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Is The Chosen TV series okay for Christians to watch?

by | Feb 7, 2023 | Book and Movie Reviews

There are those who criticize the TV series The Chosen and those who think it’s great. Is it okay for Christians to watch it? In my opinion, the answer is yes. I believe it is better to have Jesus and His message presented on TV in a favorable light than not. The series isn’t perfect. No series that would portray Christ and His disciples could ever be perfect. Up to the time writing this article (2/7/2023), my wife and I have enjoyed it and look forward to each new episode. However, there are some concerns, which I will get to below.The Chosen Series

As a Christian apologist, I have watched the series through critical eyes – but not too critical. So far, I’ve not seen any blatant heresy. Of course, I’ve read critics who have found things they do not like about how some things are worded and presented. The series takes a lot of creative liberty in dialogue and situations. But that’s necessary when a series is as long as this one. The sets are fantastic. The acting is superb. And, as far as I can tell, it seeks to be faithful to Scripture. I did occasionally notice a compression of events and some rather loose wording of events. Nevertheless, I found myself enjoying the show.

Portrayal of Jesus

The series portrays Jesus as very personable and even has a sense of humor – something not found in Scripture. But I’m sure that since He was, and still is, a man (see Hypostatic Union), he would’ve laughed. One person I spoke to about the series said that the portrayal of Christ did not focus on His deity. He’s correct, to a point. In the early episodes, Jesus is presented as a man who gets tired, has to deal with peoples’ failures, eats, sleeps, etc. But in the last few episodes of season three, I’ve seen how the deity of Christ is promoted. So, that’s good.

Matthew

The Chosen, MatthewOne of the things I found most interesting was the portrayal of Matthew being autistic or having some deficiency in social relationships. I’m no psychologist, but if I had to guess, I’d say he has Aspergers. This is of particular interest to me since I was diagnosed with Aspergers in my 50s. So, seeing Matthew portrayed that way (and especially since my name is also Matthew) drew my interest. I like it. But, of course, this doesn’t mean that Matthew really was autistic. But the creative license is, in my opinion, refreshing. And I think that it can give a lot of hope to people with various ‘challenges’ who would see such a man portrayed in a favorable light. It shows that God can use broken people.

Other Characters

One of the things I appreciate a lot in the series is the portrayal of women. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is not venerated as someone to worship and pray to, as the Catholics teach. In fact, she had birth pains – something the Catholics deny. She is a good woman, and Jesus confides in her. I could see how some may object to the idea that Jesus, who is God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14), would confide in anyone. But, He truly was a man, and as a man, I see no reason that He would not speak to His mother and confide in her. It would be a human thing to do, and I don’t think it diminishes His deity.

The Chosen, Mary MagdeleneThen there’s Mary, the prostitute. She is delivered from demonic possession and healed spiritually and physically.  To see how Jesus interacts with such a “sinner” where He shows compassion, patience, and love was wonderful to see.

Likewise, the disciples are less-than-perfect. Sometimes they bicker, argue, and get in the way of each other. They have differences in personalities and reasoning. Yet Jesus works patiently with them as He guides them. I was glad to see that, too.

There is an Ethiopian woman, Tamar, who is black. She is intelligent and devoted to Jesus, who gives good counsel to Mary Magdalene.

Interestingly, Joseph is presented as a black man. At first, I was caught off guard by that. Though I do not believe that accurately represents Joseph’s ethnicity, I was okay with it. He is a good and godly man who truly cared for Mary, protects her, and does the best he can to provide for his family. He was presented as a good father to Jesus. So, that’s good.

Better to speak of Jesus than not

Our world is becoming hostile to Christianity. In America and in many Western countries, Christianity is being pushed to the side and denounced as being bigoted, homophobic, transphobic, intolerant, antiquated, and more. People use God’s name in vain in the most disrespectful and sinful ways, both in real life, on TV and in movies. The disrespect for Christ and his followers is on the rise. But, The Chosen TV series, being so well done, is a light in the increasing darkness.

Though there will be people who can find issues to complain about in the series, I believe it’s better to speak of Christ and have Him promoted than not.  Please consider the scriptures that affirm this.

  • Luke 9:49–50, “John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.’ 50 But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.’
  • Philippians 1:15–18, “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

From the above Scripture, we can see that proclaiming who Christ is, is a good thing. People can do it with wrong motives or good ones. But as Paul says in Philippians 1:18, “whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this, I rejoice.” So, I rejoice that Jesus is being proclaimed in the TV series, The Chosen.”

One of the things I find interesting is that this series offers testimonies from people whose lives have been changed by watching it. Of course, we can’t judge whether all the testimonies are good or bad. But, overall, they have spoken of being changed, finding forgiveness, and trusting who Jesus is more than they used to. There have been conversion stories and rededication stories. In this, I rejoice – in so far as I assume their legitimacy.

Concerns regarding The Chosen

The actor who plays Jesus is Jonathan Roumie. He is a practicing Roman Catholic. I’m saddened by that fact, given that Roman Catholicism preaches heresy regarding salvation and idolatry. As bad as Catholicism is, The Chosen is not invalidated by Jonathan Roumie’s Catholicism. We can pray for his salvation, and hopefully, maybe his work playing the Messiah will lead him to the true gospel. But, we ought not to throw the baby out with the bathwater and reject the chosen because Jonathan is a Roman Catholic.

The Chosen and the LDS/Mormon connection

The Chosen is distributed by partner Angel Studios, a streaming video company that was co-founded by brothers Neal and Jeffrey Harmon, who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is a concern. In fact, Dallas Jenkins, the creator and director of the series, has not come out and said that official Mormon theology is not Christian. He says he is an evangelical and holds to the authority of Scripture. Perhaps he knows of the false doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – the official name of the Mormon church. But, perhaps this is because he is laying low so that he can use the magnificent set that is based on the time of Christ – which is owned by the Mormon church. You can watch what Jenkins says about the LDS issue on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZrZ4meAoOk.

The controversy of “I am the Law.” The concern is with one of the statements presented by Jesus in season 3, where Jesus says, “I am the Law.” Is it a quote from 3 Nephi 15:9 in the Book of Mormon? Or is it a summation of Jesus’ relationship to the law where He said He came to fulfill the law (Matt. 5:17) and that the Law pointed to Him (Luke 24:44)? To clear the controversy, “Dallas Jenkins, creator, director and executive producer of “The Chosen” denied claims that he used a line from Latter-day Saint scripture in the show’s upcoming Season 3.”1

The greatest concern I have about The Chosen thus far is that people might think that the Mormon connection is an approval of Mormonism. Since Mormonism teaches that God came from another planet, has a goddess wife, and that we can become gods, it should be obvious that such a connection is potentially dangerous. But then again, should we say that no one should watch it because of the connection? At this point, I believe it is up to each individual.

Conclusion

The chosen series presents Jesus in a fallen world. Though it takes a lot of literary license, its portrayal of Christ is biblically sound – as of 2/7/2023. But as with any portrayal of Christ in the media, we must always examine what it presents with Bible to ensure that it does not contradict God’s word. After all, the Scriptures are our final authority. Hopefully, it won’t devolve into the approval of Catholicism or Mormonism. Until that happens (if it does at all), I believe it is okay to watch The Chosen.

Philippians 1:15–18, “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

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