the Jewish dietary laws, one of the disciples says that he had tried pork and it was marvelous. This is unlikely. Having been there, I can testify that the Jews find pork disgusting.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 3

S5, E3

This episode continues the upper room discourse between Jesus and the disciples on Thursday night of Passover week. It may contain the greatest amount of material that is in contradiction to the Bible of any episode I have seen yet. There are a lot of problems in this episode. There are many things that are true to the biblical record, but there are a lot of errors woven in as well. I would highly recommend reading Matthew 21-23 before watching this episode.

Biblical- What We Find in Scripture

• The opening scene before the credits is a very close representation of Jesus’ instruction to the disciples in the upper room. This particular discourse is recorded in John 14.

• Jesus certainly cleansed the temple, calling it a house of prayer for all nations. However, there are some parts of this scene, following the title sequence, where Jesus confronts the religious leaders that appear to be imported from other areas of the gospels, see the first point in the “unbiblical” category. The second cleansing of the temple shown here is recorded in Mt. 21:12-16, Mk. 11:15-18, and Lk. 19:45-48.

• The Pharisees come to Jesus to ask questions, and Jesus does respond with a question about the authority of John the Baptist. This scene is elaborated on, but it is recorded in Mt. 21:23-27.

• The parable of the tenants does follow the questioning of Jesus’ authority. And the Pharisees did perceive that the parable was about them. And they did ask Jesus some questions. So in one sense these scenes are biblical. However, there are a lot of problems with this scene as well. Those are addressed in the next category as some of the depictions of this scene are contradictory to the biblical record. There are also a lot of embellishments added into the interactions with the Pharisees.

• The Pharisees, particularly one lawyer, ask Jesus what the greatest commandment is. Jesus answers. This is found in Mt. 22:34-40. There are still some problems with this scene.

• Matthew 23 records Jesus pronouncing woes on the Pharisees. The language of Jesus in this portion of the episode is very close to the words recorded in the gospel. It is abbreviated, but accurate. The portion where Jesus addresses Jerusalem and says that he wanted to gather them as a hen gathers chickens, and that they would be left desolate is recorded at the closing of Matthew 23.

• At the beginning of Matthew 24, Matthew records that as they were leaving, the disciples pointed out the temple buildings, and Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple. It was destroyed by Rome in 70AD.

• This episode closes with the disciples’ question of Jesus about his appearance and the signs of the end of the age. This is recorded in Mt. 24-25. Jesus’ answer here is taken from that dialogue in those two chapters. This is obviously taken from the biblical record, but there is a lot of confusion in this episode about the timeline of these events. It is also significantly abbreviated. They do not, however, ask Jesus if he is never going back to the temple.

Unbiblical- What Contradicts Scripture

• The second cleansing of the temple shown here is recorded in Mt. 21:12-16, Mk. 11:15-18, and Lk. 19:45-48. None of these record the request for a sign from the Pharisees. That is recorded in Jn. 2:13-22. The problem here is that this John 2 is Jesus’ first cleansing of the temple. The timeline of the chosen is in contradiction with the timeline of the Bible.

• Jesus says that he is going out to preach to a very special audience and tricks the disciples into thinking that he is going out to preach about a vineyard. He then takes only Matthew as he goes out to preach to what he describes as a “special audience.”  The parable of the talents is recorded by Matthew. However, Matthew records for us in the first 3 verses of Matthew chapter 24 that this parable was given in direct response to a question asked by the disciples. Jesus and the disciples were traveling over the Mount of Olives, and the disciples point out the beauty and glory of the temple buildings. Jesus tells them that they will be destroyed. We are then told in verse 3 that the disciples (note the plural) came to him privately and asked him a question about his return. So Matthew records 3 things…1. All the disciples were there. 2. The disciples came to Jesus privately. 3. The setting was on the Mount of Olives. In this episode, Jesus appears to be 1. Only with Matthew. 2. With a crowd of listeners. 3. Somewhere in the Temple Mount.

• Matthew records that the parables following the questioning of Jesus’ authority by the Pharisees are followed by the parable of the two sons and then the parable of the talents. Here in this episode, Jesus teaches the parable of the tenants. Additionally, Jesus does ask a question in response to the giving of the parable of the tenants, but no Pharisee is named at all. In fact, it appears in Mt. 21:40 that it is just an open question to the audience. It is also clarified in Mt. 22:15 that after the initial conversation, the Pharisees went and plotted how to trap him in his words. This episode seems to shrink the timeline of these questions and has the Pharisees ask them immediately. In Mt. 22:16, we see that after they plotted, they sent their disciples along with some Herodians. Here in this episode, they simply ask Jesus directly.

• The turning of the crowd against Jesus after his answering the question of paying taxes is not found in the Bible. In fact, we are only told that they marveled at Jesus.

• Matthew 22 records that sometime after the cleansing of the temple, the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ authority. Jesus responds by telling the parables of the two sons, of the tenants, and of the wedding feast. The parables of the two sons and the wedding feast are left out in this episode. Then the Pharisees go and plot how to trick Jesus. First, they send their disciples and some Herodians to question Jesus about paying taxes. Jesus beats them at their own game by answering in a way that people marveled and not incriminating himself to Rome. Then the Sadducees question Jesus about the resurrection of the dead; this is also left out of this episode. Then the Pharisees question Jesus about the greatest commandment. This episode conflates all of these into one interaction with the Pharisees. This is in contradiction to Matthew’s account.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• In arguing about Jesus’ exact words saying he rebuild this temple, it is a fictional scene. However, there is something helpful here. The Pharisees’ tactic to capture Jesus during Passion Week was to ask questions. In Matthews gospel, chapters 21-23, Matthew chronicles that the Pharisees not only asked Jesus questions but sent others to try and ask questions that might trick Jesus into saying something that might incriminate himself. We are told in Mt. 22:15 that they plotted how to entangle him in his words. So this scene has a bunch added to it, but it is based on what we are told in Matthews gospel.

• Ramah’s family, still in pursuit of Jesus, are found in the temple talking to those who were selling lambs to be sacrificed. Ramah, and by extension her family, are not characters found in the Bible. Their involvement in this episode, like any other episode, is fictional.

• The disciples questioning of Jesus, including “Z”, who is Simon the Zealot, isn’t found in Scripture. The conversation about any other violent actions by Jesus, and Matthew’s recounting who or what Jesus “assaulted” isn’t found in the Bible.

• Caiaphas meeting with Atticus, a fictional character, and Pilate is fictional. At the end of this scene, Atticus says something like “hag pesach semeach.” I say like, because that is simply a transliteration from Hebrew to English. This phrase means something like “Happy Passover.” The continuing portion of this scene with Pilate and Atticus isn’t in the Bible either.

• Following the confrontation with the Pharisees in the temple after Jesus cleanses the temple, the disciples are found sitting around discussing how they would perceive Jesus’ actions and teaching if they were not his disciples. This scene, along with Jesus’ conversation with Matthew, is fictional.

• There is nothing recorded anywhere in Scripture to suggest that the disciples ever acted out the parables of Jesus.

• Jesus’ lengthy description of Caesar thinking that he is God when he is not, is not found in the Bible. It is true that Caesar thought he was a God, and it is true that Jesus was making a distinction between Caesar and God. However, we are not told that the crowd turned on Jesus.

• Jesus does not tell the disciples in the Bible that he was done with his public teaching, though this is true. Following this is some private instruction and teaching of Jesus to the disciples, the upper room discourse as they celebrate the Passover, and Jesus’ arrest. It is Jesus’ last public teaching before his arrest. I’m going to leave this comment here, but it is a helpful scene in seeing what the last interaction with Jesus was about and what sparked his arrest.

• Jesus is not recorded in the gospels as saying that he needed a moment alone on the Mount of Olives. We do know that it was at this time that Jesus gave what is called the “Olivet Discourse.” I have already said much about this teaching of Jesus in response to the disciples’ question about the timing of his appearance.

• The closing scene shows Jesus, alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying over Jerusalem. The gospels record that Jesus said these things, but he did so on his way into Jerusalem before cleansing the temple. I think that The Chosen represents this in an earlier episode, which means they are probably portraying this as an extra occurrence of that. This isn’t recorded in the Bible.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Jeremiah did predict the destruction of the temple, but the helpful part in this episode is that the Pharisees, in arguing about Jesus’s words, state that Solomon’s temple was destroyed. This is true. Solomon’s temple was destroyed during the Babylonian captivity. The temple that is pictured in The Chosen is a representation of Herod the Great’s temple.

• In Jesus’ conversation with Matthew, Matthew struggles with understanding what Jesus has been teaching and doing. Jesus asks Matthew if what he seeks above all is understanding. Matthew says that what he seeks above all is Jesus, and Jesus tells Matthew that he already understands. This scene is helpful, even if fictional, on two fronts. First, it helps us to understand, as clearly demonstrated in the gospels, the difficulty of the disciples to understand what was going on that week and what Jesus was teaching. Second, it helps to understand just how hard the message of Jesus would have been for the Jews. A rabbi who called for the people to seek God by seeking him was not something that Israel had ever experienced before. Of course, Israel had also never had a rabbi who was God become man either.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode and for that reason I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

Anachronisms and errors— Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• This is understandable since this is not being filmed in Jerusalem, but the geography of the temple, the Mount of Olives, and the surrounding areas is not correct. You cannot see snow-peaked mountains from Jerusalem. Jerusalem is not very high in elevation, and yet, Mt. Moriah, where the temple is, is the highest peak in the area. Jerusalem is situated above all of the surrounding areas. Also, the distance from the Mount of Olives to the Temple Mount is not according to scale either. The Kidron Valley separates the Mount of Olives from the Temple Mount. All of these “mountains” and “valleys” are very small to our thinking. The Mount of Olives is much closer to the temple than is depicted here. I’m not trying to be overly critical here as there is no way for them to find a location that is exactly like Jerusalem. I’m simply trying to help you understand the scale of Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 2

S2, E2

Most of this episode is either fiction, or even in this case error. However, the episode lands on a pretty good note with a  fairly biblical presentation of the calling of Philip and Nathaniel.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• After Jesus calls Philip in Jn. 1, Philip goes and finds Nathaniel. While almost everything in this episode is either fictional or erroneous, at least this detail is correct (Jn. 1:45).

