By Gavin Boyle
Amanda Jenkins, the wife of THE CHOSEN’s creator Dallas, explained how she got started with the show’s Bible study and devotional and how it makes the message of the show even more valuable.
“All the way back in Season 1, we had to take a break between episodes 4 and 5 because we needed to raise money again. And so, we released episodes 1 through 4, and all of a sudden, people were clamoring for more of the show,” Jenkins told Movieguide®. “And, you know, our heart is that [audiences] don’t land on the show. We really do wanna shepherd people and push them towards scripture. And so, it was just a good opportunity for kind of an in-between to fill time [of] hey, let’s actually disciple people who are interested in it [for] whoever watches the show and wants to go deeper. So it just kind of evolved very quickly that this could be something that would be offered between seasons.”
While offering a place for people who love the show to engage with scripture, the Bible study also helps fill in context for what is happening on the show. For example, Season 5 chronicled Palm Sunday and the week leading up to Jesus’ death, and the Bible study focused on the Old Testament prophecies about this week along with the New Testament passages that describe the story. One of these Old Testament verses that Jenkins focused on was from Zechariah 9.
Related: Amanda Jenkins on THE CHOSEN’s Success: ‘God Pushed Me to Trust’
“Rejoice greatly Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey,” the verse reads.
By focusing on verses like this, which provides more context to the story being told on the show, the Bible study makes THE CHOSEN even more rich, while also helping expose those who engage with the study to the glory of the Lord.
Since the show took off during the pandemic, Jenkins has found so much joy in the impact it has had, as it has helped millions grow in their faith or return to the Lord after forgoing Him for years.
“I’m thrilled with where we are, in the sense of people being changed by it,” she said. “It just doesn’t seem to stop, and people will say, ‘I know you’re so sick of hearing these stories,’ and I’m like, no! It’s fuel, and it is exciting, and I would say…seeing more people being exposed to the Gospel for the first time or coming back to the church or whatever — it never gets old, and I’m thrilled about it,” she said last year.
It truly is amazing to see the success of THE CHOSEN and the way it has impacted the entertainment industry by proving that Christian audiences have been underserved. At the same time, the show’s ability to bring people closer to the Lord by encouraging to get into the word, rather than consuming Bible stories only through TV, highlights the heart behind the show.
https://vimeo.com/1125708981/80c4c5a6f1?share=copy
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