In Mark chapter 5 we find Jesus talking to demons possessing a man.  Certainly no simular story is told in the Old Testament.  However, that was probably the inspiration for Mary's demons talking to Nicodemus in Episode 1 of Season 1.  This is what I think (and, of course, I could be wrong).  Demon possession in Biblical times is what we call addiction today.  Mary had seven demons which equates to seven addictions.  Seven in the Bible is a symbolic number meaning fullness or complete.  The demons in the demonic said they were legions.  Again this doesn't mean literally 5,800 demons like a Roman Legion but can be understood as fullness or completely filled with demons.  I do believe the demons were real.  I believe demons are fallen angels.  I believe demons are at the root of addiction.  I myself am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict so I know a little bit about that.  However, I believe the only time demons actually spoke were when they came face to face with the Son of God.  What I am suggesting is a theory and might be off the beaten track.

If you have been an addict or lived with an addict you know that often times an addict fails to see something as wrong just before they do it.  Afterwards they are filled with regret.  That is, when they come to their senses.  Some Christians will condemn the alcoholic for repeatedly doing the same thing over and over.  It is as if he or she doesn't ever learn,  Or, as if they are possessed.  They do the same thing over and over, always expecting a different result.  12-step recovery groups have been shown to have the most successful treating addicts and they claim the only hope for recovery is a spiritual experience.  Addicts have no human defense against their addiction.  Their solution must come from God.

In Matthew 12:43-45 we find the parable of the empty house.  An evil spirit comes out of a person and roams around.  When it returns it finds an empty house.  So, it moves back in and brings seven of its friends.  Again, seven is a symbolic number.  I have seen this parable played out in recovery groups dozens of times.  An addict comes into a recovery group.  His or her demon leaves him or her.  They are clean and sober.  Life starts getting good.  They get a job. Perhaps the family situation becomes warm.  They accumulate a few months of sobriety - maybe a few years.  But they don't find God.  All they are doing is immersing themselves in the recovery fellowship.  The drunken horse thief becomes a sober horse thief.  What happens next is predictable.  It is one of two things. Either they relapse into their old addiction or they find a new addiction.  The evil spirit comes back and finds a clean house and moves in with his friends.  This parable, to me, sounds like the pattern of addiction I have seen played out over and over again.  Many recovering drug addicts switch addictions to become sex addicts, compulsive gamblers, shopping addicts or workaholics.  It is predictable.  Those that do not find God do not recover.  The evil spirit comes back.

In Season 2, we see Mary relapse but that is a topic for another thread.

In the previous episode, Jesus rose Lazarus from the dead. Judas sees this as an opportunity for Jesus to unite the Jews and drive out the oppressors. In a discussion at a dinner meeting, Pilate and king Herod discuss that possibility. No one seems to really understand what Jesus is doing or intends to do except for Mother Mary.

The purpose for raising Lazarus from the dead was not to unite the Jews or to be a launching event for an earthly kingdom. Jesus was unalarmed when Shmuel showed up at the house of Lazarus and announced that leaders in Jerusalem held daggers for Him. It didn't make sense to anyone when Jesus commented that the ointment Mary of Bethany poured on His feet was to prepare His body for buriel. Well, Mother Mary and perhaps Mary Magdalene understood. 

Our salvation was not secured by some glorious grand event like some mystical god defeating an evil monster in a fight to the death. Our salvation was made possible by our Creator giving His life in such a way that it left the closest to Him disillusioned. We know at the end there was Mary Magdalene, Mother Mary, Mary the wife of Clopas and John at the foot of the cross. That is not how the super heroes in the comics save the day. It is how our humble Savior took our sin and our shame.

Intriguing thought: 1) The way Jesus behaves during Holy Week, His trial and crucifixion isn't how masculine heroes in Hollywood act on film. Jesus doesn't act like John Wayne or Dwayne Johnson. However when we read the gospels carefully, we see Jesus as the perfect model of masculinity and gentleman chivalry. I think The Chosen does an excellent job capturing that. A scene that came through in this episode was at the dinner in Lazarus' home when Jesus is told that there are leaders in Jerusalem waiting with daggers.   

