By Pastor 

Ryan Stockstrom

Special to the Forum

Every so often; there is a depiction of the life of Jesus produced on film that I feel really captures the essence of the gospel. The Chosen Series has done just that.  

If you haven’t heard of ”The Chosen,” it is a multi-season drama series that tells the story of Jesus. At this point, the Chosen has completed two seasons, and are working toward a third. It has also been completely crowd funded. But as I stated earlier, I think this series really depicts the heart of God, as seen in Jesus, as well as vividly portrays the history of the Gospel. People often use the term “gospel,” but may wonder exactly what the term means.

Gospel literally means “good news,” and that’s what we read in the first four books of the New Testament; and not just good news—truly, amazing news. God has come to redeem us. He has stepped into our world—into our lives. 

He has been tempted in all of the same ways we are; but never once gave into those temptations. And the fact He was able to do what we could never do, makes Him the perfect example to follow and the perfect sacrifice to pay for our sins, errors, and mistakes. 

It’s such good news; people used Jesus’ birth and death to re-write how we even count our years!  Now, the terms BC (before Christ) and AD (anno domini—in the year of the Lord) have been secularized to BCE and CE (before common era, and common era). But whether you want to use the secular version or the religious version, the reality is: The way we count time was literally re-written because of the works of this great God who became man; Jesus Christ.  

And I just want us to consider that this series is only a production and an interpretation of the most life changing good news the world has ever received. So, although they have done their best to be faithful to the text; there is a lot of inferred background history. It’s kind of fun, because even as I watch it, I’ve thought hmm…I wonder if that’s how it was? I’m going to look that scripture up again. 

I also really, really appreciate that at the beginning of the series they make a very important statement: 

The Chosen is based on the true stories of the gospels of Jesus Christ. Some locations and timelines have been combined or condensed. Backstories and some characters or dialogue have been added. However, all biblical and historical context and any artistic imagination are designed to support the truth and intention of the Scriptures. Viewers are encouraged to read the gospels.’  

I love that statement  because it’s saying, this series helps us to think through the gospels through a lens we maybe haven’t used before; but always compare it to the real deal; what’s written in the Word. 

If you have never seen the Chosen series, I highly recommend that you would; but more importantly, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for yourself. The records of the good news about Jesus Christ will change your life.