Season 1 Episode 7
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Episodes: Season Overview
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THE CHOSEN: Invitations is an adaptation of Scripture. This episode treats the stories of Matthew and Nicodemus simultaneously. There are some very interesting elements that fill in the backstory of these two Biblical figures, and of Jesus to some degree.
Matthew is characterized as a quirky pawn of the Romans, who shows signs of OCD and germaphobia. He’s clearly a man who is unsettled in his own skin. He follows Jesus from a distance. One day Jesus walks up to him and calls him by name, asking Matthew to “Follow Me.” We know that Matthew got up and followed without hesitation. It is not hard to believe that the Holy Spirit prepared Matthew’s heart for that moment in time. However, it’s hard to know what happened in Matthew’s heart before that moment, because Scripture doesn’t give us that information.
Meanwhile, Nicodemus has his own journey, with plenty of pushback from the Jewish leaders. We can surmise this is true, because they met under the cover of night. In this episode, Jesus also calls Nicodemus to become an Apostle. Nicodemus never becomes an apostle, however, so it’s obvious that Nicodemus refuses the invitation. Though it makes for an interesting story element, it is a fairly big assumption that could take away from the power of Nicodemus’ search for truth. It is discouraging to believe that Nicodemus found the Truth and then didn’t follow Jesus. Nothing in Scripture seems to support this, but it is an interesting “other” story. For many Christians, the focus of Jesus meeting with Nicodemus is John 3:16, where Jesus says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish and have eternal life.”
THE CHOSEN: Invitations makes viewers think about Jesus. This is always a good thing. The acting is good, and the character development is interesting. Some caution is advised because some elements are added, and the story changed. It is always problematic when Scripture is changed or altered, because no one can get a message across better than the Holy Spirit through The Word of God. However, this episode of THE CHOSEN is a great “invitation” to read the Bible and see what’s there.
