From St. Timothy's

This episode is slower and quieter, and yet very DEEP! The episode is simply named Matthew 4:24: So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. We don’t see much of Jesus in this episode. Instead, we mostly experience the day from His followers perspective as they wait and watch, struggling to understand The Messiah who heals rather than wields a sword. As He heals crowds of people from sunrise to sunset, His followers talk, argue, and process everything that is happening. Sitting around the fire, His followers begin to vent their frustrations. Simon, still adjusting to Matthew’s presence, lashes out at him. This episode reveals how those following Jesus did not suddenly become a unified group doing His will and walking in His ways the moment they started following Him. Despite giving themselves to Him, there isn't an immediate and...

This episode introduces two new characters who become Apostles, Philip and Nathaniel.  Philip is my favorite Apostle in this series (until they changed the actor later and, at least to date, focused on him a lot less). Most people I ask cite Matthew as their favorite and it's hard not to, but I'm a Philip fan when he's around. There is little about Philip in the Bible, depending on whether you believe the Philip in Acts is the Apostle or another Philip. In The Chosen , Philip seems to take Matthew under his wing and advise him as he tries to grapple with his difference to the rest of the group. I love their dynamic. Philip's backstory is less created and more rooted in scripture. He's formerly a disciple of John the Baptist, or "Creepy John" as Simon calls him. He tells Matthew that everyone "was" something but "am" is all that matters after you've met The Messiah. Amen and amen. Maybe they don't give him much of a backstory oth...

Season 2 of The Chosen opens with a flash-forward.  John is interviewing the other Apostles and Mary Magdalene about their first encounter with Jesus (to write his book). The scene includes various levels of emotion, including Matthew nailing the precise date and time he first saw Jesus and John telling him he doesn't have to be precise with Matthew asking him why.  He also talks to Mary, Jesus' mother, and we learn this is taking place shortly after James (John's brother's) martyrdom. Mary asks him where he will start, and he tells her, "In the beginning ... I'm just not sure which beginning." She suggests Jesus' birth, and he replies, "Earlier." A storm starts, complete with cracks of thunder and Mary, without exactly saying it, remembers how Jesus referred to James and John as the Sons of Thunder. It segues nicely into the return to the series' present day where the two brothers are plowing a field in Samaria and are wondering why Jes...

I remember how excited I was at the beginning of the final episode of Season 1 and how sad I was at the end that Season 1 was over.  The episode is centered around Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well and his admitting:  I am He. It starts with an Old Testament background of the well built by Jacob, that in Jesus' time was in Samaritan territory. Then, we meet Photina, the Samaritan woman, we see her isolation due to her shame and the judgment of others. She is forced to draw water alone in the heat of the day and she just seems so sad and miserable. We also see Jesus making the radical move to dine at Matthew’s house. The Pharisees are appalled, questioning why Jesus would eat with sinners. Jesus’ response?  “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  Again, it questions the idea of who belongs in God’s kingdom. It’s easy to think faith is for the already “good,” but Jesus flips this upside down. He seeks out th...

Episode 7 of The Chosen is aptly named Invitations.  It revolves around key moments of calling, decision, and personal response to Jesus. From Nicodemus' secret "Nick at Night" meeting to the growing community of Jesus' followers, this episode is jam packed with spiritual significance. So, Nick at Night ... Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus under the cover of night and leading to Jesus' assertion:  “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Despite Nicodemus' knowledge of scripture, he can't figure this one out. The idea that faith is not about status or intellect but about a complete transformation is a difficult for him to grasp. In something that isn't strictly scriptural, but I have no problem imagining it, Jesus calls Nicodemus to follow Him. The first time I watched it, my initial thought was, I hope you're going to give Nick new feet and legs ... and I realized I was making an age excuse for Nicodemus and wondered how ...

Episode 6 of The Chosen shows   Jesus stepping further into His ministry, healing the broken and challenging expectations. This episode balances Jesus, fully human and fully divine.  This episode really brings home what outcast lepers were and how, where there should be compassion, there was mostly fear. The desperation of the leper is so heart-wrenching. He is shunned, feared, and left to suffer alone. But then, Jesus does the unthinkable ... He touches him. In a world where the unclean were avoided at all costs, Jesus chooses connection over fear. How could the Messiah do something to make Himself so unclean? It reminds us that Jesus doesn’t hesitate to enter our brokenness and restore us. We get more of Matthew and Nicodemus, each trying to figure out the legitimacy of what they are witnessing and what it means ... could this possibly be the Messiah? My favorite part of this episode is the gathering at Zebedee's house of those who've come to listen to Jesus. We see Abi...