• I’m not willing to relate it to any one specific account, but Jesus is recorded by the gospel writers as telling the disciples 3 times that he would be departing from them, and each time they did not understand. Each of these 3 predictions of his death occurred while Jesus and the disciples were on the road. However, it seems as though each of these predictions was to all of the disciples, not just Peter.

• Philip’s seeking of Nathaniel, Nathaniel’s initial rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, Philip’s invitation to Nathaniel to “come and see”, Jesus’ calling Nathaniel and Israelite in whom there is no deceit, Jesus saying he saw Nathaniel under the fig tree, Nathaniel’s confession of who Jesus is, and Jesus statement that Nathaniel will see greater things than this are all recorded in Jn. 1:45-51. There are certainly some embellishments there in order to round out the scene. But this scene where Philip seeks Jesus is quite correct.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• The scene where Philip comes into the field with 4 of the disciples is not recorded in the Bible. Philip’s calling is recorded in Jn. 1:43-44. There is an anachronism in the scene as well as a contradiction to John’s record of his calling. First, the anachronism, or something that is not correct to the time. These events are supposed to happen early on in Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ early ministry was marked by wide acceptance, even enthusiasm, of Jesus’ ministry. The disciples would not likely have been so hesitant at that point, especially of one individual who wouldn’t have been part of a band of raiders. The error comes in the fact that Philip was looking for Jesus. Jn. 1:43 reveals Philip and Nathaniel were called when Jesus, upon entering into Galilee, found Philip. When Jesus comes into the camp later, Philip introduces himself. Again, John records that Jesus found Philip, not the other way around. Nathaniel’s calling comes right after Philip’s.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• It is unclear who is in the opening scene, and I am unclear on how this is going to connect to any story, but it at least appears to be something fictional.

• Philip’s meeting of Matthew, and their subsequent conversation on the road, is not found in the Bible.

• Matthew’s continued social awkwardness, even disability, isn’t found in the pages of the Bible. There isn’t any indication in the Bible that Matthew struggled in this way.

• The architect from the opening scene is later, who also has the drink in the bar, is later revealed to be Nathaniel. Jn. 1:45ff (ff means “following”) records Nathaniel under the tree burning a set of plans and asking of God, “do you see me?” This is probably setting the stage, as recorded in John 1, for Nathaniel’s calling. When Jesus called Nathaniel, he is questioned by Nathaniel as to how the Messiah could possibly come from Nazareth. It is at this point that Jesus tells Nathaniel that he saw him under the fig tree (Jn. 1:48).

• Nicodemus continues to be a character that, while biblical, has a lot of fictional things about him inserted. This is the case in this episode. Additionally, at the risk of sounding like a broken record, Ramah is not a character in the Bible. Any part she plays in any episode is not found in the Bible.

• Philip’s story of John’s disciples not knowing each other’s names is not in the Bible.

• We have no record that Simon Peter objected to any of the disciples writing things down.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While we have no record in the Bible of the disciples using push carts to move their stuff, the scene on the road is helpful. The disciples must have had some way to move their belongings. If we learn something from Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, it is not unlikely that there may have been other times that the disciples didn’t want to let Jesus do menial tasks as their rabbi, and it wouldn’t have been unlikely that Jesus insisted on doing them. At the end of this episode, that scene is still fictional.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode, and for that reason, I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Again, Matthew is said to have a dog, this time saying himself as he recounts what he had before following Jesus. Dogs were not kept as pets in Israel. They were considered ritually unclean animals.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 2, Episode 1

S2, E1

Here we start season 2 with Episode 1. If you are new to these, I have completed episode guides for every episode in season 1 and 5. Here we begin to continue to work our way through all of the episodes of The Chosen to see what is in the Bible and what is not, what is helpful and what might be harmful.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Nothing. Certainly Jesus did travel to Samaria and meet a woman at the well in Sychar. However, the things that are actually recorded in the Bible all happened in the previous episode, episode 8 of season 1.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• The teaching of the lost sheep is recorded in Matthew 18 and in Luke 15. The former seems to be set in Capernaum, the latter in Jerusalem. This means that Jesus probably taught that parable more than once, which would be expected. However, there is no biblical record to state that Jesus taught that in Samaria. Mt. 18 and Lk. 15 also both happen later in Jesus’ ministry than his visit to Samaria. While it’s possible that this teaching happened in Samaria, a possibility not recorded in Scripture, it is recorded that Jesus taught that Parable in Galilee and Jerusalem. I am therefore including this portion of this episode in the unbiblical category.

• In the scene where the disciples are going out to buy food to prepare, a fictional scene, Matthew is seen distributing the gold coins from the fictional bag of coins that was found in the previous season. Judas is the disciple who is recorded in Scripture as keeping the purse (Jn. 12:6).

• I almost put this point in the “Biblical” category out of sympathy because so far this entire episode has either been fictional or confusing. Ultimately I decided to put it here because so many of the details are confused. James and John were given the name “sons of thunder” by Jesus because they wanted to see fire called down from heaven. However, as this is recorded in Luke 9:51, I think once again the timeline is off. This episode is presented to us as very early on in Jesus’ ministry, and in fact it should be as Jesus encountered the woman at the well very early on in his ministry. However, it is much later in his ministry that James and John receive the title that they are given. This might be forgivable as the timeline in the NT is often hard to understand. However, here is why I think this scene is contradictory. In Lk. 9 when the two brothers want to call down fire from heaven, it is because a whole village rejects Jesus. Here in this episode it is merely 3 travelers.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• This episode begins with the disciples, looking markedly older than in the previous episodes, giving what appears to be interviews to someone. All of this is fictional, though there are some elements drawn from true things. Andrew speaks of his calling while he was with John the Baptist. Andrew was in fact a disciple of John the Baptist before he was a disciple of Jesus (Jn. 1:35-40). There is no knowledge of where Jesus met Mary Magdalene the first time, we just know that Jesus cast demons out of her (Mk. 16:9, Lk. 8:2).

• We are shown that the person interviewing people was the disciple John. John certainly was an eyewitness to the events and certainly recorded them as an eyewitness. While we don’t know exactly who wrote the first gospel, it is largely believed that the gospel of Mark was written before the other gospels, and there seems to be reasonable evidence for this. In the interview with his mother, John’s mom states that the whole world could not contain the books that would be written if everything were to be recorded. John’s gospel says this in Jn. 21:25, though we have no knowledge that this saying came from his mother or anyone else. Those are presented to us in the Bible as the words of John.

• Ramah and her family are entirely absent from Scripture. While scenes involving her in the future may be drawn from biblical accounts, Ramah and her family are, and will always be, entirely made up.

• The only thing that is known about Jesus’ time in Samaria after meeting the woman at the well is that he stayed there a couple of days (Jn. 4:40).

• Matthew is often portrayed as odd, even maybe at times appearing to have some kind of sensory disorder. This isn’t informed by Scripture. The socially odd nature of Matthew is something that is made up by the Chosen’s writers.

• The scene where the disciples are going through the streets of Samaria to buy food isn’t in the Bible. In fact, maybe we could just put here that all of the scenes that take place in Samaria are fictional because there is no record of Jesus’ time in Samaria other than his interaction with the woman at the well and the statement that he spent two more days there.

• To be specific, even though you could probably discern this already, the healing of the man in Samaria is fictitious.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While the scene with James and John preparing a field for seed is not in the Bible, it is helpful in showing just how difficult farming would have been. Farming would have largely been done using animals and not human labor for the plowing, but it was still hard work.

• The scene with Big James and John where the Samaritans throw rocks at them and Jesus is not from the Bible. But the truth of the matter is that none of us are worthy. That is certainly a helpful lesson for us all to learn.

• The Samaritans used what is called the “Samaritan Pentateuch.” The Pentateuch is the 5 Books of Moses that open the Old Testament. They did not have, or more likely did not think they needed, the other 34 books of the Old Testament that Jews had.

• The Jews did also use the word “logos”, which gets translated as “word” in our Bible’s to describe, as it is called in this episode, “divine reason.” Reason being a cause, not a thought. The Greeks talked about the logos as the things which caused, or created, all other things. This is why John opens his gospel the way that he does, as shown in this episode. This is not a historical fact recorded in Scripture. However, it does seem that John opens with the words “In the beginning” to draw us back to Genesis 1, and he uses the word logos for Jesus in his opening chapter to present Jesus to us as the “Divine Reason”, the cause of all creation.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode, and for that reason, I’m including this suggestion in every episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

• Related to this episode, I have a concern about the scene in Samaria with the man whose field Jesus planted. There is a trend in some of the episodes that I have seen to make the most dramatic, most noteworthy, most emotional scenes from things that there is no biblical record of. It seems like emotional and/or spiritual manipulation to make the things that tug at our heartstrings the most be those things that never happened. The Bible contains everything that is needed to move our hearts. I would rather the writers and editors use those things that are inspired by the Spirit to inspire the watcher.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Once again, I will admit that I am being a little picky on this point, but the geography of Jerusalem and Samaria isn’t correct. While there are snow-peaked mountains in the northern part of Israel, Jerusalem is the highest peak around in its area and doesn’t get snow.

