For those who have yet to discover The Chosen it is a new TV series about the ministry of Jesus Christ told through the eyes of those who knew him. The show was produced by VidAngel and paid for through crowd-funding. According to Wikipedia, it was the highest crowd-funded media project of all time. All eight shows of season one can be seen for free on YouTube or purchased as a set of DVD’s. One of my kids gave my wife the DVD set for Mother’s Day and we’ve been enjoying watching it as a family.

I was hesitant to allow my family to watch the series at first, not knowing much about it. I assumed it would be like other Hollywood attempts to dramatize the Bible, watering down the message and embellishing the story unnecessarily, only to boost the ratings. Happily, I was mistaken. I found out later, the series was produced completely outside the Hollywood system, allowing the creators to make it as Biblically accurate as they wanted to.

The embellishing that is done in The Chosen seems 100% meant to tell the true stories of the Bible. For instance, there is a whole episode that shows the special relationship that Jesus had with children. The idea of Jesus loving children is mentioned several times in the Gospels, but only as a general concept. In The Chosen, we see the idea fleshed out into a story that perfectly illustrates that fact. In Luke 8:2 we learn that Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out of her. In The Chosen, we see her story, including her demon possession and life after she was freed by Jesus. Each of the disciples are also brought to life through stories that support what we already know about them from the Bible. The character of Jesus Christ is the connecting point of every story, but Jesus is not the main character of the series, at least not in season one. The spotlight is given to those who knew him best, Peter, Mary Magdalene, Matthew, and even Nicodemus.

So, I’m comfortable saying The Chosen gives us an accurate portrayal of the life of Jesus that matches up to the word of God in spirit and in truth. However, anyone who thinks TV portrayals of Jesus should show only what is portrayed in the Bible will be disappointed. There have been some good movies along those lines over the past few years. One of the best I’ve seen is The Gospel of John that came out in 2003. 

Like I said already, I was very wary of The Chosen at first because the Bible is unlike any other book. One should never set out to change the meaning of the stories in the Bible because they are taken from a book that was written by God himself. The Chosen does add content, but as far as I can tell so far, the producers are making every effort to preserve message of the Bible. The stories told in The Chosen serve only to explain the Biblical messages more fully, helping us to visualize them better. If they were trying to sensationalize the stories or make them more politically correct, I’d switch it off in a heartbeat and I definitely wouldn’t be recommending it. I’m almost finished watching season one and so far, I have no problem recommending The Chosen to you.

Believers and non-believers alike will enjoy watching The Chosen. Besides being a great portrayal of the life of Jesus, it’s incredibly entertaining too. It includes suspense, comedy, history, love, and loss. It’s very well made and can stand up to anything Hollywood is producing as far as acting, directing, screen writing, settings, and costume design.

If you’re a Christian, watch These Chosen and fall in love with the story of Jesus Christ all over again. If you’re not a Christian but you enjoy good historical dramas with fascinating characters, then I recommend The Chosen for you as well.