Intriguing thought: 2) The writers of The Chosen are casing Mary Magdalene as one of the few followers that "get" it. She is listening and understanding. Why is it plausible that she understood that Jesus was going to die while the others did not? She was at the cross. John was the only one of the twelve that was there too. Perhaps the reason it is so plausible that Mary Magdalene understood was revealed in an earlier season at the campfire scene. She followed Jesus with no expectations. She had never been taught what to expect from the Messiah. The minds of the others had been filled with bad theology so they were looking for a military leader and not a suffering Servant. Often times our bias prevent us from learning something new.

Death is also presented as a metaphor in this episode. Calling Lazarus back to life was literally calling him out of darkness. Lazarus was dead inside a dark tomb. Jesus showed up, commanded the stone be rolled away, and called Lazarus back to life and into the light. Metaphorically, this is what Jesus was doing throughout His entire ministry. He cast demons out of Mary Magdalena and call her to serve Him. He called Matthew away from serving Rome as a tax collector. He called Simon out of the zealots. He called each to leave their sin and surrender to Him. He lit the way.

Sometimes the death of Christ causes us to overlook His life. Jesus was not only a Man of sorrows on the villa de la rosa. He was not only born into a poor family, he was born at a time when Israel was oppressed by Rome. The Messiah could have come during the glory days of King David when Israel was at the peak of its power. He came during a dark time for Israel. Then He fled to Egypt. Israel was so dark that its king committed genocide in an effort to kill Jesus. When Jesus returned from Egypt, the family went to Nazareth - not the most comfortable village in the territory. His hard life is a light shining for us to follow. Jesus not only calls us out of darkness, He leads the way. At the end of His life came death - and so it will with us (unless His return is very soon). But Jesus rose again - and so will we. The path out of darkness goes through the grave and we are called to walk it with Jesus.  

The non-religious world celebrates the day with chocolate bunnies and colored eggs. Families gather together, drink beer and eat ham. Devote Christians go to church, listen to a sermon and sing hymns. But very few of them focus on the suffering of Christ that started in the garden. The writers of The Chosen tried to capture some of that in this episode but as much as they did, it is only a small glimpse of what He really went through to save each of us - to save me. I think of the horrible fear Jews must have felt as they were hunted by Nazis and put to death in concentration camps. I cannot imagine the fear a kidnapped child feels as they are tortured to death by a serial killer. Yet nothing that has ever happened to one of us is worse than what He went through for us. I believe the worst part was in the garden. It is there that Ellen White says His face was so disfigured He was not recognizable. He gained His composure before the arrest happened.

I was touched by the vision in the valley of dry bones with Ezekiel. I was also touched with the vision of Joseph. I think the writers of The Chosen have done a good job at other times of bringing Joseph into the story. He is normally overshadowed by Mary. Joseph was a step-dad. For much of the world's history, men became step-dad when they married widows with young children. It is believed that step-children were normally not valued as much as biological children. When God chose Mary, He chose Joseph too. Step-dads are called to a ministry, called to a duty, called to a responsibility. The advancement of medical science and job safety has greatly diminished the number of widows in society today. However the rise of divorce has resulted in as many step-families as what has been throughout history. I am a step-dad myself and am blessed by my step-son. Joseph comforts the suffering Jesus in the vision in this episode. That drew tears to my eyes. Ezekiel embracing Jesus and reassuring Him also brought a tear to my eye.

Do we realize the sacrifice that happened in the garden? It is rarely the focus of art. The physical sacrifice happened on the cross. The emotional pain and turmoil happened in the garden. I am going to paste the words here for a hymn that Johnny Cash made famous. What should have been the first verse was never written: Were you there in the garden with His pain? Were you there when He surrendered His will? Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when He surrendered His will?

 1. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

2. Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

3. Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

4. Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?

5. Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?

6. Were you there when he rose up from the dead?
Were you there when he rose up from the dead?
Sometimes I feel like shouting 'Glory, glory, glory!'
Were you there when he rose up from the dead?

When I was young, the question those a few more years older than me could answer was where were they when they heard that President Kennedy had been shot. It seems like a snapshot of the moment was taken in the life of every American at the time. In my generation, the question is where were you when you heard a plane had flown into the World Trade Center. In this episode, the moment they first heard of Jesus, or first met Him, is that snapshot they reflect upon.

