The Chosen Season 2 Episode 2
Thursday
Nights
July
14, 2022
Script
Welcome to our Thursday movie night.
We love the TV
series called “The Chosen”.
I’d like to remind
you that to watch the actual episodes, you are going to need to go to “thechosen.tv” to watch
them. You can watch on a browser, or better
yet, download the
free app, and you can watch on your mobile device, and some Smart TVs now have an
“Angel Studios” app as another way to watch all the episodes for free.
Again, let me repeat, due to new copyright changes, we are not going to be
showing the actual episode here on our YouTube channel.
So you will need to watch the episode either on
the website or one of the apps.
I’d like to
encourage you to be sure to turn on “Closed Captions”. You’ll get a lot more out of the episode if
you do.
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 segment we call…
In the
Scriptures
You may want to jot down some of these verses so you can look them up
later.
John 1:43-51
This is the main passage behind the episode. This is where the apostle John recorded how Jesus asked Philip
to follow Him.
Then John records that Philip found his friend Nathanael and told him that they have found
the Messiah.
When Nathanael replies with the typical, “Can anything good come out of
Nazareth?”, Philip
responds with the classic line,
“Come and see”
(John 1:43–51 NKJV) —43
The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and
He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city
of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of
whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son
of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of
Nazareth?” Philip said to him,
“Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold,
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know
me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before
Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael
answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of
God! You are the King of Israel!” 50
Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to
you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater
things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you
shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man.”
Deuteronomy
6:4-5
This is the great
Jewish passage known as the “shema”. “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is
one!”
You will hear someone recite this.
Psalm 102:2
You will also hear the same character recite this verse several times. The Psalmist wrote,
(Psalm 102:2 NKJV) Do not hide Your face from me in the
day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily.
Ezekiel 39:9-10
The disciples will all quote this together.
You’ve heard us
teaching about that great war coming in these last days – Gog and Magog.
The disciples are all aware of this prophecy and together they quote
Ezekiel 39:9-10
(Ezekiel 39:9–10 NKJV) —9
“Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will
go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the
bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them
for seven years. 10 They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any
from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will
plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says
the Lord God.
As with the
previous episodes, some of this episode will introduce things with which we
have no record of Jesus or the disciples saying or doing.
But the
principles that are being laid out are generally very consistent with the
character of Jesus as well as the cultural background of how people lived in
the first century.
In a way, this is not much different from when a pastor teaches you about the culture and language of the
Bible. There is a lot to be learned when
it comes to the background of what we read in scripture.
But … if your only ideas about Jesus come from watching “The Chosen”, you
are cheating yourself.
As the producers
of “The Chosen” will encourage you, make sure you are reading your Bible, and
especially the gospels, for the best information.
It’s the Bible we build our lives on, not “The Chosen”.
Now, for our section we call …
Terms and
Practices
Let’s start with some geographical terms…
Bashan
…is the region of Israel
in the north, on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.
Jesus and His
disciples are no longer in Samaria, but they are now in the Bashan.
Caesarea
Philippi
…is a city in Bashan.
It’s a Roman
city, not a Jewish city.
It was located at the base of Mount Hermon.
It was filled
with pagan temples, and especially to the god Pan.
Today it is
known as Banias, based on the name Pan.
This is where
Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say I am?”
Syria
Just like today, the land
of Syria was to the north of Israel.
Jesus and His disciples are eventually heading to Syria.
In the next episode, you will find Jesus and His disciples in Syria,
ministering to the sick and poor.
Cana
Someone refers to what Jesus did in Cana. Notice how close it is to Nazareth.
In the last season,
episode 5, when Jesus turned water into wine in Cana.
It was His
first public miracle. After that it
became known that Jesus was something special.
Bet Midrash
This is a term
that means “House of Learning”.
The episode is
using this to describe what we might call “Jewish School”, aimed at young boys.
It involved studying and memorizing the Hebrew Scriptures.
Hubris
Some of you may be unacquainted with this term.
It simply means “pride”
Fig tree
There will be a character
who will go out in a field and sit down under a tree. It’s a fig tree.
There is something deeper here that you might not catch.
According to
rabbinic tradition, fig trees were frequently cited as appropriate places for
teachers to discuss the meaning of the scriptures with their students.
Keep that in mind when that one character is sitting there talking to God.
Ashes
You will see a
character pouring ashes over their head.
For the Jews, this
was a way of expressing deep loss, mourning, or sadness.
You can see
examples of this in 2Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:3
(2 Samuel 13:19 NKJV) Then Tamar put ashes
on her head, and tore her robe of many colors that was
on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away crying bitterly.
(Esther 4:3 NKJV) And in every province
where the king’s command and decree arrived, there was great mourning
among the Jews, with fasting, weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth
and ashes.
Carpenter
This term isn’t used or focused on in the episode, but I want you to think
a little outside the box tonight.
