Summer
Movie Nights
July
8, 2021
(we need to get the correct closed captions for the video file)
Script
Welcome to our Thursday movie night.
We love the TV
series called “The Chosen”.
Tonight’s episode is very much a continuation from last week’s
episode.
If you haven’t seen last week’s episode, go to “thechosen.tv” tomorrow and watch it.
It’s our hope that this little introduction we give each week will give you
a little bit of a boost so that you can better enjoy the series.
First, a brief segment we call…
In the Scriptures…
This week’s episode comes from something recorded in Luke.
Last week’s
episode concluded with Jesus casting out Mary’s demons.
Luke records that after Jesus had done some of His miracles, including
casting out demons…
(Luke 4:37 NKJV) …the report
about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
We will see how some of the “news” and rumors that are spreading about
Jesus.
There is no
historical record in the Bible of the rest of the events that make up much this
episode. You’re going to need to get
used to it because it won’t be until episode 4 that we dive head into events of
the New Testament.
The producers
are being very intentional in building a first century Jewish world before our
eyes before they tell the actual stories.
Most of the script is based on things that are very plausible from what we
know of culture, history, and archaeology.
Some of the stories are indeed conjecture, but again, the producers are
setting the stage.
When they finally dip into the gospels, you will have already been immersed
in a rich historical and cultural setting that will make the gospel stories so
much more vivid.
As the producers
of “The Chosen” will encourage you, make sure you are reading your Bible, and
especially the gospels, for the best information.
Now, for our section we call …
Terms and
Practices
Sabbath
Dinners
Much of the episode will be centered around the Jewish tradition of Sabbath
(or, “Shabbat”) dinners.
The observance of the Sabbath will play a huge part in the story of
Jesus. This episode will give us a much
better understanding of this.
The Sabbath
begins on Friday evening after sundown, when the first star can be seen in the
sky.
Jews are not to do any work for the
next 24 hours, but eating is okay as long as you stop
cooking by Friday evening. Everything
eaten after Friday evening has to be pre-cooked.
The principle
of Shabbat comes from Exodus 20, the fourth commandment. You’ll hear portions of this read.
(Exodus 20:8–11 NKJV) —8
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days
you shall labor and do all your work, 10
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall
do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor
your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within
your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and
rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
hallowed it.
The specific ritual of the Shabbat Dinner developed over time,
and is an ancient one.
The episode starts 1,000 years before Jesus, to show a Jewish community
celebrating much the same way they would in Jesus’ day, and not too differently
than it is even today.
You’ll see some
of the rich traditions for these dinners included things like welcoming
strangers, scriptures, and food.
Some people made these dinners into
a show of their wealth to impress or gain honor from others.
Others simply do this to honor God.
You will see a contrast in how people are trying to honor God.
You will hear
about an extra seat at the table set for Elijah – this will be an innocent
“mistake” that one of the characters will make and you’ll see them being
corrected. Pay attention for what happens with this extra seat…
Shabbat
Shalom
You’ll hear this phrase many times.
It means
“Sabbath Peace” and is a greeting for the Sabbath.
Pharisees
These are the guys wearing the black robes.
They practice the strictest form of Judaism.
When a Pharisee was seen in a marketplace, he was often seen praying, and
so you will see people trying to avoid him and bowing their heads in respect to
God.
Chinnereth
Chinnereth was a city on the Sea of Galilee, which was also known as
the Sea of Chinnereth in the Old Testament.
In Jesus’ day
it was also called Gennesaret, and today there is a small settlement there
called Nof Ginosaur.
Capernaum
This is the city on the north side of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus did
most of his ministry.
Praetor’s
Office
Notice the tile
on the floor of the Praetor’s office.
When you visit Israel, you will see many examples of this dating back to
the time of Jesus, like
this floor in Sephoris, or this floor in Beit She’an.
“Dominus”
This is what Matthew calls the Praetor.
It is Latin
for “lord”
Absalom
He’s not a character in the episode, but he’s mentioned here.
He was King
David’s son. He rebelled against David, and died when his long hair was caught in a tree as he was in
battle.
Don’t know the story? The common people of Jesus’ day would have.
Lastly, a section we refer to as…
Characters
Most of the characters we met last week.
Mary
Magdalene
…is the woman from whom
Jesus cast out seven demons. Her life
has been radically changed.
At the beginning of the episode, Mary still doesn’t know Jesus’ name.
During the time
of her demon possession, she was known as “Lillith”
Matthew
…is a Jewish man who works
for Rome as a tax collector. As tax collector, he is
sometimes referred to as “Publicanus”.
He is hated by his fellow Jews.
Gaius
…is the Roman centurion,
kind of like a sergeant, a soldier whose job is to guard Matthew
Keep in mind
that Roman soldiers functioned as police
He’s scared to death of his boss, the Praetor.
Quintus
…is the Praetor,
the head Roman official in Capernaum.
He has the
power of life and death
Simon
(Peter)
…that conniving
fisherman trying to pay debts, whether through gambling, boxing matches, or
fishing.
IN our story He has made
an agreement with the Roman Praetor to spy on Jewish merchant fisherman, in
exchange for his own debts to be paid.
Eden (24:49)
is Simon
Peter’s wife.
Andrew
… is Simon Peter’s
brother, in business together as fishermen
Nicodemus
…is a respected
Pharisee, called the “Teacher of teachers”
He has a wife
(17:59)
He’s from Jerusalem, but is currently visiting
Capernaum.
In last week’s
episode, he tried to cast out Mary’s demons, but failed horribly.
Now why would they write this into the script when we have no record of any
such event taking place?
I think the point is to show that some rigidly, legalistic Pharisees, if
honest with themselves, would know how powerless their rituals and legalism
really were.
Nicodemus is a man searching for a deeper relationship with God.
Shmuel
We might call
his name “Samuel”.
He’s a rabbi in
Capernaum who has been trying to impress Nicodemus.
We’ll meet a few
New Characters
James and
John
We only get a brief introduction to them.
They are fishermen, the sons of Zebedee.
Av Beit Din
You’ll see this character only briefly as Nicodemus is reporting to him.
Jewish Trivia: This is the title of the
second-highest ranking member of the Sanhedrin in Jesus’ day.
What he’s doing in Capernaum … I don’t know.
James &
Thaddeus (31:33)
You’ll meet them briefly.
They are already disciples of Jesus.
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 head back to the Calvary Fullerton YouTube channel to watch the
live broadcast as we discuss what we will have just watched.
As per our agreement
with The Chosen, our YouTube presentation of the episode will only be up for 24
hours. After that, if you want to
rewatch the episode, you will need to go to the Chosen website or use their
app.
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…