Where were you? Ellen White makes a comment in Steps To Christ that not everyone can pinpoint the time and place when they first converted. However, I think most of us can remember the era. What was going on in our lives? For me it was a combination of serving in the Army National Guard and going to college. I recently published a book about it. I had made a mess of my life. I was in way over my head and didn't realize it. There are a handful of moments that made a big impact on my faith development. One of them was a sermon I heard at a Campus Crusade for Christ meeting. The sermon was about eternal torment in hell. It didn't sit right with me. I was raised in a back-slidden Adventist home and had not attended church since I was 14. The sermon led to me reaching out to the local Adventist pastor and afterward calling him often on the phone.

Most of the disciples' narratives in The Chosen are made up by the writers. Adventists that have read The Desire of Ages and Act of the Apostles, have a much better idea of where the disciples were spiritually when they met Jesus. That is a legitimate story. It deserves our reflection. Jesus took a lot of misfits and turned them into leaders that founded His church. Peter, James and John were His closest disciples and they all had anger issues. Jesus changes us and He is patient. He doesn't give up easy either.

It seems the best Christians are often the ones with the roughest backgrounds. There are a few believers that are raised in good Christian homes, educated in Adventist schools, smoothly transition into the workplace after college and have no history of trauma or besetting vice. From what I understand, those types of believers tend to me more lukewarm than on fire. Those that came from broken homes, addicts, ex-convicts or that left the church all together are the Adventists that often times are the most dedicated, warm and generous. 

Where were you when Jesus found you?

Nicodemus is first shocked to hear John the Baptist was executed. He is also surprised to hear that Jesus had gained such a large following. He sends a servant to bring Mary Magdalene to his home. He questioned her and also expressed concern that Jesus was making enemies and putting Himself in danger. In his study, Nicodemus had notes tacked onto a wall like one would see in a criminal detective movie where clues are pasted and linked together. At the end of the episode, Nicodemus is interrupted by Yosef. Yosef details the plans of the high priest Caiaphas. Nicodemus comments how Caiaphas doesn't have the authority to do as Yosef suggests is happening.

It seems the writers of The Chosen are revealing the injustice of Christ's crucifixion. This has been a topic among Christians for centuries.

1. Jesus was arrested illegally. Jesus was arrested by the temple guard which did not have authority outside of the temple. The chief priests and elders were involved in His arrest which would later become the judges of His case. There was no charges presented when He was arrested. There was no warrant for his arrest.

2. Jesus' trial by the high priest was at night. The law only allowed such proceeding to happen during the day.

3. The trial of Jesus was held on the day before a Jewish holiday. Jewish law did not allow for this. The day before a holiday was like the preparation day before the Sabbath. It was to be dedicated toward preparation. Trials that involve a conviction were required by law to run for at least two days. Thus, such a trial could not begin on the preparation since time would not be allowed to conclude it since no hearing would happen on the Sabbath day or Jewish holiday.

4. The trial of Jesus lasted only one day. As mentioned in point number three (above), when a conviction occurred, the trial was required to take at least two days.

5. The witnesses against Jesus lied. They misquoted what Jesus said about destroying and rebuilding the temple. They added words that Jesus had not said.

6. Jesus was tried on the charge of threatening to tear down the temple but convicted on the charge of blasphemy. 

7. The conviction of Jesus by the Sanhedrin was illegal because not all the members were present. Specifically, those that supported Jesus were not there.

8. The trial took place in the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. It was not in a court of law. The law stated that the death sentence could only be pronounced when the Sanhedrin was gathered in their appointed place. The court building was closed until sunrise.

10. Most of the Sanhedrin members present were disqualified from voting. Many were appointed due to bribes or family relationships.

11. When presenting the case to Pilate, they illegally changed the charges from blasphemy to treason.

We see in this episode that Nicodemus is not only coming to the realization that Jesus is the Messiah but also the realization that the Messiah isn't going to fulfil the role that Jewish leaders had believed and taught the Messiah would. Going back to their night-time visit in Season One, Jesus told Nicodemus He wasn't here to deal with Rome. He was here to deal with sin.

There are fraudulent trials today. There are people that do no receive due process. How should the injustice of Jesus trial cause us to look at fraudulent trials today that deny due process?