• Colorful cloth, especially long cloths, would have been very expensive. It is incredibly unlikely that any sort of colorful cloth would have been used to drape over streets or over vendors’ booths.

• The glass in the house of the woman that Jesus met at the well is more like glass might have been. Small pieces and opaque, not clear. However, this would likely have been something that was only in the house of the wealthy.

• Wax candles seem out of place as well. Most likely, there would have been small lamps that burned olive oil.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 8

S1, E8

It has been a few weeks since I have posted an episode guide, but here we find ourselves back into Season 1 after having tackled Season 5. I will continue to work my way through each of the seasons week by week.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• While much of the detail is added, the disciple Matthew, who was also a tax collector, had a dinner in his home for Jesus (Mt. 9:9-13; Mk. 2:13-17; Lk. 5:27-32). Matthew is called Levi in the texts in Mk and Lk, Matthew’s original name. While we don’t know how or why some of the Pharisees saw this, and while we don’t know the names of any of the Pharisees who did, we know that they were disturbed that Jesus would be willing to eat with social outcasts like tax collectors. When questioned about his reason for eating with them, Jesus replied that it is the sick and not the well who are in need of a physician.

• Some of the events around the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law are certainly fictional, particularly the parts about Jesus healing her to relieve the burden of Peter’s wife and to keep Peter from being anxious while traveling with Jesus. However, the actual healing is pretty close to correct. Mt. 8, Mk. 1, and Lk. 4 all record the event. As we consider them all, we see that Jesus entered Peter’s house, took the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law, rebuked the fever, and that she got up and began to serve them.

• There is a lot of liberty taken in the dialogue with the Samaritan woman at the well, but much of the biblical dialogue from John 4 is there as well. Jesus asks her for water, she is surprised that a Jew would ask her for water, and Jesus offers her living water. She perceived him to be a prophet, but he told her that he was the Messiah. She does go into the city and tell people about Jesus. In the biblical record, Jesus does not recount each of the husbands of the Samaritan woman, nor does he claim to know Jacob, who dug the well.    The woman does ask Jesus about what mountain people are to worship on. This is because the Jews worshipped and sacrificed on Mt. Moriah, where the temple was and where the Dome of the Rock is today. The Samaritans had their own version of the Scriptures and offered their own sacrifices on Mt. Gerizim. In essence, she was asking who was right. Jesus was indicating that Father wasn’t seeking worshippers who worship on one mountain or another, but who understand him to be the Messiah and worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

• After the Samaritan woman went into town to tell people who she had met, the disciples arrived marveling at who Jesus was willing to have a conversation with. They encouraged Jesus to eat, to which Jesus responded by saying that he had food to eat that they didn’t know about. Of course, he was talking about doing the work that the Father had for him to do. Jesus and the disciples also stayed there for a couple of days and ministered in that region.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• Nothing

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• This episode, like others, opens with a flashback to Old Testament events. Clearly, this opening scene is a set-up for the conversation of the Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. However, this cannot be biblical as there is no information about Jacob’s well given in the Old Testament. It is mentioned in the New Testament, and Genesis 33 says that Jacob lived near a well. However, the only reference to Jacob’s well in the New Testament is found in John 4, where Jesus meets with a Samaritan woman at what is traditionally thought to be Jacob’s well. In truth, almost nothing is known about this well and its location.

• There are no biblical characters named Neriah nor Photina. These characters in the scene following the title sequence are fictitious.

• As previously mentioned, almost nothing is said of Nicodemus in the New Testament. His role in this episode, which occurs in several scenes, continues to be entirely fictional.

• Quintas and Gaius are still fictional characters and therefore their role in any episode is not from the Bible.

• While Peter is recorded as having a wife in the New Testament, no conversation is recorded in Scripture where the disciples and Jesus discuss this and its effects on the disciples who are married vs. single.

• I don’t know who the characters are supposed to be in the scene where a woman purchases an orange in the marketplace, but this is not in the biblical record. This woman is later revealed as the Samaritan woman at the well.

• At no point in the Bible are we told that there was a decree written from any Roman ruler forbidding worship gatherings outside of a temple, synagogue, or Hebrew school. The Roman soldier issuing the decree, whether Quintas or Gaius ( I don’t know; I believe it to be the latter), are fictional characters. We also don’t know of any Roman leader seeking the questioning of Jesus in the Bible until the Sanhedrin delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate. We do know that Herod Antipas wanted to meet Jesus because he thought he was some type of incarnation of John the Baptist, whom he had beheaded earlier.

• There is no record in the Bible of Nicodemus leaving money for Jesus, nor of Jesus encouraging Nicodemus to join them while Nicodemus is waiting in the shadows.

• The meeting of the Roman soldier Quintas (I think that is his name in this episode) with Matthew’s parents is not recorded in the Bible.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While we don’t know how Matthew left his job as a tax collector, he certainly did leave that role to follow Jesus. The Roman tax system was called the publicany (called a publicanus in this episode). Publicans, or tax collectors, would buy tax districts. They were to give Rome what was due them, and they were able to keep whatever they could extort from the people in their district. It is possible, maybe even probably based upon the biblical accounts, that Matthew just walked away. If he did, the district would have been sold to someone else.

• While Jesus doesn’t use the phrase as “I am God” as we would understand it in English, he nonetheless claimed divinity in a way that the people of the day would have understood it. Nicodemus’s conversation with one of the rabbis about Jesus’s claim to be God is helpful in seeing that the people in his day clearly understood him to be making that claim. An unhelpful part of this dialogue is when the rabbi that speaks to Nicodemus calls the law God. That seems to be a judgment on the part of the authors of this episode about the Jews in that day. However, the rabbis would not have claimed that the law was God even though they took obedience to the law very seriously as an act of worshipping and obeying God.

• The disgust of the Jews for the Samaritans is captured well in the scene where Jesus suggests to the disciples that they will be traveling through Samaria. While there are some historical reasons that are given in this episode, the biblical reason is not. The Samaritans were the offspring of the Jews who were left behind in the Babylonian captivity and married foreign wives. They were considered to be something of a half-breed, if you might pardon the term. They were hated by the Jews for that reason.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• I believe that there is a danger inherent in every episode, and for that reason, I will begin to state what is in each episode guide. The danger is assuming that the things in the episodes of the Chosen that are not in the Bible are true, part of the biblical record. In order to avoid this danger, I would encourage everyone who watches the Chosen to compare it to the biblical record. IN part, this is because most of what is in each episode of the Chosen is not found in the Bible. There is more speculation here than actual events recorded in the Bible. If you want a harmony of all of the gospels in chronological order to aid this, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of One Perfect Life by John MacArthur. It is a compilation of all of the gospel records in order of the events as best as we can understand.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• The order that was decreed about not having worship gatherings outside of certain places was said to be posted in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. The order that God posted was only in Aramaic.

• While the events of Matthew’s parents being given to his house are fictional, there is something erroneous about Matthew’s parents meeting his dog. Dogs were not considered to be household pets like they are today; they would have been thought of as disgusting creatures, even if not unclean.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 8

S5, E8

This final episode of Season 5 picked up right where the last one left off, with Thaddeus having flashbacks depicted in black and white. Fortunately, this episode has much more in it that is actually found in the pages of the Bible. Maybe more than any other episode I have seen, this episode is both quite accurate at parts and wildly speculative at others.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• While Thaddeus’s opening flashback is entirely fictional as noted below, there is one part of this flashback that reveals something from Scripture. We know that Nazareth was not thought well of. Nathanael questions if anything good can come from Nazareth in John 1:46.

• I’m conflicted as to whether or not to put this in the biblical or unbiblical category. We know that John was reclining on Jesus at the last supper (John 13:23), again this was because they would have been seated on cushions on the floor. So there is an element of the last supper that is correct. However, some of the disciples seem to point this out as though John had placed himself there. John 13 doesn’t state this. We do know that John describes himself in that chapter as the disciple whom Jesus loved, indicating to us that of all the disciples, John was likely the closest to Jesus. But we don’t know that the disciples resented John for his seat at the last supper. There is no plot of Rome to arrest Jesus revealed in Scripture. Pilate only comes into play after the Jewish council had arrested Jesus.

• While there are some big embellishments in the Garden of Gethsemane scene, there is quite a bit in this episode that does seem to be taken right from the pages of Scripture. The visions and dreams of Jesus are not part of the gospel accounts, those exceptions are listed below. However, the portions of this scene where Jesus interacts with the disciples, and where Jesus is praying, seem to reflect the biblical record accurately. Mt. 26:36ff; Mk. 14:32ff; Lk. 22:39ff.

• Malchus was the servant of Caiaphas, the high priest (John 18:10), and it was prearranged that Judas would kiss Jesus, the one to be arrested (Matthew 26:48).

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• None

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The opening scene with Jesus and Thaddeus, which is a flashback of Thaddeus’, like all the rest of these flashbacks, is not found in Scripture. We really don’t know anything about the calling of Thaddeus as a disciple. One thing I find a little perplexing about this opening vision is that Jesus makes a very impassioned plea to Thaddeus to follow him. Again, we know nothing about the calling of Thaddeus and some of the other disciples, but the callings that we do know about didn’t go this way. Jesus simply called people to follow him. Jesus did tell Nathanael he saw him under the tree, and he called some to be fishers of men. But whenever and however Jesus called people, it seems like they were eager to follow.

• As noted in previous episodes, very little is known of Mark in the gospels. Any thought that the upper room was in Mark’s home is speculative.

• The scene with Pilate and Atticus is fictional. Atticus is not a character that appears in Scripture at all. Pilate doesn’t appear in the accounts of Passion Week until Jesus is sent to him on trial.

