Season 4 Episode 8 - Masculinity and Gentleman Chivalry

[Dr. Shane]

The final episode in season four focused on the theme of humility in the ministry of Jesus. The episode ends with Jesus mounting a colt of a donkey for the triumphant entry that begins in season five. The sequence of events in the episode do not follow that of the gospels and a lot of creative liberty was used by the writers to introduce characters and scenes that did not happen. The lesson of humility, however, is from the gospel and should be what we take away from this story.

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.