There are other plot lines that can be discussed. If anyone wants to comment on them, please feel free. I may return at some later date with comment regarding other plot lines in the episode. For now, I will focus on Judas.

We, as humans, make decisions and it is very hard to admit we were wrong or even misled. Rather than admitting a mistake, we humans tend to double down and dig ourselves into a deeper hole. That is what I observe is happening with Judas. In the previous episode, he tried to tell Jesus what He (Jesus) should do. That line of thought now continues.

I was once called by a project manager for an architectural firm. She was pushing me to provide some documents. In not a nice tone of voice, I pointed out to her that it was her responsibility to provide those documents - not mine. I went on a tangent. I really let her have it. I put her in her place. After I got off the phone, I started to calm down some. After about an hour, I called the architect and apologized for the way I handled the phone call with his project manager (she worked for him). He was kind a gracious. He understood my point and where I was coming from (What I had said was right but the way I said it was not). He told me that when she had told him about the phone call, he explained to her that in that line of work they have to work with all types of people and not to let it upset her. Then he suggested I call her and apologize. Now there is a thought. We, as humans, make decisions and it is very hard to admit we were wrong or even misled.

I assured the architect that I would call her. I did. I told her that I wanted to apologize for the tone of voice that I used. It was not appropriate and she isn't paid enough to have to deal with that. There was silence on the phone. After a minute or so she said, "I don't know what to say. No one has ever apologized to me before." There was a brief pause. "I accept your apology," she said. This happened about 15 years ago. What sticks with me is that no one had ever apologized to her before. Why is that? We, as humans, make decisions and it is very hard to admit we were wrong or even misled.

If Jesus wasn't going to take the advice of Judas, Judas would put Him in a corner and force His hand. Judas would try to force Jesus to declare Himself King. Why? We, as humans, make decisions and it is very hard to admit we were wrong or even misled. "Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling." (Proverbs 16:18)

Later in the episode John has an epiphany that all of them have been looking at things from their own perspective. Google AI tells us that "an epiphany is a moment of sudden, profound realization or insight, like a lightbulb turning on, that reveals the true meaning of something important, often from a simple event." In the episode John and Jesus are discussing the Greek tale of Clytemnestra waking the Furies. John connects the story to Jephthah sacrificing his daughter during the time of the judges. The metaphorical lightbulb turns on when John and Jesus are discussing Jephthah's error. John realizes he and the others have been looking at things, interpreting events, from their own perspectives. A crack appears in John's confirmation bias. The thought of "maybe we are all wrong" flashes into his mind. With this mindset, John asks Jesus how he (John) could ever forgive himself.

Jesus' answer to John is one every Christian needs to grasp (This "answer" is in the episode - not the Bible.)  Jesus tells John he does not need to forgive himself because He (Jesus) does. Many of us carry our sin on our backs like a heavy burden long after God has forgiven us and placed our sins in the depths of the sea where there is no light and nothing can be seen. If God can forgive me, I need to follow His example and forgive myself too.

There is a sit down exchange between Judas and Jesus. I doubt such a conversation ever took place but the lesson being taught by the writers of The Chosen are Biblically sound lessons. Judas tells Jesus that He (Jesus) should take his (Judas) advice. Judas goes as far as to tell Jesus the window is closing. Doesn't such a conversation sound ridiculous?  

Let me suggest that probably every person that has ever believed in God has had very simular conversations with Him. It has been said that if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans. Too often when we go to God in prayer, we act like Judas in this scene from The Chosen. We tell God what He needs to do and warn him that the window is closing. I have a transgender child. There is not a day that goes by that I don't pray for that child. But I don't tell God what to do. My prayers give God authorization to act in my child's behalf. When God does something good for my child, the devil most certainly tells God He has no right to do that. God points to my prayers as His right to act on behalf of my child. But I don't know what is best for my child. God does. That is what I pray for. I prayed like Judas for many years but as I grew in Christ I saw how blind I was. Like John's epiphany, I realized my sight isn't that good. My track record is pretty bad. I can't. He can. I think I will let Him.