It has been a
tradition in the Christian church to call Jesus a “carpenter”, and with that we think of
Him as a woodworker with hammers, saws, and chisels.
The Bible tells
us that Joseph was a carpenter (Mat. 13:55)
(Matthew 13:55 NKJV) Is this not the
carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses,
Simon, and Judas?
And yes, the
Bible tells us that Jesus was a carpenter
(Mark 6:3 NKJV) Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary…
But keep in mind, the
Greek word translated “carpenter” in the New Testament is tekton, which
can mean “builder, artisan, craftsman”
The root (techne) carries
the idea of “skill, or trade”.
If you think
about it, the land of Israel is known more for being a land filled with rocks
and stones than it is for wood.
This word tekton can just as much be about shaping
stone as it is wood.
Peter will write about how Jesus is shaping us “living stones” into a
temple.
(1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) you also, as
living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…
Why bring this up here?
The episode we
are watching will end in the city of Caesarea Philippi. Though it is not brought up in this episode,
this is where Jesus will one day ask His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?”
When Peter responds by saying that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus says,
(Matthew 16:18 NKJV) And I also
say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock
I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
There are a lot of ideas packed into this verse, but
let me just say that the ministry of Jesus the stone cutter is all about taking
us, like Peter, as “living stones” and building His church with us.
In this episode you are going to watch Jesus working to shape His “living
stones”, even
adding an architect into the mix.
We might call
this shaping “discipleship”
You will hear Jesus challenging the architect about building something that
will cause prayers, songs, and bring souls closer to God.
That’s the church. Not a building,
but a spiritual house of people.
Lastly, a section we refer to as…
Characters
I’m hoping that
by now you are quite familiar with Jesus and the disciples. Tonight we will add
two more characters.
Philip
…has been a follower of John
the Baptist, whom Simon Peter likes to call “Creepy John”.
In a way, Philip has been a “disciple” longer than any of Jesus’ disciples.
Nathanael
… is a friend of Philip’s
His name means
“God has given”
Some have suggested that he is also
known by the name of Bartholomew.
Bartholomew means “son of Ptolemy”
and could be more of a “last name”.
Bartholomew doesn’t appear in the
Gospel of John, while Nathanael doesn’t appear in the synoptic gospels
We are introduced to Nathanael as an “architect”, but I could find nothing
in Scripture, nor in history, validating this.
Just take this as character development, and a way of weaving some plot
points together.
Don’t make too much of it.
Matthew
Matthew is not just an odd duck
because of his super smarts.
He’s not just hated because he had
been a tax collector.
He’s also different because he
skipped bet Midrash and didn’t learn some of the things that the other
disciples all know.
Matthew is going to have someone to
take him under his wing.
One of my favorite parts is where
someone says to Matthew,
“What you think you know doesn’t
matter, only that Jesus chose you”
To find out more
about the Chosen…
In a moment we will be asking you to go and watch tonight’s episode. How do you do that?
Open your
browser and go to “thechosen.tv” on the web, or download
the free app for
your mobile device. If you are on a SmartTV, you may be able to add an “Angel Studios” app to
watch the episode.
Be sure you are
watching … Season Two, Episode 2 titled “I Saw You”
We also encourage
you to give your financial support to this project. We do.
We’d like to
also encourage you to think about hosting a “watch” party. Even if you’ve already seen each episode, we
are finding it’s so much more fun and edifying to watch with others.
After you’ve watched the
episode, head back to the church YouTube channel. We will follow up each
episode with a live discussion in our office studio, unpacking and exploring
some of the themes and ideas that came up in the episode.
We’ll start as the credits are rolling.
If you have any
questions or comments you’d like to share during our post-episode discussion, just text the
church office at 714-879-3314
We will do our best to address as many of the comments as we can.
So here we go. Go and watch the episode, and we’ll see you
back here afterwards for our discussion …
… in about 50-55 minutes…
Some After Episode
Discussion Ideas –
We talked about the concept of “carpenter” carrying the idea of a “stone
cutter”, and Jesus building His church with us as living stones.
What are ways that Jesus uses to “shape” us as He builds His church with
us?
The episode was titled “I Saw You”.
Jesus saw Nathanael at his lowest while sitting under the fig tree.
Have you ever had an experience where you realized that Jesus “sees” you?
When Nathanael says that “nothing good can come from Nazareth”, Philip
responded by asking Nathanael to “Come and see”.
When we are sharing the gospel with others, what does “Come and see” look
like?
A lot of the disciples do not like Matthew.
They often make fun of him or are mean to him.
Who shows kindness to Matthew? How
did they do this?
Can you think of Christians in your life who are not appreciated like
Matthew?
How should we treat them?
Did you notice how many of the disciples have memorized portions of
Scripture?
How are those memorized verses used?
Are there verses you might want to memorize?
