Imperfect, but helpful?

The Chosen is an American TV and film series on the Life of Christ, which from uncertain beginnings has become a global success.

It has millions of viewers and has been dubbed or subtitled in scores of languages. With a model of crowd-funding it has raised the vast sums needed for a series which aims to complete seven seasons of eight episodes each, 56 episodes in total. Currently it has done three seasons, 24 episodes, and is available on Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and the Angel Studio and Chosen apps – it’s free on the apps. The director is Dallas Jenkins, a conservative evangelical, 46 and married with four children, whose father Jerry Jenkins was the author of the Left Behind books. So why, when most Christian film series are cheesy or preachy or both, has this been a terrific hit.

Realism and backstories

The answer is partly in the title, The Chosen. Of course this refers to Jesus, but also to his chosen disciples as we see much of Christ’s life and ministry through their eyes. They are mostly pretty ordinary guys from Galilee who live in the hot and dusty reality of first-century Palestine, where earning a living by fishing or farming is hard, cripples and lepers are commonplace and the Roman occupation never lets up.

This is the mundane context depicted and it’s one where Jesus is never three feet off the ground but is a real person in a real place – it’s called the incarnation – and so are his less-than-perfect disciples, who have families, money concerns, and sometimes a past to deal with – a bit like us. And the success of the series is in the way it enhances the plausibility and therefore the credibility of the gospel accounts.

To help this, it makes use of backstories to fill in the accounts and give us a very believable picture of the disciples, how they are first drawn to Jesus, and then transformed by what they see and hear. Just one example: Peter has come back from the first mission that the disciples have gone on alone. He is tired, hungry and properly keen to get his hands on his attractive wife, who he hasn’t seen for a while. But, many a slip between cup and lip, there is a hammering on the door and all the other disciples pour in and you can see poor Peter thinking, gosh, not now guys. It’s not overdone, just there and we feel for him, despite the fact that we soon realise he’s failed to find out how his wife really is – she’s mourning a miscarriage. Peter is on a learning curve.

Now this wouldn’t work if the series didn’t also have first-rate production values, excellent writers, actors and cameramen, as well as accurate sets and costumes and expert academic advice from, among others, Dr Doug Huffman, NT scholar from respected Biola University. It couldn’t be more professional; it also benefits from the support of thousands of volunteers who, inspired by the series, came to be extras. The feeding of the 5,000 had a vast crowd from 30 countries sweltering in the heat of a Texan summer. The actors look and sound Middle Eastern. Shakar Isaac, who plays Peter, is Jewish. Jonathan Roumie, whose father is from Egypt, plays the part of Jesus with an appropriate authority and gentleness and is seen to laugh, get tired and play with children, as well as perform heart-stopping miracles as only the Son of God could. It’s a remarkable performance.

A third reason for the success of the series is the focus on the question, who is Jesus and what difference does that make? Mary Magdalene is a good example. Pub slut and drunk, with mental health problems / demons, she says: ‘I was one way and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him.’

Criticisms

Of course, there are critics. Some don’t like the backstories, despite the disclaimers acknowledging the use of artistic licence while committed to the truth and intention of Scripture, as well as encouragement to read the Gospels for yourself. Some are worried that Angel Studios, doing the fundraising and marketing, are Mormon – despite the fact that Dallas Jenkins, an evangelical, has complete control of the production and is entirely orthodox. Some don’t like Jonathan Roumie being a pious Catholic, not a bad qualification for an actor – some think Shakespeare was. I’m encouraged that the Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today and, over here, Premier Christianity all give the series high praise. It’s not perfect but, rather like going to the Holy Land and being in Jerusalem and on the shore of the Sea of Galilee and actually being where Jesus was, The Chosen is a real resource for understanding and believing the gospel accounts. Try it.