There are several scenes in the episode of Jesus teaching in the temple. He confronts the religious leaders on multiple occasions. He exposes their hypocrisy. They teach one thing but do another. Can we see hypocrisy in our own lives? If we cannot, does the fact we can't see hypocrisy in our lives make us wonder if we don't have blind spots like the Pharisees did? I performed a wedding ceremony this afternoon at the international border.  I was given a large donation for Happiness Ministry afterward and I walked across the bridge in the area into Mexico to visit with some friends. There were many beggars lining the sidewalk to the bridge on the way back. I passed them by without giving any of them money. Was that a sin of omission? Christians tend to be good at identifying sins of commission but have a blind spot for sins of omission. Does the message Jesus delivered to the Pharisees have an application in my life? That is worth examining. 

The episode ends with Jesus mourning over Jerusalem. The Israelites were God's chosen people to take His message to the world but they failed. Jesus felt the pain of that failure. That responsibility was being removed from the Jews and placed upon the followers of Christ. For the most part, Christian churches today strive to carry the gospel message to the world. We have hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, music recording studios, television and radio networks, publishing houses and movie studios. However, many members simply attend church and warm a pew. God calls Christians to serve. The sad reality is that many nominating committees cannot find enough volunteers to lead the many ministries a church has. There are also many that accept a leadership position and do nothing with it. Does Jesus' cry over Jerusalem include the pew warmers in the Christian church today?  

The episode comes to a climax with the cleansing of the temple. Jesus overturns the tables and runs the livestock and vendors out. It is very forceful. It is noteworthy that the Jewish people were expecting the Messiah to come and free them from Rome. They expected the Messiah to attack Rome. However, the Messiah did not attack Rome. He attacked the erroring Jewish establishment. During the first season, Jesus met with Nicodemus. The light came on for Nicodemus when he realized the Messiah didn't come to free them from Rome but rather to free them from sin. Cleansing the temple is an active illustration of Jesus freeing us from sin. The Jewish religion had become rigid legalism. Rigid legalism traps us in sin.

If Jesus was here today, would He be trying to reform civil government or would He be focusing on the church? The reality is that Jesus is here today as He lives in those that believe in Him. Should our focus be on the civil government or on the church? How can we be free from legalism and fulfill the purpose God has for us at this time?  

As I have read accounts of the passion over the years I have increasingly seen a divine model for masculinity. Jesus showed emotion but He never retreated. In His pain, He still had sympathy for others. He never demonstrated self-pity. How does our concept of masculinity differ from the example Jesus gave us?

In this episode of The Chosen we see the writers continue with the narrative that Mary gets it. The twelve disciples were stuck on their beliefs of what the Messiah was going to do that they never fully grasp the correct understanding of what Jesus was telling them each time He told them He would die and suffer many things. In The Chosen narrative, they are portraying Mary Magdalene as one of the few that listens and understands. It seems that in her narrative, she lived a life of sin so she was never fed stories of who the Messiah would be and what He would do. She started off with Jesus with more of a blank slate. Thus, she doesn't have the Confirmation Bias working against her. The writers are also portraying John as putting some of the pieces together but not as far along as Mary.

We know that all abandoned Him in the garden. John was the only one that came back, stayed and was at the foot of the cross,,, with Mary. Mary may not have been in the garden when Jesus was arrested. I like the narrative The Chosen is embracing. I have not watched the Bible round table yet. I will do that over the course of the next week and post again with my thoughts on that.

My big take-away from this episode is how Confirmation Bias impacts different people. As Seventh-day Adventists, what beliefs do we have that would make it difficult to see where we might be wrong? One that I could think of is adding fish in the diet. I think many Adventist may find it difficult to admit that adding fish in the diet could be beneficial.    

Wow!

I will wait to start commenting on the episodes until it is released in the app.

But for those that are able to see it in the theater.

Wow!

Confirmation bias is a psychological construct that is displayed in us that it takes very little evidence to convince us of something that we want to believe. However, it takes an extraordinary amount of evidence to convince us of something we do not want to believe. In this episode we saw it especially in Judas. Judas, and the other disciples, believed that Jesus was going to liberate them from the Roman oppression. Jesus told them He was going to lay down His life. It went in one ear and out the other. Judas especially (at least in the TV series) is hung up on the idea that Jesus is going to have an Earthly kingdom. When Judas says he wants to see the kingdom of Jesus to come, he is thinking of an Earthly kingdom with Earthly glory. He is not thinking about how it actually played out in first century Christianity that saw all the apostles martyred except John.

