The Chosen - I Have Called You By Name (S1 E1)

For those of you who have heard about The Chosen and are wondering whether to check it out, I thought I would give a summary of the first episode in order to give you a taste of the show to see if you might want to investigate it further.

You can watch The Chosen HERE. You may have to provide your email address, but you can unsubscribe at any time. It is totally free to watch, although you can contribute toward the continued production of the series.

WARNING - If you only watch Episode 1 of Season 1, you may be a bit confused. This episode and the next one are laying a lot of groundwork toward introducing the viewer to the characters and can seem a bit disjointed. Don't lose heart! By the time you get to Episode 3, you will be fully engrossed in the story.

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The first character we are introduced to is Mary of Magdala. As the episode begins, we see her as a child being consoled by her father. This turns out to be a flashback she deals with multiple times. As an adult, she is now known as Lillith, has lived a sordid life, and is being tormented by demons (literally). She goes to the point of deciding to throw herself off a precipice, but is mysteriously drawn away for the cliff's edge.

Quintus is the leader of the Roman military contengint in Capernaum. In this episode, he is concerned about Jews who are fishing on Shabbat (Sabbath / Sunday). Since this practice is outlawed in Jewish circles, it is not reported and therefore Rome is being shorted on the taxes that would be collected from these activities.

Next, we meet the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who is a highly respected leader and teacher in the powerful religious order. He is confronted by Quintus in order to eliminate the fishing on Shabbat. He is also compelled by the Romans to remove a nuisence by exorcizing the demons Lillith is dealing with and begins to question his understanding of the Torah (the Law of Moses) after failing in this effort.

Matthew is a the local tax collector. While a Jew, he lives in luxury, yet he is hated by his people. He has a mind for math, but has to be very careful in his comings and goings due to always being in fear for his life.

Simon and Andrew are two brothers who are independent fishermen that are behind on their taxes and are in peril of losing the family boat. When Simon tries to come up with some extra money leading up to tax day, he gets caught by the Romans fishing on Shabbat and, unbeknownst to Andrew, makes a deal with Quintus to reveal some merchant fishermen who are cheating Rome out of much more taxes than he is. As the brothers are standing in front of Matthew on tax day, Simon reveals his deal with Quintus in order to get some relief in paying their taxes and alienates his brother.

Jesus shows up at the end of this episode, but you will have to watch to see the surprise he has in store for Mary.

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I have provided this summary of the first episode of The Chosen for two reasons:

1 - To encourage you to stick with it for more than the first episode. Even though this series is based on the life of Jesus, He does not even make an appearance until the end of the first episode. It will take a couple of episodes to begin to grasp the story that is playing out and the style of the portrayal. This series has not only thought provoking issues, but also interpersonal struggles, intriguing twists, and even a bit of humor. If you are truly interested in seeing a well-thought-out story about the life of Christ, you will probably want to watch at least three episodes before making a judgement.

2 - To show you that The Chosen is not your typical Bible story about Jesus. This series dives deeply into what it may have been like to live during the time of Jesus' life and the possible personalities and interpersonal relationsthips that might have happened among His followers. While it is Biblically based, it does expound upon what is found in scripture. I find this series convicting, entertaining, and fulfilling.

With that said, I encourage you to check out this episode and leave me a comment letting me know what you think of the show.