A New York Times opinion editorialist was shocked over how much she came to enjoy the TV series The Chosen, which chronicles the life of Jesus Christ. In a recent interview she conducted with the star of the series, she remarked on how even TV reviewers have come to love the show.
Going into its fourth season, The Chosen, starring Jonathan Roumie as Jesus Christ, follows Christ’s life and many of the relationships he had with the apostles and people that are revealed in the Bible. but it also takes time to flesh out the ancillary characters, giving them a feel of real-life people by using creative expression to give them life, even if those human qualities and experiences are not actually in the text of the Bible.
Because of this artistic expression, the series has become a fan favorite, not just for Christians, but even secular critics have praised the show for making these stories more accessible by spinning the back stories for many Bible-based characters that are not well described in the Bible.
That is where NYT writer Tish Harrison Warren comes in. In her April 2 article about the show, she notes that she was surprised at how much she and her family have come to love The Chosen.
“I typically don’t like religious movies and TV shows. I find them corny or mawkish, the kind of thing that certain believers feel they are supposed to watch but that lack any real artistic merit or appeal,” Warren wrote at the outset of her article. “But about a year ago, a friend of mine, whose taste in art and culture I respect, recommended that I watch The Chosen, … I watched it with my family. A couple of episodes in, we were hooked.”
The writer notes that the series rose from a small, crowd-funded effort to now going into its fourth season after having earned 108 million viewers.
Warren adds that her paper noted recently that the show “has become a bona fide phenomenon in many parts of Christian culture, attracting a fervent ecumenical fandom while remaining almost invisible to others.” And she added, “It’s also gained a bit of a reputation for being liked by critics who, like me, don’t normally enjoy so-called Christian entertainment.”
After watching three seasons with her daughters, Warren added that the girls even asked to spend time reading the Bible to follow along with the characters they have seen on the show.
Warren also spent time interviewing star Jonathan Roumie and asked him how hard it is to play Jesus Christ. Roumie agreed that it is so strange to be called “Jesus” when he is out on the streets where fans see him. But he also said that playing the role is humbling because after fans get their selfies and praise the series, the fans often say, “Let me tell you what this has meant to my personal faith.” The actor then added, “and that’s when it becomes bigger than I had ever imagined.”
Roumie also noted that an early incident really hit home for him on just what the role means to people when a mother brought her wheelchair-bound son up to him.
“My son here has cerebral palsy. Our favorite episode of ‘The Chosen’ is when they lower the man with cerebral palsy through the roof to be healed by Jesus,” Roumie said the woman told him. “We knew you were going to be here, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if God did that for my son?’” she added.
Roumie said he was momentarily terrified because, obviously, he simply had no power to cure a boy with cerebral palsy. But he quickly recovered and said he would pray with the woman.
“‘I can’t do that. I don’t have that power.’ I said, ‘It would be amazing if God healed your son. I, unfortunately, don’t have that gift, as far as I know, but I would love to pray for you and your son, if that’s OK.’ And I prayed, thanked them and hugged her son, and they seemed like they were so happy,” Roumie told the Times writer. “I turned around, and I broke down into tears. Because I couldn’t fulfill that expectation. There must have been, deep down, some kind of disappointment. That was one of the hardest encounters for me. It still chokes me up even thinking about it.”
The Times interviewer also noted that some Christians criticize the show for inventing backstories for minor characters. But Roumie, who is a practicing Roman Catholic and recently blasted abortion as a Satanic “doubling down” on evil, says that they work extremely hard to make sure none of their embellishments supersede the Biblical narrative.
“This is a television show. It’s inspired by the Gospels, and many scenes are direct translations from the Gospels,” he said.
“That said, there are many instances in Scripture where some characters appear for a sentence or two or some really dramatic things happen that are succinctly described with no unnecessary information, no description of people’s state of mind or emotions. It’s just the crux of what you need to know. That wouldn’t make for a very good television show,” he explained.
He went on:
All of it is meant to act sort of as an icon to point us in the direction of God and the Holy Scriptures. It’s not meant to replace the Bible or replace Scripture. It’s a creative interpretation of the Scriptures that does, in my opinion, a very fine job of honoring them and their intention.
We take such great pains to that end, that we have a biblical consultation staff: a messianic rabbi, an evangelical theologian and a Catholic priest. I mean, they get the script before we even get the scripts. And if it seems like something is going to be a little too off the mark, then it comes out.
Roumie also noted that the series he was lucky enough to star in has also made his own faith as a practicing Catholic so much deeper.
“It has made me consider him in a variety of contexts that make him more accessible to me. By playing him, getting to explore all of these scenarios, imagining what it must have been like to have been there with him, to be one of the disciples walking alongside him. What was it like when they camped out? When they had to get food? How did he eat?” the actor said.
“Considering all of these things forces you to examine day-to-day life and recognize that Christ can identify with my humanity because he accepted humanity as the God of the universe. And what kind of humility does that take? And how much more humility can I bring into my own life by following his example?” he concluded.
The Chosen can be streamed online at Angel Studios, it can be downloaded from both Google Play and the Apple App Store, and can be downloaded on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV devices.
Roumie also stars in the recently released Jesus Revolution, which also stars Kelsey Grammer and which has become Lionsgate’s highest-grossing film since 2019. The film is currently in theaters.
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