• While we know that the Sanhedrin was plotting to arrest Jesus, none of the conversations that took place among the Sanhedrin are recorded in Scripture.

• We have nothing in the biblical record that tells us Jesus encountered a father and son in the garden chopping wood. This portion of the scene is fictional. Of course, this is a flashback to Abraham and Isaac, which certainly points forward to Jesus. But this vision is added; it is not in the biblical accounts.

• The scene in Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones is not mentioned in the garden account either. There are a lot of liberties taken in that portion of the scene. We do know that Ezekiel was given a vision of the valley of dry bones, and that God asked him if those bones could live. While it may have been the pre-incarnate Jesus who asked this, we are not told in Scripture. Neither is there any record that whichever member of the Trinity asked this of Ezekiel cried upon Ezekiel’s shoulder. In the account of Ezekiel’s vision, God told Ezekiel to prophecy over the bones so that they would come to life. The point of Ezekiel’s vision is that the Word of God can give life to dead souls. Now, certainly, it is the living Word, Jesus, who gives life to the dead, and I think this is what the writers of the chosen were trying to portray. But there is a lot of artistic license taken with the valley of dry bones here.

• The vision of Joseph, the father of Jesus, is not found in the Bible either.

• Once again, Ramah’s family, an entirely fictional set of characters, plays a prominent role in this episode as they are involved in the arrest of Jesus.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While Nicodemus would have almost certainly been involved in any meeting of the Sanhedrin, and therefore his bursting into the meeting is likely put in this episode for drama, he does ask a helpful question. Nicodemus asks a question about “this unlawful assembly.” While Scripture does not forbid trials by night, the Mishnah, a Jewish book of laws, did.

• I think the perplexity of the disciples as the Romans come to arrest Jesus is helpful to see. This must have been a wildly confusing scene for them. More of the details of this are likely to come in the next season.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• None

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• This is probably going to continue to be said in each of the episodes in this season, but the Last Supper would have been at a table that was low to the ground with Jesus and the disciples seated on cushions on the floor and not on stools.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 7

S5, E7

We don’t often put anything in the “Dangerous” category of these posts, but we find ourselves in the position of wrestling with that in this episode…

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Peter’s response to Jesus washing his feet, along with the request to be bathed entirely, is accurate. Jesus did tell them that he was setting an example for them and that they were not to lead like the Gentiles who lord authority over their people. Some of the dialogue is paraphrased.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• The disciples’ fear of the Roman soldiers is a bit confusing to me. The Jewish leaders clearly had a plot to kill Jesus and were seeking an occasion to arrest him, but there isn’t really any indication in the gospel that they were seeking to arrest Jesus at all, let alone publicly. Yes, they played a crucial role in his arrest and trials, but it would have been the Jews who were seeking an opportunity to arrest him. We also know that they were afraid of the people who were in support of Jesus, so they were not seeking publicly to arrest him. The plot to arrest Jesus, which included Judas, would have most likely been kept private until the actual arrest in the garden of Gethsemane was conducted.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The dialogue in the opening scene about serving both “friends and enemies” and “even tonight” is not in the account of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet in John 13. Jesus did say that one would “lift his heel against me”, but Jesus didn’t use the word “enemies.”

• We are introduced to Mark in this episode as he is preparing the upper room according to his dream. I am assuming that this is the author of the gospel of Mark since Mark, the gospel writer, was not one of the disciples. In all of the Passover accounts (Mt. 26, Mk. 14, Lk. 22), Jesus gives directions to the disciples regarding preparations for Passover. Matthew and Mark record that the disciples asked Jesus about preparation for Passover, and John adds that Jesus also told them to go. In Mark, we find that they are told that they will find someone carrying a jar of water, that they should follow him and ask about a room for the Passover, and that this man carrying the jar would show them a furnished and prepared room. Then Jesus tells them that they should prepare the Passover there. Clearly this scene from the chosen is drawn off of Scripture. However, it is speculation to think that the man carrying the jar is Mark. Is it possible that it was? Yes. Do we know that it was? No. We also are given no indication whatsoever in Scripture that Mark had any dreams about preparing the Passover, if he was even the person carrying the jar of water. There is a lot of speculation here. Any part of this episode that has Mark or his family being connected to the owner of the home with the upper room is speculation.

• Additionally, we know, as discussed in previous posts, that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna provided for Jesus out of their resources. We don’t have any knowledge from Scripture that Jesus and the disciples were staying in the house of someone named Phoebe. That name does not occur in the gospels and there is no indication that the Phoebe in Romans 16 had any dealings with anything in the gospels. Therefore, we also have no indication in Scripture that they were staying in a gentiles home.

• Judas’ sister and her interactions with Judas aren’t found in the Bible.

• The graffiti as the reason for choosing the house is fictional. Jesus only told the disciples to find a man carrying a water jar.

• We are told nothing in the gospels about what preparations were made for the Passover by the disciples, nor are we told about any conversations they may have had while making those preparations.

• Simon the Zealot’s flashback is not found in Scripture. The zealots were a political “party” that probably held some extreme views, hence the name zealot. But we know nothing from the Scriptures about who the zealots were, what they believed, nor what role “Simon Z” played in the Zealots.

• Similarly, Nathaniel’s flashback, depicted in black and white, is also not derived from the biblical record.

• Once again, the flashback of Philip and Andrew with John the Baptist isn’t from the Bible.

• The same is true for Thomas’ flashback.

• …and the same for Matthew’s.

• Also, little James’ flashback. James’ flashback includes Jesus, an encounter which is entirely fictional.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• In the opening scene with the upper room, the disciples say that the owner of the house was going to send someone to wash feet. This is an accurate historical depiction of this custom. Their feet would have been very dirty from walking in the streets with animals and dust. The job was considered beneath a Jew, as even Jewish slaves would not wash feet. We know that Peter declined having his feet washed, but all of the disciples would have been perplexed at this. Additionally, it is helpful to see that Jesus washed even the feet of his betrayer. John 13:1-20

• The issue of leaven in a house would have been taken quite seriously. This helps us with the historical context. Leaven is often a symbol for sin in the Bible; we might consider how seriously we seek to clean the leaven out of our lives…

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• James and Peter’s conversation with Jesus about being followed by Ramah’s family working with the Romans isn’t in the Bible. Ramah, and her family, are entirely fictional. I have put these events in this category because of previous events with Ramah. I have not yet blogged on Season 4 at the time of the writing of this post; however, we know that when Ramah is killed in a commotion, Jesus does not heal her here. The way the episode ended with Ramah’s death felt like emotional manipulation. In part, I feel this way because there is no record anywhere in the Bible of Jesus refusing to heal someone who wanted to be healed or whose companions wanted them healed. There are some spots in Scripture where Jesus doesn’t perform miracles because the people lacked faith, but this is hardly the case with Ramah, who is the supposed fiancé of one of the disciples. Jesus never refused anyone healing in the biblical record, and for this reason, I believe it is safe to assume that Jesus never refused to heal anyone who requested healing from him.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• We are told in John 13:1-20 that Jesus took off his outer garments, plural. This means that he would likely have been wearing what amounted to nothing more than a loincloth. In this episode, Jesus is still wearing a tunic as he washes the disciples’ feet. While this could be considered unbiblical, it is not a major issue, and so I have chosen to consider it as an error.

• As stated in previous episodes, the table and candles are not according to what would have been. The scene looks like it may be drawn off of ideas like Leonardo’s Last Supper painting, which is what we know of how people would have reclined at a table.

• Again, this is a little silly, but clear glass, as shown in the upper room during the daytime, did not exist at that time in history. Romans did use glass as early as the 1st century CE, but it was not clear. This glass was translucent at best.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 6

Once again we have moved back into the realm of that which is largely fiction…with a few helpful bits along the way. Enjoy!

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• The opening scene of the disciples and Jesus participating in the last supper is almost entirely taken from Scripture. Of course, the Chosen has harmonized the gospel accounts in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22. This scene also draws upon 1 Corinthians 11 where Paul gives instruction to the church that he had received directly from the Lord.

• John the Baptist was executed by one of the Herods, but we have no record in the Bible of Nicodemus caring at all about that.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• Nothing

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• We continue to see a great deal of speculation and imagination around Nicodemus. All of the opening scenes of Nicodemus and, what I imagine to be the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council), are fictional. This opening scene with Mary Magdalene and others is fictional and not part of the biblical record.

• While we know that Judas made an agreement for 30 pieces of silver with the religious leaders, we have no record in Scripture of what that interaction looked like. We do not know that Judas believed or not that Jesus was the Messiah. We do not know that Judas made the arrangement to test Jesus to see if Jesus was the Messiah. All we know is that the arrangement was made.

• The scene with Judas and Caiaphas is followed by a scene with Atticus and Kafni. These two characters are extra-biblical. As such, nothing that these characters do or say comes from the pages of Scripture.

• There is no biblical record showing that Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate had conspired to bring an end to Jesus. We are told that Jesus was sent to Pilate after he was tried by the Jews, but no record of conspiracy, nor any “arrangement.”

• Atticus remains a fictional character, and so his interaction with Simon the Zealot is fictional. We also have no record that Simon the Zealot and Barabbas knew each other. Simply because Simon was part of the political party that called itself the zealots, does not mean Simon was a murderous insurrectionist as well.

• Yussif, an entirely fictional character, and his conversation with Nicodemus is fiction.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Nicodemus, as previously noted, is one of the people who seeks to care for Jesus’ body after his death. While there is no biblical record of him hearing of the plot to kill Jesus in this way, nor of meeting with Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus does appear to have become a follower of Scripture. John 19:39ff

• While Nicodemus’ statement that Mary Magdalene’s healing is as convincing of who Jesus is as the prophecies is not biblical, it is most certainly helpful. Over and over again, maybe especially in the book of John, he points to the Scripture and his miracles as evidence of who he is. That statement from Nicodemus did a good job of capturing this.

