THE CHOSEN: Jesus and Women

In the last post, I talked about how Jesus is portrayed in such a beautiful way in season 1 of The Chosen, a multi-season, crowdfunded drama about the life of Christ.

I wanted to take a specific post to talk about how He converses with women in this show, because I've never seen anything like it.

The Chosen takes 2 of its 8 episodes to specifically show key stories from the Gospels between Jesus and women, highlighting Mary Magdalene and the woman at the well from John 4.

I'm not going to talk about those episodes specifically, even though they were beautifully done. What struck me most were the little moments with women throughout the entire series, from Jesus and his mother, Mary, to meeting Peter's wife and mother-in-law, and other random women who interacted with Him throughout the story.

He takes the time to see them, and on several occasions, speaks one line that is so powerful it took my breath away—cutting directly to their hearts. 

I cannot wait to see how this continues throughout the rest of the series, from big meetings (like the woman with the issue of blood and the woman caught in adultery in John 8) to these little conversations where He stops what everyone expects what He is to do and talks with the women. 

In first century Near East culture, women were not respected outside of Jewish communities. Jewish women could not testify in court, and were confined to the home. In public, they needed to cover their faces and hair with veils, and had to sit separately in worship. While males went to Torah school, females did not. 

*photo from here*

So, here's Jesus from The Chosen, where the first episode is of Mary Magdalene, who then begins to follow Jesus along with the disciples. We often depict Him as only walking with the 12, but more than that followed Him, including women. Luke 8:1-3 specifically says some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases travelled with him: Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Chusa, the manager of Herod's household, Susanna, and many others. In fact, "The women were helping to support them out of their own means"(verse 3), which means that they had an important role—and knew it. So I love that The Chosen shows this. 

Then, with the woman at the well, it's the first time that He has told anyone that He is the Messiah, and he does it to a woman—from a hated race.

We know too that the first person to see Him after His resurrection is Mary Magdalene—again, someone who couldn't legally testify as to seeing Him (I'd imagine this will be shown in season 8). 

The creator of this show talks often of how the point of this show (even its name) is about those who encounter Jesus, their responses, and what happens afterwards. So far, this has been remarkable to see (and very clearly portrayed). I can't wait to see what happens in the next 7 seasons!