The religious leaders tried to stone Jesus in the temple, (in this episode). After, they are back in the lodging, Mary asked Jesus if He hurts, He says He does - inside and out. She responds that she hurts inside too and asks why. Jesus responds, "Because you have been listening." This dialogue is not in the Bible. I like what the producers are doing. Mary doesn't have the agenda that the rest of the disciples have. Deep down she realizes that something bad is going to happen to Jesus. The others do not see that because they are blinded by confirmation bias. They have always been taught the Messiah will free them from Roman rule. They cannot grasp the idea of the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.

What is your agenda? Do you have cherished beliefs that you could never change your mind about?

• How about the use of jewelry? Regardless if you believe it is OK or it is sinful. Either way - is that a cherished belief?
• What about Sabbath-keeping practices? Do you believe eating in a restaurant or watching TV is a sin? If you do or don't - is that a cherished belief?
• What about paying your tithe to an organized religious denomination? Regardless if you believe there is a specific place for tithe or not - is that a cherished belief?
• What about mixing religion and politics? Is it OK for a minister to preach politics from the pulpit? Yes, or no, either way - is that a cherished belief?
• What about your diet? Is there just one diet approved by God?

The list can go on and on,,, and it should. It is a good habit for each of us to make such lists.  How well do you know yourself? Do you even know what your cherished beliefs are and how blind you are to see the other side?  You should or you may end up like the disciples, maybe even like Judas.

The episode creates a contrast between two characters.  There is Martha, who is giving of herself in service and is taught the importance of balance between staying busy and listening to the words of Jesus.  Then there is Judas who is being taught to look out for himself.  While the disciples are singing and worshipping after supper, Judas goes off to meet with his former mentor. The mentor is full of bad advice and makes Judas feel foolish for giving of himself without compensation. Martha, in contrast, is working her heart out to make sure everything is right for Jesus and His disciples. She gets frustrated that her sister is not helping her. Jesus explains that His words are more valuable than the food she was preparing.

I was married to a Martha. While studying for my doctorate I learned this class of people have a supine temperament. They are born servants. They love to serve but they need recognition. Every church has them and if they are not given the recognition they crave, they will burn out, feel used and unappreciated. My first wife was always busy doing stuff for the church but she didn't read the Bible, do her Sabbath School lesson and often did not participate in family worship because she was too busy doing other things - often times tasks associated with volunteer work with the church. She eventually got burnt out and left the church.

Judas, like too many of us, thinks he is smarter than God.  He thinks God needs his help. Many believers have an idea that they know what God's will is for them in their life. They pray for this or that and while they may add "if it is Your will" in their prayer, they have already decided that it is His will. Then, after the prayer, they go about trying to help God answer their prayer in the way they believe He wants them to. Much like Judas (in this episode) they find others that agree with them and encourage them down this self-determined path. Judas believed Christ's mission was to overthrow Rome.  And, Judas believed (in The Chosen series) that Jesus needed his help to stay on track and move in the right direction.

So there is Martha so busy serving others that she doesn't take time to listen to God's Word. Then there is Judas who thinks he needs to help God out. I have been guilty of doing both of those things.

When Gaius sends soldiers to bring Matthew to him, Peter volunteers to go along. Now we see Gaius demonstrate servant leadership. The summons ends with Gaius going to Peter's home to request Jesus to heal his son. Gaius's faith brings joy to Jesus as He is preparing to go to Jerusalem with the disciples. Of course, Jesus heals Gaius's son. When Gaius arrives home he blows out the candles lit in front of pagan gods displayed in his home. He is then met by his wife and children. All are joyful that the boy was healed. As Gaius is teaching his sons the meaning of the Hebrew word shalom, his wife notices the candles had been blown out. That was a tear-jerking moment for me. The centurion was converted.