• It is doubtlessly true that the religious leaders of the day believed they were doing God a service by removing Jesus from the life of the Jewish people.  They were simply doing what they believed to be best.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• Nothing

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• This is picky, but while the opening scene in the upper room is largely accurate as mentioned above, there are some inconsistencies. Wax candles would not likely have been present. Small lamps with wicks that burned olive oil would have been on the tables. Additionally, the disciples and Jesus would not have been seated on chairs. They would have been seated on the floor and reclined against each other.

• Using boiling water for the purposes of sanitation is very unlikely to have been something that the people understood at that time.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 5

S5, E5

Several of the episodes that we have seen recently have been mostly filled with stories drawn directly from Scripture. This episode is one where most of the content is made up and not found in the biblical record.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• A dispute did arise among the disciples during Jesus’ last supper with them. Jesus then tells the disciples that they will be given a kingdom in which they will reign. Luke 22:24-30

• The lesson of the fig tree is recorded in Mark 11:20-26. While the lesson is biblical, it is clearly elaborated upon. It is also not very clear in this episode that the last supper before the credits takes place after the events recorded after the opening credits. The lesson of the fig tree most likely took place on Monday or Tuesday of that week.

• Jesus does predict his death to his disciples in John 12:30-36, but the disciples’ conversation is not recorded in the Bible.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• The opening discussion of the disciples during the last supper in the upper room does not line up with Scripture. It is during the Passover meal that Jesus predicts his betrayal before all of the disciples and it is also during the Passover meal that Judas slips out and leaves. The disciples do ask Jesus who the betrayer is, but Jesus answers their question and identifies Judas as his betrayer. It is as this point that Judas leaves the upper room. John 13:21-30;

• Additionally, during the aforementioned conversation, Andrew states that the betrayer must not be Peter because Peter is “the foundation of Jesus’ church.” This is most likely drawn from Matthew 16 when Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter. It is unlikely that Jesus is calling Peter (Petros in Greek) the rock (Petra) upon which the church will be built. The foundation of the church is Jesus, a view that Peter himself confirms when he calls Jesus the cornerstone. It is unlikely that Peter understood himself to be the church’s foundation when he calls Jesus the cornerstone of the church. 1 Cor. 3:10-11; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6-7.

• Surely the disciples were confused and bewildered by the prediction of Jesus’ death, but their conversation in this episode is not recorded in any of the gospels.

• The conversation between Shmuel (Samuel) and Caiaphas is not in the biblical record.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The conversation of the rabbis about the effects of Jesus driving people out of the temple is fictional. Ananus, son of Annas, is not a biblical character. History does record someone named Ananus in first-century Palestine after the death of Jesus, but this is entirely fictional.

• The scene with Pilate in his wife is wildly elaborated upon. In Matthew 27:19, it is recorded that Pilate’s wife desired for Jesus to be let go because she was being tormented in a dream. Any details other than that she was being tormented are not found in the pages of the Bible.

• The scene with Atticus and Pilate is not found in the pages of the Bible.

• Atticus is again seen later walking through the streets with some Roman soldiers. This too must be fictional as Atticus is not a biblical character.

• Mary Magdalene’s being blindfolded and taken away to the home of Nicodemus isn’t in the Bible, but I would guess that this is leading up to the fact that Nicodemus was among those who dealt with Jesus’ body after his crucifixion. John 19:39

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• The conversation of Ananus, Caiaphas, and the Rabbis is helpful in understanding the illegality of the arrest of Jesus. The arrest and trials of Jesus at night were against the law.

• The Pharisees, along with the high priest, were clearly planning to arrest and execute Jesus. While much of the plot to arrest Jesus is made up, it is helpful to see that they were plotting the arrest of Jesus. It is also helpful in understanding that they probably felt constrained by time with the upcoming Passover and the fact that there could not be executions during that festival.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• Nothing

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Nothing

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 4

S5, E4

The upper room scene in the previous episodes was clearly an attempt to harmonize the four gospel records. Since it is quite difficult to be certain of how those perfectly harmonize, I will not be focusing on too much of the order of events. I will, however, be seeking to identify what is in the biblical accounts and what is not.

Biblical- What We Find in Scripture

• Jesus did tell Judas to go and do what he was going to do quickly. Judas also left during the meal. ( Jn. 13:27-30)

• Jesus did predict his death, telling the disciples that he would not be with them longer. And he did give them the new commandment to love one another. ( Jn. 13:31-35)

• While the meeting of the Sanhedrin is fiction, the resurrection of Lazarus was a large part of why the religious leaders were seeking to kill Jesus. John also records that the Chief Priests sought to kill Lazarus. ( Jn. 12:10-11)

• Jesus did curse the fig tree. ( Mt. 21:18-19; Mk. 11:12-14.) This would have happened, as I understand the timeline of Passion Week, on Tuesday morning. Some people think that Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, others on Palm Monday. The former believe that there are no recorded events of Jesus on Wednesday of that week. The latter don’t have to account for a missing day. I am of the latter persuasion.

Unbiblical- What Contradicts Scripture

• I think the portrayal of the fig tree is quite inaccurate. Yes, Jesus cursed a fig tree. But he did so at a time when figs were not in season. I don’t think Jesus would have actually expected figs. I think he was using the fig tree to illustrate his coming judgment upon Jerusalem.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• We do not know what the traditions of the Jews were regarding Passover meal, also called a Seder. We do not know if the current traditions were used at that time, or if they were not.

• We’re not really given any indication that Jesus whispered to any of the disciples about who would betray him. Yes, Jesus predicted his betrayal, and the disciples did ask who it was. But Jesus announced that the one who had dipped his hand with Jesus would be his betrayer. Here Jesus dips bitter herbs with charoset and hands it to Judas. I’m inclined to put this discrepancy in the unbiblical category, but I think this might be the type of pickiness that I said I would avoid.

• Mary Magdalene’s interaction with the Pharisees in the city is not found in Scripture.

• Peter and Judas’ conversation about what Jesus could have done by making swords appear in people’s hands to defend Jesus.

• Caiaphas’ conversation with the fictional character Rabbi Gedera is not found anywhere in Scripture.

• Jesus’ conversation with John about Jephthah and the painting on the wall.

• No conversation of the Sanhedrin is recorded in Scripture. Small details of Jesus’ trial before the council, his third trial, are the only record of anything in Scripture that took place in a meeting of the council. Therefore, the delay of allowing Caiaphas to enter into the temple is also speculation.

• Ananus, the son of Annas, is not a biblical character. It is true that the high priest had been Annas, and that Caiaphas was his son-in-law. But this whole scene has been added to the biblical story.

• Jesus’ conversation in the courtyard of the home where they are staying.

• The women’s conversation about leaving Jerusalem for a couple of days.

• There is no biblical record of Jesus sharing a meal in Bethany with only the women who followed him.

• Eden and Tamar are fictitious characters. We do know that Peter was married, and we know that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, but she is never named in Scripture.

• While Joanna did provide for the ministry of Jesus, there is still no biblical record of this meal with the women, nor of Jesus asking them to keep their distance from him during Passion Week.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• While the interactions with the Pharisees are fictional, they reveal what was no doubt going on during Passion Week. Jesus’ teachings, healings, driving people out of the temple, etc., were upsetting the religious leaders. They were forming a plot to kill him. Mt. 26:3-5; Mk. 14:1-2; Lk. 22:1-2

• In Caiaphas’ conversation with Rabbi Gedera, Caiaphas indicates that Pilate is close to losing his job. This is true. Pilate was placed at the post he had in the Bible because Caesar was unhappy with him.

• Though the conversation about the painting on the wall with John is fiction, the scene does show an affection between Jesus and John that is indicated by Scripture. 5 times John refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” John is also resting on Jesus when they reclined at the table for the Last Supper. Clearly they were the closest of all of the disciples. Jn. 13:23, 19:26, 20:2, 21:7, 21:20

• While many of the events in this episode are fictional, they are helpful in getting a sense of how that week may have felt to his followers. Confusion, unrest, change…it must have been a hard week for his followers to understand.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• Nothing

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Jesus and the disciples would not have been seated on chairs for the last supper. They would have been on cushions on the floor. This is why John records that he was reclining on Jesus at the table. It was very common to lay on one another for comfort, especially at a long meal like this one.

• Bethany would have been a relatively short walk (2 miles) up and over a short hill (the Mt. of Olives). The fig tree would have likely been in view of the city of Jerusalem, which because of the geography there, would have been quite close. The cursing of the fig tree was used to illustrate the impending judgment coming upon Israel. Additionally, there would have been no snow-capped mountains in view anywhere from Jerusalem.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 7

S1, E7

I was hopeful after season 1, episode 6 that we would see more of the content being drawn out of scripture and less from speculation. This isn’t the case in this episode, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t helpful things here. There are some things in this episode that can help us understand the background of the times of Jesus and the disciples.

Biblical- What We Find in Scripture

• In John 3, Nicodemus confesses that no one can do the miracles that Jesus unless he is sent by God. They spoke of the need to be born again by the Spirit, and Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was talking about. They also spoke of how Nicodemus didn’t understand.  However, much of the conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus is fictional. Rather than trying to go line by line and point out what is in Scripture and what isn’t, I would strongly encourage you to go read John 3:1-21.

• Matthew 9:9-13 records that Jesus called Matthew while he was in the tax booth. The interaction with Gaius is fictional, but when Jesus called Matthew from his tax booth, Matthew left to follow Jesus.

