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The Chosen Season 2

Thursday Nights

August 11, 2022

“Unlawful”

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.

Leviticus 24:5-9

You are going to hear about a special kind of “bread”.

We call this bread the “showbread”, or many translations call it the “bread of the Presence”.

In the Hebrew, it’s literally “bread of face”,

פָּנִ֖ים לְפָנַ֥י

Panim (bread) and lepanay (of face)

and when you are before someone’s “face”, you are in their “presence”.

This bread was baked in twelve loaves, one for each tribes of Israel. Each loaf was made from four quarts of flour, so they were pretty hefty loaves of bread. The loaves were stacked on a special golden table inside the Holy Place in the Tabernacle. For extra credit, you can check out Exodus 25:23-30 to read about that special golden table.

Every Sabbath, the priests would bring fresh bread into the Holy Place and replace the week-old bread. Moses records…

(Leviticus 24:9 NKJV) And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

This week-old bread was to be eaten by priests in a holy place.

(Leviticus 24:5–9 NKJV) —5 “And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7 And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

(Exodus 25:23–30 NKJV) —23 “You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 24 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around. 25 You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs. 27 The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 28 And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. 29 You shall make its dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold. 30 And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.

1Samuel 21:1-6

The story takes place in the early life of David before he became king. David has already killed the giant Goliath. It didn’t take long before things began to sour between young David and King Saul. Saul was jealous of David and was trying to kill him. David and his men were on the run and stopped at the priestly city of Nob and asked the priest Ahimelech if he had any food. The only food Ahimelech had available was this special “showbread”. After some discussion, Ahimelech gave David and his men the showbread to eat.

(1 Samuel 21:1–6 NKJV) —1 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech was afraid when he met David, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one is with you?” 2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has ordered me on some business, and said to me, ‘Do not let anyone know anything about the business on which I send you, or what I have commanded you.’ And I have directed my young men to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore, what have you on hand? Give me five loaves of bread in my hand, or whatever can be found.” 4 And the priest answered David and said, “There is no common bread on hand; but there is holy bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women.” 5 Then David answered the priest, and said to him, “Truly, women have been kept from us about three days since I came out. And the vessels of the young men are holy, and the bread is in effect common, even though it was consecrated in the vessel this day.” 6 So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, in order to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.

Matthew 12:1-13

There are really two different but related stories in this passage.

In Matthew 12:1-8, Jesus and the disciples are passing through grainfields on the Sabbath and the hungry disciples begin to pluck the heads of grain and eat.

The story of David and the showbread will come into play in this passage.

(Matthew 12:1–8 NKJV) —1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

In Matthew 12:9-13, Jesus enters a synagogue and heals a man with a withered hand. And of course Jesus did this on the Sabbath.

(Matthew 12:9–13 NKJV) —9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.

Our episode is called “Unlawful”. But keep in mind, when the Jews accuse Jesus of breaking the law, it’s not breaking the Law of Moses, but their traditions contained in the Mishna.

Psalm 20:7

Someone will quote this verse …

(Psalm 20:7 NKJV) Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 139:8

Several characters have been working all during season two to memorize this verse.

(Psalm 139:8 NKJV) If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

Mary Magdalene had been memorizing it, but failed to hang on to it when she ran away out of fear of the Romans and the demoniac.

Matthew has also been working on this verse. At the end of the last episode, Jesus encouraged Matthew to remember the verse. Listen for Matthew to use the verse.

Isaiah 43:1

We won’t hear this verse directly, but it’s the verse that Mary Magdalene’s father taught her when she was little. It’s the verse that Jesus quoted to her when He delivered her from her demons.

(Isaiah 43:1 NKJV) But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

You will hear Mary remember her father saying to her that these are the “words we say when we are scared”… this verse contains those words.

Daniel 7:13-14

We have now seen several times through the last two seasons where Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of Man”.

What is this title and where does it come from?

