Jesus looks around briefly to see if he is coming. In a heart breaking scene, Nicodemus watches as the disciples gather in the market place getting ready to leave. He wants to but we see how family pressures and attachments start weighing him down. During this special encounter Nicodemus recognises that Jesus is the Messiah whom he has been waiting for all his life. This leads him to the meeting by night with Jesus as described in John 3. When he later sees Mary radiant and peaceful preparing for her first Shabbat, he wants to know how this has happened. He fails to do, running away in horror and failure at this encounter with the demonic. While here he is ordered by the Romans to exorcise a possessed woman (Mary Magdalene played by Liz Tabish). The films begins with him on a trip to see his students in Capernaum where we get a sense of the life of a small town synagogue and its rituals and teaching. He is a good man, however, and searching for truth. Nicodemus is shown to be an influential scholar, a man of prestige and comfort, with a wife who enjoys these things. In the Chosen, however, the writers have created a very clever back story for him. Likewise in the Scriptures while the encounter between Nicodemus and Jesus is very important theologically, it is difficult engage with Nicodemus as a person. This makes well-known biblical scenes much more emotionally engaging and entertaining - whether it is the miraculous catch of fish, which brings about Simon Peter's conversion, or Matthew leaving his tax booth on the invitation of the Lord to follow him. What makes it different from the other excellent or naff biblical epics that have been produced over the years? One of the keys is simply as it is a series there is time to explore and get to know the followers of Jesus as people. For those who would like to view it via Vid Angel see link The Chosen Season 1 and Season 2. Up until now the series has only been available on You Tube, the Chosen mobile phone app and a streaming service in the US called appropriately VidAngel. Many Catholics in the UK are not even aware of this beautiful series despite its many devotees, (the first two seasons has been viewed 400 million times worldwide). The first two programmes of the third season of what the producer/director Dallas Jenkins hopes will be seven season series, will be launched on 18th November 2022.įor the first time, the launch will be on the big screen at a selection of 200 Odeon and Vue cinemas round the country. One of these antidotes I believe is an American TV series called 'The Chosen' about the life and Ministry of Christ, seen through the eyes of his close followers. The creativity of the Spirit is ever new! We can get very depressed when we see the state of the Church and the world but as Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare Movement once said: "The Spirit is always working to create antidotes to the toxins we create". Scene from The Chosen: Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) meets with Nicodemus (Erick Avari)
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