Episode Notes –
“I Saw You”
We meet Nathanael
Pay attention to how Nathanael talks to the foreman. Does Nathanael tell him what he wants to
hear, or does he tell him the truth?
His construction project fails (he’s an architect)
He’s working in Caesarea Philippi – a Roman city
About Caesarea Philippi, where it got it’s
name, etc
(note: Jesus and His disciples have
moved to Bashan – talk about where that is, away from Samaria)
3:36 We meet Philip
They respond with swords, Philip is like a hippie
Simon is suspicious
Andrew shows up, he knows Philip
John 1
Philip is kind to Matthew
Matthew is impressed by Philip’s knowledge of scripture
7:38 Gog/Magog quote on burning weapons
Nathanael goes to a bar.
Nathanael feels like he’s died.
He loves God
He describes buildings as a way to bless God
Hubris = “pride”
Philip talks with Matthew
Sleepers vs. Awake
Matthew skipped ahead in Hebrew school
(talk about Hebrew school, what Jewish boys know)
Philip has a different perspective in life
Matthew has trouble understanding, frustrated
15:20 Nathanael sitting under the fig tree
Note: According to rabbinic
tradition, fig trees were frequently cited as appropriate places for teachers
to discuss the meaning of the scriptures with their students.
Speaking to God
He’s done everything for God
He burns his plans
He’s quoting Scriptures –
The Shema
(Psalm 102:2 NKJV) Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your
ear to me; In the day
that I call, answer me speedily.
God seems to be silent
He cries, “Do You See Me?”
18:20 Philip teaches Matthew how to scrape logs
Philip talks about jokes, tells Matthew to learn jokes
Matthew talks about his dog
Philip: “If
Jesus of Nazareth calls you, you have all you need, He’ll give you the rest in
time”
Jesus doesn’t love everything about religion
20:28 “What you think you know doesn’t matter, only that Jesus chose you”
“A vegetable joke … but it’s corny”
Nathanel beneath the tree, pours ashes on himself
Leaves at night
22:30 Jesus returns to camp and meets Philip
Jesus remembers Philip from His own baptism
Jesus asks Philip to follow Him at the same time that
Philip says “I will”
Philip tells Jesus about John meeting with Nicodemus in prison
“John told me to expect anything”
… what You did in Cana …
Remind folks of the miracle in Cana, turning water into wine
Jesus says that Philip will be the most experienced of all His followers
They are in Bashan, near Caesarea Philippi (a Roman city).
Show on the map
Moving on to Syria
Jesus thinking about how He is going to talk about His death
Philip wants to talk to a friend in Caesarea Philippi
27:10 Morning in campsite
Mary and Ramah
Mary is Packing. Never knowing when
they will move
Mary says the women need to catch up in memorizing Scripture
Philip tells stories about John, learning names
He says Matthew was the one who did the work collecting wood
Thaddeus talks to Matthew, they both like Philip
Matthew is writing daily.
He wants to make a written record.
Simon argues with Matthew about writing words down.
Matthew stands up to Simon
Walking to next spot
Jesus tells Simon that He’s okay with Matthew writing
Simon talks to Jesus about leadership, formalize a structure
Jesus is nice to Simon, but also corrects him
38:10 Mary and Ramah talk to Matthew, want to borrow a tablet
“They don’t allow women in the bet midrash”
Thomas and Ramah – he offers to help out with any
questions
Matthew and Philip
Matthew wants a passage to memorize
Matthew: I want to make up for lost
time
Philip: Matthew, you didn’t lose time, it just got rearranged, and you’re
making up for it now
41:35 Philip meets Nathanael
Nathanael is asleep at daytime
Philip is sorry for Nathanael
“cold day in Gehenna” … (hell)
Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the Messiah, “the One”
Can anything good from from Nazareth … come and
see (John 1)
47:10 Jesus meets Philip and Nathanael on a road at night
Jesus calls Nathanael a “truth teller” (no guile or deceit) – possibly
referring to Nathanael and his foreman, etc.
Jesus mentions Nathanael in his lowest moment.
“I saw you under the fig tree”
Like Jacob, seeing the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of
Man
Jacob’s ladder
Perhaps talk about Jesus as a “carpenter”(tekton)
His father was called a carpenter
(Matthew
13:55 NKJV) Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His
mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
Jesus was called a carpenter
(Mark 6:3 NKJV) Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James,
Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
The root (techne) carries the idea of “skill, or trade”. A related word is often translated
“craftsman, designer”
If you think about it, the land of Israel is known more for being a land
filled with rocks and stoned than it is for wood.
Perhaps more like a stone mason than a wood carver.
Living stones
(1
Peter 2:4–6 NKJV) —4 Coming to Him as to a living
stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in
the Scripture, “Behold,
I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who
believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
The episode will end in the city of Caesarea Philippi.
(Matthew 16:13–18
NKJV) —13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His
disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they
said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say
that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is
in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall
not prevail against it.