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.