This is a title of the Messiah. It refers to Jesus’ being not just fully God, but also fully human.

Daniel saw a vision of this individual:

(Daniel 7:13–14 NKJV) —13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.

When Jesus claims this title for Himself, He is clearly telling people that He is the Messiah, the deliverer, the One who will rule over all.

Most of the Jews understand what this title is all about.

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

Pikuach nefesh

This is a principle in Jewish law that states that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule in Judaism.

The rule is based on two verses…

(Leviticus 18:5 NKJV) You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.

And

(Ezekiel 20:11 NKJV) And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’

The interpretation of these verses goes like this –

We “live by God’s laws, and not die by them”

So, if a rule places a life in danger, then it’s okay to break that rule.

Eema and Abba

Just in case you haven’t picked up on them yet, these are terms for “mother” and “father”.

Jewish Laws

Several times you will hear the number 613.

This refers to the number of Laws in the Old Testament.

Knucklebones

This is a game found in various forms throughout the world, dating back to prehistorical times.

It’s similar to our American game of “jacks”.

In some ancient forms, bones of animals were used instead of “jacks”.

Hillel & Shammai

We talked about this last week, but it’s worth reviewing.

In Jesus’ day, the sect known as the Pharisees was divided into two schools of thought when it came to interpreting the Jewish oral traditions or “Mishna”.

Hillel was the older scholar and was more gentle in his interpretations.

He is no longer alive in Jesus’ day, but his son Shimon is the current president of the Sanhedrin.

We won’t meet Shimon, but we will meet his secretary Dunash.

Shammai was younger than Hillel and is still alive in this episode.

Shammai was stricter in his interpretations of the Law.

A character will tell a story of Shammai at the birth of his grandson. It took place during the Feast of Tabernacles, and in order to keep his daughter from breaking the traditions about the feast, Shammai climbed on the roof of the room where she was giving birth, then tore a hole in the roof, making the room a “booth” or “Sukkah” so she was still acting lawfully.

That was a true historical story.

Wadi Kelt

It’s time for a geography lesson.

To give you a lay of the land – Jesus and His disciples had been in Jerusalem for Tabernacles, then they relocated down by the river Jordan (the blue line).

Mary Magdalene will be running off to Jericho.

Jesus and His disciples will visit a small synagogue in Wadi Kelt, which was a dry river bed near Jericho.

For those of you on the 2015 trip to Israel, you might recall us being on the “Good Samaritan Road” between Jericho and Jerusalem, and stopping to get a glimpse of the St. George Monastery, which is in Wadi Kelt.

The “Wadi Kelt” in the episode isn’t going to look much like this…

Jotapata

Sounds like something in Star Wars, right?

There is a brief mention of a place called Jotapata.

This is a city far in the north from where Jesus is at the moment, about eight miles north of Nazareth.

Thirty-five years after our episode, in AD 67 during the final Jewish rebellion, this will be the location of a great battle with the Romans, where Josephus records that 40,000 Jews were killed, and 1200 were taken into slavery.

It will be a hotbed of Jewish rebellion.

Lastly, a section we refer to as…

Characters

Again I’m hoping that by now you are quite familiar with Jesus and the disciples.

Let me remind you of a few important details from previous episodes…

Mary Magdalene

… had been delivered from demonic possession by Jesus way back in Season One, episode one. Before Jesus found her, she had been known by the name of “Lillith” or “Lilly”.

In her past, Mary had addiction problems with alcohol.

In the last episode, Mary was upset when she encountered Roman soldiers, and then a demon possessed man. She has run away to Jericho.

John the Baptist

Last week we became a little better acquainted with John.

The episode ended with John intending to go off to Jerusalem and confront Herod Antipas about his unlawful marriage to his sister-in-law Herodias.

Philip has also gone to Jerusalem. John is going to be arrested, and Philip will come back to report what has happened. Those disciples who were closest to John will be quite upset, as will Jesus.