As Jesus and the disciples are leaving for Jerusalem, James and John ask if they can sit on His right and left in the kingdom. Of course, in the Bible it was actually their mother who asked this. The question causes Jesus to become distraught and gives the group a lesson on servant leadership. The Biblical account of this is in Matthew 20:20-28. This is a lesson many in the church today still do not completely understand. I have seen its application more in the leadership of 12-step recovery groups than in Christian churches. I don't want to paint everyone with the same brush. Christian churches do have many servant leaders. Unfortunately, there maybe just as many leaders in the church that do not grasp the servant part of the job. I have seen people manipulate others and fight to get positions of power in the church that are volunteer positions. That is, the positions do not pay a salary. Some simply want the title of head deacon, elder or director of some ministry. Once they are nominated and voted into the position, they do little to nothing. That is, all they wanted was the title and not the ministerial responsibilities that came with it. Some, that are in board positions, do not even attend the board meetings.

This episode ends with Jesus feeling the weight of what He is about to endure. "For the Son of Man came not to be cared for. He came to care for others. He came to give His life so that many could be bought by His blood and made free from the punishment of sin." (Matt. 20:28). Jesus told the mother of James and John that she did not know what she was asking. The position on the left and right or Jesus are seen at Calvary. The two thieves that died with Jesus had those positions of honor.  "Jesus said to her, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to take the suffering that I am about to take? (Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?)'" (v 22). The final scene of this episode has Gaius finding Jesus, embracing Him. One is led to believe that Gaius desires to thank Jesus but ends up comforting Him.

One thing I think that the producer of The Chosen is trying to do is to show bad things happen to good people even when God is there and even when God is good.  Bad things happen because we live in a sinful world.  If God intervened each time to protect those faithful to Him, people would worship God out of selfish motives.  Earlier in Season 4 we saw John the Baptist executed and Jesus did nothing to save him.  Jesus called him the greatest prophet that ever lived.  In Season 3 we saw Jesus explain to Little James why He didn't want to heal him. This is also part of this theme that bad things happen to good people and that doesn't make God evil or hard.    Ramah was an added character. She is not a Biblical character. We know that many women followed Jesus but are only given a few names. It is likely that someone like Ramah was following Jesus but to be clear, the Ramah story like is a made-up and no part of it is Biblical.   

Once we get past that debate, the touching lesson in this episode is Matthew repenting of the harm he tried to cause Peter and Andrew, asking for forgiveness and watching how Peter (who just received his new name) struggled to forgive Matthew.  We also heard Matthew give a little testimony to Gaius.  We see the wheels in Gaius' head start to turn.

John the Baptist dies in the first episode.  The producing and acting is incredible.  The narrative between John's birth and his death goes back and forth.  The scene when Joanna tells Andrew chokes me up and brings tears to my eyes even after having seen it several times.  John accepts his death.  He knows his mission was accomplished.  He must increase and I must decrease (John 3:30).  John the Baptist is an excellent example of the humility we should each strive for.

If you are unaware of the Bible Round Table discussions, make sure you download The Chosen app and look for the Bible Round Table discussions.  There is a Bible Round Table for each episode.  That is where they dig into the teachings of the Bible and discuss parts of the episode that are not Biblical or even unbiblical.  There is a lot of theological meat in the Bible Round Table videos. They consist of a Messianic Jewish Rabbi, an Evangelical scholar, a Catholic Priest and Dallas Jenkins, The Chosen producer.

My favorite part of this episode is when Yosef is meeting with Eden and her mother.  Pastoral counseling is the ministry I am in and this scene captures what it is to be a pastoral counselor.  Yosef identifies with Eden's pain.  He opens up about himself being distracted, thus allowing himself to be vulnerable.  He helps Eden identify her anger.  He demonstrates empathy for both Eden and Simon which results in Eden seeing past her own pain to be able to empathize with Simon.  He leads her to God's Word and into obedience to it.  This short part of the episode captures what the ministry of a pastoral counselor is.

The Chosen doesn't cover the entire response.  That is, this episode does not entirely answer the question of why a good God allows evil.  The story of Job teaches us that God is on trial.  Satan accuses believers of many things.  Among them, believers are accused of only obeying God so that good things will come to them.  Then too, when a believer repents, Satan brings up their sin and argues that they do not deserve forgiveness.  Satan leads humanity into sinfulness and than uses it against us to argue for our punishment and destruction.  The big picture is that of a God on trial (being accused by Satan) and humanity being led astray (by Satan) and then being accused of not being worthy (also by Satan).  While it is true that God allows bad things to refine us (such as the story of Joseph being sold into slavery), there is more going on there than simply that.

