The Chosen (2017-2025)

I started seeing this series in 2023 I think. It was recommended to me by @samsmith1971 but then I lost track and stopped following. This year though, I think it blew up and got the due attention it deserved and I began to see clips and snippets of the series. Or maybe it’s just cause I changed my Facebook algorithm — best decision ever!

Anyway, I started seeing it all over again and boy, am I glad I am. I’m currently in Season 5 and I couldn’t bring myself to watch it until I have written about it.

Source - Screenshot

The Chosen follows the life of Jesus Christ through the eyes of His disciples. It is not focused on just Him alone but everyone associated with Him. Through the stories told by His disciples, we get to see who He really was and how much He really suffered. A lot was explained from their perspective.

The reason I love this series so much is that it breaks the mindless box of who Jesus is. Many biblical movies I have seen on Jesus Christ present Him as solemn, “overly” holy, in a spiritually sensitive mood all the time. Everything was strictly from the Bible which isn’t a bad thing but there was little room for explanation or imagination.

I loved The Passion of the Christ. It was the most real thing I have had to watch in Primary school but then, it was solely focused on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. That was the main aim of the movie. They explained in detail what happened to Jesus after He faced Pontius Pilate and Herod. It was bloody, cruel and heartbreaking what was done to one man. Many biblical films never went into that detail.

Now, on the life of Christ, we see so much more with this one. The characters were brought to life like never before thanks to amazing actors. We see intricate storytelling and imagination brought to life. So many things delicately woven together from the Bible to create the amazing series we see today.

It’s not all Biblically accurate but that depends on how you spell biblically accurate. I didn’t detect anything maliciously wrong or what we would term “blasphemy”. It was all creative, told from a biblical perspective and deployed using imagination (one of God’s greatest gifts to man).

I love the details thoughtfully put into this work. From the first sermon on the Mount to the depiction of the humanity of Jesus — which slowly snowballed into events that would eventually lead to His death. We see it in the Bible that He was human as much as He was God but then because of the limit of human imagination and the lack of understanding when it comes to the things of the Spirit, He has been kept inside a box to fit human description. Which is totally wrong. This series breaks that stereotype in so many ways and that is why I love it so much. Jesus Christ is not a martyr.

Source - Screenshot

Currently in five seasons with eight episodes each — each episode a duration of 52min - 1hr 30mins depending on the weight of the story told in that moment.

In this series, we see what the Bible tells us but humans have failed to see. Jesus wasn’t always frowning, or solemn, He was in a constant state of joy. He was always laughing, playful and He had the weirdest kind of humour. I’ve seen it while reading the Bible. Jesus got angry too. We see that with His interaction with the Pharisees. Jesus got tired too (and not in that biblical fashion where He slept during the storm) because He was human and we see that in this series – that is if we failed to see it from the Bible. Jesus ate as well, He partied with His followers (not the vain kind of partying) and He had fun. He always liked to have fun. This doesn’t mean He forgot His purpose which is the essence of Christianity — The Will of the Father.

This series is a solid 10/10 for me. It is not a “Christian” movie as many would title it. It is a movie for everyone especially those who have so little knowledge about Christ but yet have the most to say about the Christian faith.

One scenario that stuck with me was the part where the Roman soldiers forced them to carry their luggage a mile (which was legal when the Jews were colonized by the Romans) and Jesus went with them three miles, practicing what He preached. His kindness and compassion was so palpable at that moment right in the midst of humiliation and disgrace – He chose to still do good. Nothing can beat that.

This series calls for a whole new evaluation for every single Christian. I knew that Jesus never condemned or judged anyone (it’s right there in the Bible) but watching it was another experience. This should restart the mindset of many Christians in the world today — myself included. Passing judgement and wearing the crown of accusation isn’t who we are.