Unbiblical- What Contradicts Scripture

• Nothing

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• While I feel like a broken record, the Roman soldiers who are working with and protecting Matthew are fictional characters. Therefore, any interaction they have with any Roman leaders in this episode is fictional.

• Nicodemus plays such a small role in Scripture that it is surprising that he takes such a prominent role in The Chosen. In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus to ask him about the kingdom by night. Nicodemus appears in the gospel 2 more times. Once in John 7, where the people are divided about who Jesus is, and Nicodemus warns the people not to judge a man without a hearing. And once in John 19, where he is bringing spices to the body of Jesus for burial, indicating that Nicodemus most likely had become a follower of Jesus. Any other scenes with Nicodemus in them, either in this episode or any other, are entirely fictional.

• Jesus’ conversation with Thaddeus, John, and Mary Magdalene that occurred while packing up camp is fictional.

• All of the preparations of Jesus and the disciples for Jesus to meet with Nicodemus are fictional. John 3 records that Nicodemus came to Jesus by night, but no other details are recorded except for some of their conversation. The fact that Nicodemus came by night is likely indicative of a secret meeting. Nicodemus probably came to meet with Jesus by night, most likely in secrecy.

• Jesus and Nicodemus speak of the healing of the paralytic being lowered through the roof. It is conjecture that Nicodemus was present for this miracle. Clearly from John 3, Nicodemus had seen Jesus perform miracles, but we do not know what miracles he saw. There is a lot of this conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus that is found in Scripture, but there is much that is not. I would encourage the reader to go and read John 3:1-21. Jesus’ invitation of Nicodemus to leave being a Pharisee to follow him is fictional. Clearly at some point, Nicodemus chose to follow Jesus, but not in a physical sense. Nicodemus followed Jesus in that he chose to trust him.

• The confession of Nicodemus that he is standing on holy ground is not insignificant. There is nothing to indicate that Nicodemus chose to follow Jesus that night. To say that he was standing on holy ground is to say that Jesus is God. There is no indication in John 3 that this was the time that Nicodemus believed.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Quintus not knowing where or what Nazareth was is helpful only in the sense that Nazareth was a small and obscure place of little significance.

• The portrayal of Jesus to be happy to do the will of the Father and spread the message of salvation is not biblical, but it does represent the obedience and contentment of Jesus, as found in the gospels, well.

• Jesus going off to a place alone to pray was a frequent occurrence of his. While this one is fictional, it was a common practice of Jesus in the gospels.

• The scene of where Matthew goes to the house of his parents and meets with his mother is also fictional, but this scene does represent well the disdain of the Jewish people for those Jews who had gone to work as tax collectors, also known as publicans. Matthew’s purchase into the publicani, making him a tax collector, would have ostracized him from his own community.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• In the opening scene between Moses and Joshua, the doubt and faithlessness of Joshua to God’s plan is very out of line with what we see of Joshua in Scripture. Joshua, who is Moses’ successor, is clearly a man of deep faith and obedience to God. While some of the details are scriptural, and some of the details are fictional, the way Joshua is presented in this opening scene seems out of character with the Joshua that we meet in the opening books of the Bible.

Anachronisms and Errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Nothing significant

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 6

S1, E6

Some gospel writers are more concerned about the chronology of events than others. So while the order of events in this episode may or may not be exact, this episode is a pretty good representation of the early ministry of Jesus.

Biblical- What We Find in Scripture

• While the telling of it in the way here presented is not recorded in Scripture, Jesus did go to Egypt as a child because of Herod the Great’s slaughter of children in Bethlehem. Mt. 2:13-23

• It is possible that the leper Jesus cleanses is the leper recorded in Mt. 8:1-4, Mk. 1:40-45, and Lk. 5:12-16 as the language the leper uses is very similar to that account, especially Matthew. However, the timing of this healing in The Chosen seems to be much earlier in Jesus’ ministry than that healing as the leper says that his sister was at the wedding in Cana. It is hard to know the exact timing of this as Matthew often does not follow a strict timeline. However, Luke, who does pay very close attention to the timeline, puts the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law before the healing of the leper. Lk. 4:38-42, 5:12-16.

• James and John were the sons of a man named Zebedee.

• The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, though having very few details in Scripture, is an event recorded in Mt. 8:14-17, Mk. 1:29-34, and Lk. 4:38-41.

• While not recorded in Scripture, the death of Joseph, Jesus’ father, seems to be indicated by Scripture in that he is largely absent, because Mary was working at the wedding in Cana, and because Jesus asked John to care for his mother at his death.

• There was a paralytic lowered through a roof to be healed by Jesus. The Pharisees were upset by Jesus proclaiming the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ words here seem to be taken out of Mt. 9. The approximate timing of this miracle seems to be correct. Mt. 9:1-8 Mk. 2:1-12, Lk. 5:17-26. The depiction of this is a helpful depiction.

• Jesus’ calling of Matthew as a disciple did follow the events depicted in this episode. Mt. 9:9-13, Mk. 2:13-17, Lk. 5:27-32

Unbiblical- What Contradicts Scripture

• It is unlikely that the disciples would have been so shocked by the healing of a leper at that time, even if it isn’t the same leper. Jesus had already turned water to wine, and Jesus had cast out demons and healed Peter’s mother-in-law before that miracle. I want to be gentle here as it seems like maybe the writers of the chosen are shooting to prioritize Matthew’s timeline at this point in the show.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• There is no record of any “Pawn Broker” in Scripture, therefore neither is there a record of one being visited by a leper.

• Matthew’s ongoing relationship with Roman officials is not recorded in Scripture. As a tax collector, he would have had dealings with Romans regarding the publicani in his charge, but there is no biblical record of it.

• All of Nicodemus’ dealings with the Jewish leaders about John the Baptist, as well as his interrogation of John in prison, is all premised since it is not recorded in Scripture.

• Jesus’ encounter with a woman from Ethiopia or Egypt is not recorded in Scripture.

• We also have no biblical record of a healed leper being a relative of anyone at the wedding in Cana. Jesus no doubt healed people we don’t know about, but the timing here seems off for it to be that first recorded healing of a leper. For that reason, I have put this in this category.

• The name Salome occurs twice in the book of Mark, but the mother of James and John is never identified by this name.

• Simon Peter’s being sent to Capernaum apart from the other disciples is also not recorded anywhere in Scripture.

• There is no biblical record of Jesus visiting the house of Zebedee, the father of James and John. He is only mentioned in the Bible as the father of the two disciples that were his sons.

• Nicodemus’s conversation with his disciple, Samuel (Samuel), is not found in Scripture.

• There is no indication in Scripture that Nicodemus was present at the healing of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Jesus’s ability to heal stands in great contrast to everything that was known. From us, disease spreads from person to person. We are capable of dealing with illness and death. But in great contrast to us, life spreads from Jesus to others as he touches them.

• Peter says that they are not yet fighting the Romans. While Peter never says this in Scripture, it is clear that this was the expectation of the Jews from the Messiah.

• The crowds that would gather, and even press against Jesus, in order to be healed by him were large. Visually we don’t see how large these crowds would have been, but they are depicted as being a mob in this episode.

• While everything we have seen regarding Nicodemus is fictional to this point, it is reasonable to understand that he had heard of, and possibly even saw, Jesus. Our first encounter with him is in John 3 where he comes to Jesus at night. But Nicodemus must have had some knowledge of who Jesus was, what he was teaching, and that he was doing miracles in order to desire to come to him in the first place.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• None

Anachronisms and errors— Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• As stated previously, it appears that Jesus’s healing of the leper followed the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law if we prioritize the timeline of Luke who was much more fastidious about getting his timing correct than the other gospelers.

• Luke is the gospel writer who recorded Jesus teaching about those on whom the tower of Siloam fell. So in that sense, Jesus did teach that. However, that is recorded in Luke 13:4, which is clearly a much later time in Jesus’ ministry. Over one year after the other events so far in this episode.

• Jesus’ teaching about prayer at the home of Zebedee and Salome is taken from the Sermon on the Mount. While it is possible that this was taught by Jesus at other times, it just isn’t recorded in Scripture. For that reason, this appears to be anachronistic.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 5

S1, E5

While there are some helpful things in this episode, we encounter the first things in the series that I believe are dangerous.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Though dramatized, when Jesus was about 12 years old, he stayed behind from his family in Jerusalem. When Mary and Joseph found him, he was found in the temple. Lk. 2:41-51

• There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee where Jesus’ mother, Mary, was working. When the wine ran out, Jesus turned the water into wine. The wine that Jesus made was superior to the wine that had been on hand. Jn. 2:1-11

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• None

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• Any details about Mary knowing the family of the wedding in Cana of Galilee?

• There is no biblical record of Nicodemus meeting with John the Baptist; this was addressed in the last episode’s post.

• Peter’s interaction with his wife is fictional. In fact, the only reason we know Peter had a wife is because Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Besides that, Scripture records no conversations of anyone with Peter’s wife. Also, any conversation about Peter’s wedding day is fictional.

• There is nothing said in the gospels about the calling of Thomas. His first appearance in the gospels occurs in the list of the 12 disciples who Jesus called.

• Anything of the events at the wedding are imagined, besides knowing that Mary was likely in charge of the wedding, that the wine ran out, that she instructed Jesus to do something about it, and that after a small push back on his mother, Jesus turns water into wine.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Peter’s character was passionate in the fictional conversation with his wife. This seems to reflect the character of Peter, who seems to have done nothing half-heartedly. I think the resolve of Peter to follow Jesus in this scene is helpful.

• Jesus did not call the brightest and the best, and those whom he called were not students.

