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.