Summer
Movie Nights
July
1, 2021
Welcome to our Thursday movie night.
We love the TV
series called “The Chosen”.
For some folks, it takes an episode or two before they catch on to what’s
going on.
It’s our hope
that this little introduction we give each week will give you just enough of a boost that you can better enjoy the series from the very
beginning.
First, a brief segment we call…
In the Scriptures…
In Episode 1.1, there really is only one historical Scripture that this
episode covers, from a snippet of a verse where Luke mentions some of the
people who followed Jesus including …
(Luke 8:2 NKJV) …certain women who had been healed of
evil spirits and infirmities—(including …) Mary called
Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons,
The New Testament doesn’t tell us the story of how Jesus did this, only
that it happened.
The rest of the
episode is about setting up the background to several of the people you will
see in the gospels and through the series.
Some of the extra
things are very plausible from what we know of culture, history, and
archaeology.
Some of it is
simple harmless conjecture, intended to help flesh out the characters of these individuals
that play such an important role in the Bible.
As the producers
of “The Chosen” will encourage you, make sure you are reading your Bible for
the best information.
Now, for our section we call …
Terms and
Practices
You will hear
Jewish words “eema” and “abba”. Eema means “mother”, and “abba” means father.
Roman terms –
Praetor – this
is a Roman magistrate, something akin to a local governor or appointed mayor
over a city.
Centurion –
this is a soldier, perhaps something akin to a “sergeant”, and here maybe more
like a police sergeant.
You will meet a
man in the tavern who is a “eunuch”, a man who has been castrated. He is someone with whom a woman is safe with.
You will hear
the word “Shabbat”, the proper
name for the “Sabbath”, Saturday,
the seventh day, when Jews were not allowed to work.
You will see
the importance the Jews place on Scripture.
You will see
that even common people memorized Scripture.
You will see
the practice of writing Scripture verses on little strips of paper, sometimes rolled up and
hidden in things (just
like the Jews still do today with scripture verses that are hidden in what is called a mezuzah,
nailed to a doorpost)
You will hear
mention of the “Red Quarter” – we use the term today “red light district”, it’s
the part of the
city where prostitutes work.
You will hear
the word “tallit”, referring
to the Jewish prayer shawl worn over the head.
You will hear
God called “Adonai”, which
means “Lord”. Adonai
is not God’s name, but His title. He is
“Lord”.
Lastly, a section we refer to as…
Characters
the first person we’ll meet is
Mary
Magdalene
She is the
little scared girl talking to her father in her home village of Magdala, where
she was raised to honor God.
You will also
see her grown up, in the city of Capernaum, where she is struggling with demon
possession and is working as a prostitute.
Capernaum is the
city on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus will spend most of His time.
Mary will be
called by the name “Lillith” at times, this is the name that the demons gave
her.
Nicodemus
He will be the
Jewish leader who is called “The Teacher of Israel”.
He is a member
of the Sanhedrin. He’s the guy that one
day will visit Jesus at night (John 3)
He’s from
Jerusalem, and his parents apparently live near the Dead Sea, but he is going
to visit the city of Capernaum.
Matthew
We will meet Matthew, a young Jewish man, as he is getting ready for work as a tax collector
(or, “publican”) in
the city of Capernaum.
Because of Matthew, you
will get a taste of how the Jewish people feel about the Roman
occupiers.
And how the Jewish people feel about these Jewish “tax collectors” who
worked for Rome.
Simon
You will
eventually know him as “Peter”.
You will meet
him as a strong, conniving fisherman fighting to feed his family.
We will see him
like many of the Jews in his day trying to find ways of paying off debts and
taxes.
Andrew
Simon Peter’s
brother
They’re in
business together as fishermen.
He’s also a
follower of John the Baptist, whom Peter will call Andrew’s “bug eating
friend”.
…And you will
meet Jesus.
I think you’ll recognize Him when you see Him.
We encourage you to
To find out more
about the Chosen…
Open your
browser and go to “thechosen.tv” on the web, or download
the free app for
your mobile device. You’ll be able to
watch the episodes over and over from there.
We also encourage
you to give your financial support to this project. We do.
At the end of
the episode, be sure to watch
the live broadcast on our YouTube channel as we discuss what we will have just watched.
Now hold on tight, because
here we go …
At the end…
When the credits are over, be sure to watch the live broadcast from our
YouTube channel as we discuss what we’ve just watched…