Paul Coneff is an Adventist pastor and marriage and family therapist best known for his book, The Hidden Half of the Gospel.  He views the visible side of the gospel as that of salvation and grace.  The hidden side is that of suffering and temptation.  He makes the case that there are two pillars to using the hidden-half concept to heal brokenness.  The first is that Satan is the root of all suffering.  The second is that Jesus is the root of our healing and pain.  The first pillar is a critical part of healing.  It requires a basic understanding of the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

God is good and all-powerful but there are somethings He cannot do.  He cannot vindicate Himself without allowing evil to take its course.  The only way He can prevent evil from happening again, after He puts an end to it, is to be vindicated.  The theme of the great controversy runs through the Bible as a thread.  It begins in the Garden of Eden and ends in Revelation.  It isn't enough for God to tell His creation that He is right and good.  He must demonstrate to His creation that He is right and good.  The only way to do that is to allow Satan to expose himself as the root of all pain and sorrow.

When I was young, I remember being told that for every person I won to Christ, I would have a star on my crown in heaven.  As I grew older, I realized that most people that decide to follow Christ, do so after God has placed many people, at different times, in their path.  It is rarely "one" person that wins another to Christ.  It is a series of people.  It is a series of events.  This reality is displayed in this made-up story of Matthew and the shepherd.  Long before Jesus called Matthew to follow Him, a shepherd gave Matthew his prayer tassels.  Mary explained to Matthew that sometimes God sends a dove - which is a reference to season 1 episode 1 when God used a dove to guide Mary to a place where she had an encounter with Christ. 

I tend to believe that the stars on our crown will not be for winning someone to Christ all by ourselves.  Rather, a star will be on our crown for contributing to the decision that someone makes for Christ.  Sometimes God sends a dove and sometimes,,,, we are that dove.

The idea that these "near death" after reports, may be describing unique and special VISIONS the LORD has granted to the 4 to 10% of "near death" survivors who experienced them,  is not discussed much.   What about the 96% who do not experience such supernatural visions?  

I was very disappointed by this film.   I was also very disappointed by the First Fruits of Zion magazine, doing a whole issue on the state of man in death, and teaching very clearly their view that man is conscious in death.  

This same argument being used in this episode to consider the incarnation of God can be used to consider an end-time prophet.  Many Christians claim the gift of prophecy died with the disciples and cling to church tradition instead of applying Biblical tests to the claims of modern-day prophets.

Am I missing anything?

The one scene in this episode that was Biblically-based was Jesus healing and answering the questions from John the Baptist's disciples.  I think the producer, Dallas Jenkins, missed an opportunity here.  One of John's disciples should have been Matthias in this episode which could have later shown up again at the end of the series when he takes Judas' position.  Nonetheless, Jesus makes a point in His answer.  John was the greatest prophet and yet still struggled with believing that Jesus was the Messiah. 

I believe what was going on with John the Baptist, and Jesus' own disciples, is what psychologists today call confirmation bias.  They had already decided that the Messiah was going to overthrow Rome.  Thus, John the Baptist began to doubt his Cousin was the Messiah because John was dying in a prison.  Rome was not being overthrown.  Jesus disciples, in the same way, were discouraged after Jesus was crucified.  They hid with the doors locked.  No matter how many times Jesus told them He was going to die, they didn't get it because they had already decided what they were going to believe.  That is how confirmation bias works.  That is why so many Sunday Christians reject the seventh-day Sabbath message and so many other points of truth.

Confirmation bias teaches that it takes very little evidence to convince someone of something they already believe is true.  However it takes an incredible amount of evidence to convince someone of something they do not believe is true.  For the disciples,  it took the risen Savior for them to believe.  Ellen White gives testimony that John the Baptist's faith was stronger than Jesus' disciples.  When the messengers returned to him with Jesus' answer, John recognized the words from Isaiah and he accepted the truth as Elijah heard the still small voice.  The question for us is how much do we let confirmation bias impact our understanding?  Are we more like John the Baptist or Jesus's disciples?  

You can watch The Chosen here -> The Chosen