• Weddings were multi-day celebrations, as indicated in this episode.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• This is the first time I have found something dangerous in the chosen. After Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple, Joseph says to Jesus, “What are you going to do for your mother for this transgression…” While the context seems to be in jest, the word transgression is used in the Bible as a synonym for sin. This could lead to the erroneous, even heretical belief, that Jesus had somehow sinned.

• We are introduced to a character named Ramah. As the series develops, this character will play an immensely large role for a character that is entirely fictional. There will also be some big problems in future seasons with events surrounding this character.

Anachronisms and errors—things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• This is a bit nitpicky, but for a series that seems to like using Hebrew words, such as Imah for mother and Abba for father, Jesus often gets called Jesus. We know him as Jesus, which is the transliteration of his Hebrew name, Yehoshuah (often pronounced as the shortened Yeshua). This name is most often translated into English as Joshua. The Greek, transliterated to English, is Iesus, from which we get Jesus. It is just fine that the series calls him Jesus, but his parents would have known him as Joshua.

• I think there are some likely errors surrounding the wedding at Cana of Galilee, a description used because there were two Canas. There are some things that are true as well. I am not putting these observations in “unbiblical” because the Bible is not specific on these matters. It is likely that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was at the wedding because she was working. We do not know when Joseph died, but by the time we move from Jesus’ childhood to his ministry, Joseph is no longer in the scene. Jesus had called disciples at that time, but it is likely that he may have been there to help his mother who was working at the wedding.

Being Discerning While Watching the Chosen

I want to write a quick post to help you be discerning as you watch The Chosen rather than only having to depend on blogs and episode guides like I am doing right now. I believe that there are helpful things about The Chosen, but I believe there are some helpful things as well. In this brief post, I will seek to help you understand what the potential benefits might be, problems might be, and how we can be wise and discerning in regards to shows and movies like The Chosen.

The Issue

The issue before us in dramatized versions of the biblical record has to do with speculations and background information presented in shows like this. This is somewhat of an inevitable problem. The biblical genre of narrative, the recounting of true events, is an opportunity for the reader of the Bible to imagine the scene. The biblical authors don’t go to great lengths to describe the settings of biblical accounts. They anticipate that the reader will be able to imagine the scene in the temple, Solomon’s portico, the Sea of Galilee, etc. In order to fully be drawn into the events recorded in the Bible, the reader must imagine some of the setting that is being presented.

The Problem

The problem with this arises when we move from appropriate imagination to dangerous speculation. To imagine a lake, river, portico, or temple as described in the Bible is one thing. To completely imagine acts and events that did not take place is another. Speculation isn’t really authorized by Scripture. 2 Pet. 1:3 says that the Bible contains all things for life and godliness. Dt. 29:29 says that the secret things belong to God, but revealed things belong to us.

The danger comes when we begin to imagine things that didn’t happen and then let them affect how we understand the Bible. It is one thing to informatively show some of the background of the events in the Bible, it is a whole other thing to imagine something that didn’t happen.

The Danger

The danger is twofold. The first danger is in allowing things imagined in the minds and hearts of sinful people to determine how to understand the Bible, or worse to accept those things as fact. The second danger is to imagine things about Jesus that are untrue. Whatever the authors, writers, producers, actors, etc., imagine about Jesus and the events of Scripture, are things imagined in the heart and mind of sinners. When we imagine what God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit are like, we tend always to imagine them in our image. We worship God that Scripture goes to great lengths to describe as a God who is heard, but who we get to attach no image to.

How to Be Discerning

My encouragement would always be to know your Bible well. Read your Bible regularly and repeatedly. Read your Bible through over and over again. It will help you discern what is true. You will then be able to recognize what is in the Bible and what is not.

Additionally, I would recommend that you read the passages connected to each episode. For that, I will recommend 2 resources. First, John MacArthur’s book called One Perfect Life is a chronological organization of all four gospels. Additionally, you can consider timelines that have been compiled like the one found here. I do not know anything about the author’s theological views, and therefore I am only commending this timeline to you and not anything else that the author had written per se.

I hope this helps you to be wise and discerning as/if you watch any series or movie like The Chosen.

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 1, Episode 4

S1, E4

Well, I’m back at Season 1 of The Chosen as I will not be able to resume working through Season 5 until mid-June when it becomes available to stream. I had hoped to get to the movie theater to watch all of Season 5, but that just didn’t happen. After a couple of weeks’ break, we will be picking up where we left off in Season 1. So far, the first three episodes have yielded absolutely no content taken from the Bible. This is the first episode in which we get actual events that are found in the pages of the Bible! Not much of what is here is found in the pages of Scripture, but hopefully we are moving in that direction.

Biblical: What We Find in Scripture

• Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was a disciple of John the Baptist. One day, when Jesus was walking by, John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Andrew immediately followed Jesus, and John records that he told his brother about it. Jn. 1:35-42. This marks the first time in the chosen that an event in the show is an actual event in Scripture, albeit dramatized.

• John’s arrest is found in Scripture in Mt. 4:12, Mk. 1:14, Lk. 3:19-20, and Jn. 3:24. The report of his arrest to Nicodemus is fictional.

• Peter’s fishing all night and not catching anything is biblical, that is found in Lk. 5:1-11. This is when Jesus tells him in the morning to cast out his net and they catch a whole net full. However, there is part of this that is made up, see the extra-biblical category below.

• When Jesus told Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Zebedee to cast the net over the boat, the haul was so large that they had to call for help, and their nets threatened to break. Lk. 5:1-11

• Peter’s declaration that Jesus should depart from him because he is a sinful man is found in Lk. 5:8.

• Mt. 8, Mk. 1, and Lk. 5 all record Jesus calling Peter and Andrew and James and John at the same time.

• Jesus called the four of his disciples who were fishermen to follow him, and he would make them fishers of men. This can be found in the aforementioned passages.

Unbiblical: What Contradicts Scripture

• I’m cautious to put this in the unbiblical category, but I think there is reason. When Jesus uses Peter’s boat to teach from the shore, he teaches in a parable. Jesus did not teach in parables very often in his early ministry. The closer he got to the cross, the more he taught in parables. I’m not sure that this is contradictory, but it is at least contrary to what we see in Jesus’ early ministry.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The opening scene of this episode, where Simon Peter is in a boat with several Roman soldiers, is not a biblical event. There is no record of this in the pages of Scripture. This includes the conversation in the “pub” where Peter speaks of owing a lot of taxes to Rome and the threats of Rome to take his fishing boats, and all of the conversation that happens around the table there.

• Matthew’s conversations with the Romans continue to be fictitious. We know nothing from Scripture of Matthew, or really any of the disciples, before Jesus calls them to follow him. We know the professions of some, but not all, of the disciples. Other than that, very little is known about them.

• Simon Peter’s fight with what I think is his brothers-in-law. This scene is fictitious. I’m guessing it is leading up to Jesus healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, which is recorded in Scripture. Interestingly, the healing of Jesus’ mother-in-law seems to be in the latter half of Jesus’ first year of ministry. The initial call of Peter and Andrew is recorded in Jn. 1:35-42. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is recorded in Mt. 8, Mk. 1, and Lk. 4, all of which come after events recorded all the way at the end of Jn. 4. It is not known whether or not Peter’s mother-in-law was chronically ill or simply sick, but if they are setting the background for her healing, it is a bit premature.

• Simon Peter’s rejection of his brother’s news that he found the Messiah isn’t in the Bible. All we know is that Andrew took Peter to see Jesus, who changed his name to Peter. At that point, Peter follows Jesus.

• Matthew following Simon Peter to investigate him on behalf of the Romans is part of the story that is made up.

• There is nothing in Lk. 5:1-11 that indicates Peter was out fishing alone and then had Andrew, James, and John come to fish with him. All we are told in Mt. 4 and Mk. 1 is that they were fishing together and Jesus called them. We are told by Luke that James and John, along with their father Zebedee, were partners with Simon and Andrew. Luke, in chapter 5, alone records that Jesus called them to put down their nets again and then hauled up a huge catch.

• While Jesus does at times teach from a boat, there is no indication that Jesus used the boats of Peter, Andrew, James, and John for the purpose of teaching on the morning that he called them to follow him.

• There is no biblical record of Nicodemus visiting John the Baptist in prison.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Jesus smiles as the men haul the fish into the boat. For me, it is easy to think of Jesus as always being serious. I think Jesus was very serious, but no doubt took joy at many of the things that he did for others. I think it is helpful to see Jesus smile.

• I also think it is helpful to see the tender way in which Jesus dealt with Peter after he told Jesus to depart because he was sinful. Jesus could be very tough, but almost always with those who were unrepentant. When Jesus interacts with the humble and repentant in the Gospels, he is always tender with them.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• Nothing

Anachronisms and errors: Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Nothing

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 2

S5, E2

The first two episodes of season 5 have been refreshing in that it contains more actual events that I have seen in past episodes. There are still concerning elements, but some helpful things as well.

Biblical- What We Find in Scripture

• The instruction of Jesus in the upper room, to the disciples, to go out and preach the gospel, taking along a sword. Certainly there is some paraphrasing here, but this is biblically correct. (Luke 22:36)

• Jesus instruction that the sheep would be scattered, Peter’s statement that he will never fall, Jesus statement that Satan requested to sift Peter like wheat, Jesus prediction of Peter’s denial. (Luke 22:31; John 13:36-38)

• Caiaphas did prophecy that one man would die for the whole nation. The events of that prophecy are not recorded, only that it happened is recorded. Herod Antipas did execute John the Baptizer, he did think that Jesus might be John reincarnated somehow, but the conversation between Caiaphas and Herod is not recorded in Scripture. (John 18:4)

• Jesus did fashion a whip and drive out the money changers. This was not the first time that Jesus did this. He had driven out the money changers before. This might be one reason why the events of passion week were so much more upsetting this time than the last. There is no indication, however, that the disciples were not already with him when this happened. Jesus also did stop, open the cages of the birds, and let them go. This is somewhat represented in this episode. It is an indication that Jesus was not out of control as he turned over the tables and drove out the animals. Jesus interaction with the woman who he would not allow to carry anything through the temple is fictional, but Mark does record that Jesus would not allow people to carry anything through the temple, so that type of interaction could be considered to be true. (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-19; Luke 19:45-48)

• Pilate would have had a palace overlooking the temple.

