Teenager's Review of The Chosen, the TV Series
As believers, it is necessary that we take
time every day to dial back and focus on
what’s essential. How do you connect with God on
a daily basis? There are lots of great, biblically
grounded resources out there from music to
podcasts to devotionals, but hardly any TV shows.
According to an American time use survey
done by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
95% of those aged 15 and over spend an average
of 2.8 hours a day watching television,
but the majority of the time, what
we’re watching is not drawing us
closer to Christ. We’re attracted by the
culture’s ability to tell stories well
and, in part, we’re convinced by the
underlying themes they’re trying to promote.
We need a high-quality,
biblically grounded TV show.
According to Statista, in 2019 there were 532
original scripted television series in the United
States but not one multi-season recreation of the
Gospel. Part of this is because of what Hollywood
does or does not let through their doors, and what
they do let through is often not the best for us.
Clinical assistance professor Jessica Kruger and
her colleagues found that people who watch TV
have more stress, anxiety, and depression. In a
way, this is not surprising. Take the phrase “You
are what
true. Your cells are replaced about every seven
years, and your food is what those new cells
are made from. Therefore, you are what you eat.
In a similar way, you are what you watch and if
what you’re watching is not drawing you closer
to Christ, you will not be edified. But, to put
it plainly, Christian cinematic content is just
not as good as our culture’s. Many Jesus projects
come across as stiff, formal, or cheesy. Most of
us would sooner reach for a Marvel or Disney
movie rather than one produced by Christians.
As believers embodying the creativity of God,
we should be the most creative artists
on the planet, but oftentimes, we aren’t.
We need something new, and a new thing is
what has come about in the world today.
You should support The Chosen.
The Chosen is a high-quality,
biblically-grounded TV show and the first-ever
multi-season show about the life of Christ. The
first season was released in 2019 and scored
100% on Rotten Tomatoes and 9.6/10 on IMDb.
The series shows the humanity behind
the Bible stories we know so well.
For example: because we’re (1) made in
the image of God, (2) Jesus became 100%
human, and (3) we have a sense of humor,
Jesus must have had a sense of humor.
While we don’t see this in the gospels, The
Chosen portrays Jesus with a sense of humor,
giving Him a personality we can relate
to without diminishing His deity.
The Chosen also shows Jesus dressing
wounds he undoubtedly received from
his carpentry work and develops
the broken backstories of those
He called to follow Him. Co-writer and
director Dallas Jenkins envisions that,
if we can see Jesus through the eyes of those
who met Him, then we can see Him as we should.
For those of us who know the
gospel stories like the back of our
hands, The Chosen still moves you to
the edge of your seat in excitement
because of the key factors that are not
blatantly stated. While watching season one,
my detective cap came on as I tried to
put together details I was catching on to.
Rouge in the wilderness? That must be a reference
to John the Baptist! Did he just call him Matthew?
That must be Matthew the tax collector!
This centurion’s been appearing a lot.
He must be the centurion at the cross who
came to recognize Jesus as the Son of God!
The Chosen takes us back to a time when no
one knew Bible stories that are so familiar
to us today. When Jesus joins Mary
Magdalene’s Shabbat dinner she says,
“I’m sorry, I don’t actually know your
name.” To Jesus. She said that to Jesus,
which makes perfect sense. Before Jesus
began His ministry, no one knew who He was.
It’s hard to comprehend a time when the people
of the Bible would not have been recognized,
yet The Chosen allows us to see that
world. You won’t find most of the show’s
details in your Bible but, because of how
closely acquainted the cast and crew are
with Jewish traditions and what we know about
the lives and characteristics of the disciples,
we’re able to see backstories that very well
could be right in line with the real ones.
For example, we know that Jesus
healed Simon Peter’s mother-in-law,
so Simon must have had a wife, right?
Not many people skip getting a wife and
just ask for a mother-in-law. While Mrs.
Simon-Peter is not present in Scripture,
The Chosen develops her as one of
the primary characters and we get
to see the greatest story ever told from the
perspective of someone closely related to it.
All of this is possible because The Chosen is
being created outside of the Hollywood world
and has become the #1 highest
crowd-funded project in history
with more than $10 million
from over 19,000 people.
The Chosen is also a new
thing because coming behind
it is easier than any other project before it.
First of all, they have an app—the first TV
series to ever have an app—from which you
can watch the entire show for free or directly
connect to various streaming services to watch
on your TV. You don’t even need to subscribe!
Just search “The Chosen” where you get apps
and download it to your phone like 7 million
others have done, making this app one of the
top 50 most downloaded apps in the world.
Second, word of mouth is the best form of
publicity, so you can tell your
friends, have binge parties,
and download free promotional material from
the app to share on your social media accounts.
In the app, there’s a “Pay It Forward”
and gift shop section where you can
directly fund the projected eight seasons.
The Chosen begins with how the disciples’
lives were before they met Jesus and hopes to take
it through Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
There are many benefits of supporting
The Chosen including but not limited to
(1) free access to a high-quality,
Christian show with rich plot,
(2) a means of sharing the gospel
and what it means to follow Christ,
and (3) inspiration to read the gospels.
The first thing I wanted to do after watching
The Chosen was read through the gospels, but
this time was different because I could see the
accounts before me in full color. After watching
The Chosen, I’m no longer skipping over the names
of the disciples because I can see each one of
them before me. I can see their personality,
their characteristics, what they love, what makes
them laugh, what ticks them off, what causes them
to grieve, the admiration they had for Jesus, and
the brokenness that humbled each to follow Him.
The crew behind The Chosen began with the goal
to get their show in every country in the world
with a total of one billion views. Currently,
The Chosen is in every country in the world
and—the last I checked—with over 86 million views.
This show that delivers the heart of the Gospel
is reaching much farther around the globe than one
individual could. By supporting The Chosen, Bible
characters that are glossed can be fully developed
and the life of Christ can be fully recreated
in this form that appeals even to teenagers.
On an individual, national, and global level,
we desperately need Jesus. The Chosen’s creative
endeavors are bringing the Bible to life in a
way that is capturing attention like never before
and will continue to do so if they are properly
financed. You can be a part of this greater cause
by watching the show, spreading the word
about it, and financially supporting it.
Christian pastor and author John Wimber once
said, “Show me where you spend your time,
money, and energy and I’ll tell you what
you worship.” How you spend your time
plus how you spend your money equals what you
worship. How are you spending your resources?
How can you focus on what’s essential
by connecting with God on a daily basis?
I’ve found one way, and it’s taking the
Gospel to every country in the world.
