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.