• The Jews refusal to enter Pilate’s house in order to keep from being defiled, which means ceremonially unclean, is recorded in John 18:28.

Unbiblical- What Contradicts Scripture

• I think there is reason to believe that Jesus attitude toward the people, even the Pharisees, was one of compassion. I think the context of this exchange indicates that Jesus was sad over all of Israels rejection of him. He seems to be more hostile and out of control in this episode that the gospels might permit us to believe.

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The character Ramah is fictional.

• Thomas background is entirely fictional. It seems they present him as having been an orphan. Scripture teaches us nothing about his background other than that he was called “Didymus” which means twin.

• At points Gentiles come seeking Jesus, even from the Decapolis. The Gentiles that come here seeking to understand the Passover, is not recorded in Scripture. This scene is helpful because there was a need to change money from foreign to Jewish, however that was only for the temple tax. Sacrifices would likely have been able to be purchased with foreign currency.

• While James and John are recorded to be the son of Zebedee, at no point does Zebedee appear as a character in the Scriptures.

• Caiaphas conversation with Herod Antipater is fictitious.

• There is no record of anything being set fire in the temple when Jesus turned over tables and drove out money changers.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• The need to change foreign currency for Hebrew currency is accurate, but only for the temple tax. While the exact exchange rates aren’t recorded in Scripture, the money changers were taking advantage of foreigners who came for the Passover.

• The use of incense to cover up the stench of blood is helpful. What must be understood here is the seriousness of death.

• Gentiles were limited to the court of Gentiles. They would not have been allowed to enter the temple proper. Inside that would have been been the court of women. Only Jewish men could have gone into the inner portions of the temple.

• Though  we have no record of John being ceremonially unclean in the gospels, that scene does show accurately some of the things that would make someone unclean.

• Malchus telling John that Caiaphas was worried about a certain rabbi is not found in Scripture.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• This goes back to last season, and the death of Ramah, but there is so much of the storyline connected to that character. The character Ramah is completely fictional, and I believe in some ways problematic. There is record of Jesus leaving areas that rejected him, but there is no record of Jesus refusing to heal anyone who asked him for healing. To have an entirely fictional character carry so much emotional weight in this series isn’t helpful. To have her death be such a cliffhanger in season 4 feels like spiritual manipulation to me. When the extra-biblical elements outweigh the true events, there is danger in focusing on the wrong things.

Anachronisms and errors- Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• It seem highly unlikely that Peter would need someone to coach him in preaching. Both in the gospels and in Acts, Peter seems to be the spokesman of the disciples. In the Gospels, he is curious and constantly asking questions. He certainly didn’t seem to understand things before the resurrection, but he appears to be an able communicator from the start.

• Somewhere in this episode was the statement that trials were forbidden during passover. I don’t think there is any biblical precedence for that. This may be drawn on historical tradition, but I don’t know. The Mishnah forbids capital trials at night, but it is unknown as to whether or not this rule existed at the time of Jesus death.

Where did Jesus say, no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends??

Trial cannot be held during Passover???? Trails could not be held at night, but I am unsure about a law saying that they couldn’t be held during Passover.

Plot to kill Lazarus????

Did Jesus call the Pharisees a brood of vipers in this exchange?

The Chosen Episode Guide: Season 5, Episode 1

S5, E1

Even thought I’m just starting to blog my way through this series, I want to include the most recent episodes for Season 5, which is in theaters now. Here is episode 1.

Biblical- What We Find in Scripture

• Jesus instruction to his disciples at the last supper in the upper room is a pretty good summary of John’s record of these events. I’m not saying that all of Jesus words in this episode were taken directly from Scripture, but it is a close representation. For the Chosen, it seems like much of the upper room discourse is taken from John’s Gospel, which is by far the most detailed account of the last supper and the upper room discourse. (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-17)

• Waving palm branches would have been a celebration for a conquering king, laying down their cloaks in the road would have been an act of submission to a king.

• The religious leaders did send spies to watch what Jesus was doing. (Luke 20:20)

Unbiblical- What Contradicts Scripture

• Jesus prayer while the disciples are singing is actually a portion of his prayer in the garden after the last supper. His words here are a very small part of that prayer, but he prayed them from the Garden of Gethsemane, not the upper room. Jesus did talk about glory in the upper room in John 13, but not as a prayer. While the prayer is actually a small portion of Jesus’ prayer in John 17, I’m putting it in this category because it happened in the garden of Gethsemane and not in the upper room.

• Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and announcement of its destruction happened when he was entering Jerusalem with the disciples, not when he was wandering the city by night. There is no record of Jesus wandering about the city at night during passion week. (Luke 19:41-44)

• As Jesus was teaching in the temple there was lightning that some people thought may have been a voice from heaven. The Bible explicitly teaches that there was a voice that came from heaven, and that some people thought it was thunder. This is exactly the opposite of the way it is depicted in the Chosen. (John 12:28-29)

Extra-biblical: What Is Made Up but Doesn’t Contradict Scripture

• The request of Jesus to Andrew to have him lead a song during the last supper. They may well have sung but we have no record of that.

• The request of some of the Pharisees that Jesus turn around and not come into Jerusalem for the triumphal entry is not found in Scripture.

• The disciples conversation about bing fishers of men in the temple and the taking of the women to the court of women. Neither of these are recorded in Scripture.

• Pilate’s conversation with Caiaphas and others the praetorian.

• While shellfish and pork are not kosher, there is no indication in Scripture that Pilate ate these things to offend.

• There is no indication that Pilate cared for the high priests robes.

• Lightning in the temple as an indication that there would be rain.

• Mary Magdalene’s conversation with John about their concern for Jesus and his teaching.

• The command of Jesus for the disciples to go out and teach during passion week isn’t found in Scripture. It is also unlikely to be true as Jesus seems to be focused primarily on preparing his disciples for his departure. There are quite a few conversations between the disciples, some including the women who followed, about what Jesus was doing and talking about. While there may have been curiosity, we are not given any indication of these conversations in Scripture.

• The “family” of people coming into Jerusalem chanting about fire and sulfur is a not found in scripture. Also their conversation about the death of John the Baptist.

• Jesus’ wandering the streets of Jerusalem and coming upon a wedding celebration. It is called a betrothal in the episode, the Jews would have thought of is as a Wedding. The whole scene, including his recognition as the Messiah and his blessing of the couple, is fictional.

• Jesus requests one of the disciples to take someone back to Bethany. I did not catch the name of this person, and watching this in the theater means I cannot rewind, but this appeared to be something that was added.

• No where in the Bible are we told that Joanna provided a house for Jesus during the final week of his life. We are told in Luke 8:3 that Joanna, the wife of Chuza, provided for Jesus and the disciples, so that much is true. I have decided to put this in the this category because it is speculative that she provided any kind of lodging that week. We do know that she was one of the people who was in the garden to find the tomb empty, so she was likely still around and likely still helping to provide, we just don’t know what she provided, if anything, that week.

Helpful: What We Might Be Helpful To the Watcher

• Jesus entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey was a presentation of himself as the messiah.

• While the Bible doesn’t tell us that Jesus stopped to consider what was happening as he entered the temple, it is likely that the reality of his impending death weighed heavily on him. We are shown that it did weigh on him by his sweating blood in the Garden on Thursday night of passion week after the last supper.

• The impressive nature of Herod’s temple is captured here. I don’t know if it is to scale, it seems a little large to me, having been there, but I am unsure.

• Pilate’s concern for a rebellion is historically accurate, though not recorded in Scripture. He was assigned to govern that area likely as a punishment for other insurrections that happened under his authority.

• While not drawn directly from quotes of Scripture, the disciples did fail to understand that Jesus had been predicting his death.

• The vast majority of people, including the Pharisees, didn’t have a problem with Jesus stating that he was the Messiah. It is his claim to be God that upset the religious rulers so much. In this episode, many of the people in Jerusalem are shown as being favorable to Jesus as the Messiah early on in the week. This is clearly accurate from the biblical accounts. I did not put this in the biblical category because most of the scenes where Jesus is being accepted by the people are fictional, which lands them in the helpful category but not the biblical category.

• Jesus must have had concern for the money changers and merchants in the temple before he turned over the tables because he must have fashioned the whip ahead of time.

Dangerous: Things That Have Been Added That Might Be Dangerous to Accept as Fact

• Nothing

Anachronisms and errors- Things that are out of place regarding the time, etc.

• Jesus and the disciples are sitting on chairs in the upper room. The table would have been closer to the floor, the disciples lying on their sides. This is why John tells us that he was lying on Jesus breast in the upper room. (John 13:23-25)

• The crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem that day would have likely been much larger than represented in this episode.

• The donkey that Jesus is riding in on does not appear to be a foal that would have been with its mother upon which nobody has sat on. This donkey appears to be older. (Matthew 21:1-5)

• This might seem silly, but the tall snow peaked mountains in the background are not part of the geography of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is situated atop Mt. Moriah with the Mount of olives to the East and Mt. Zion to the South. You have to go much further North to find that king of mountain.