Simon Z

I’m going to call him Simon “Z” because he was a zealot, and we want to tell him apart from Simon Peter.

The sect known as the Zealots wanted to overthrow Rome with violence.

After Jesus healed Simon’s brother Jesse in episode 4, Simon became a disciple of Jesus.

As a zealot, Simon is trained in the martial arts.

Tonight we will add a minor character …

Dunash

Is a Pharisee. He’s the secretary to Shimon, who is the president of the Sanhedrin.

Shimon and Dunash are from the school of Hillel, which thinks it’s more important to be compassionate than to be rigid with the Law.

He will have discussions with our other Pharisee friends, Shmuel and Yanni.

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 6 titled “Unlawful” (repeat)

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 45 minutes…

After Episode Discussion –

What was your favorite scene in the episode tonight?

Mother Mary and Ramah talked about why Jesus didn’t just magically fix the problem with Mary Magdalene.

Why does God allow bad things to happen? Why does God seem to allow us to “go astray”?

Did you pay attention to the passage being read in the synagogue in Wadi Kelt?

(Deuteronomy 23:3–4 NKJV) —3 “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

It was a bit ironic that they were reading about God keeping Ammon and Moab out of God’s people because they “did not meet you with bread and water”.

This is what the people of Wadi Kelt were doing to Jesus.

Jesus mentioned that the Jericho synagogue did not help Mary, and He was grieved about that.

When Mary Magdalene was in the tavern gambling, she makes a comment about the table “playing by the rules”.

This is the phrase that knocks some kind of sense into Mary and makes her eventually leave the tavern.

What role do “rules” play in our lives?

Last week I suggested that you all read

Galatians 6:1-2 (restoring those who stumble)

Simon Peter and Matthew are examples of how someone can be restored wo has stumbled.

Are there any lessons about restoration that you can learn from tonight’s episode?

What was that principle “Pikuach nefesh”, and how might Jesus and His disciples used that to help a Jewish person be a little more understanding to Jesus’ so called “breaking” of the Sabbath?

Did Jesus use “pikuach nefesh” as a reason to break the Sabbath?

What was Jesus’ explanation?

Do you recall which disciples were upset at the imprisonment of John the Baptist?

Was Jesus also upset at John’s arrest?

Jesus had to deal with two problems while He was grieving over John: 1) Mary’s return, and 2) the food running out.

How did Jesus’ grief over John affect how He handled these problems?

The synagogue leaders in Wadi Kelt struggled with what Jesus did in the synagogue (healing the withered hand), and then out in the fields (allowing His disciples to harvest grain to eat).

Do you think these leaders were completely against Jesus when they talked later?

- They did think it was cool that someone claiming to be the “Son of Man” had visited their small town.

- They also suggested that perhaps they should share about Jesus with the leaders of Jotapata – I would imagine those in Jotapata would be thrilled to hear someone was claiming to be the Messiah.

Gospel moments:

Jesus handling of Mary’s return.

What impressed you with how Jesus treated Mary after she returned back to camp?

Grace or condemnation?

Have you stumbled recently? How does Jesus respond to you when you fail?

Have you ever struggled with realizing that you are still flawed and will sin from time to time?

When Jesus says “I forgive you” to Mary, or He says that she shouldn’t be surprised when she is still tempted, does that mean that we don’t let Him help us resist sin?

Healing the withered hand

The man was more important than Sabbath traditions

Discipleship lessons

Why do you think Jesus sent Peter and Matthew to find Mary? Keep in mind that Peter hates Matthew.

Do you see Peter softening towards Matthew?

Do you see Matthew learning to stand up to Peter?

Episode Notes –

“Unlawful”

Opening sequence – David and Ahimelech

Ahimelech and his wife are talking about teaching son Abiathar about the showbread

The wife is talking about the “curses” on the family they are worried about (Ahimelech, the son of Ahitub, was a descendant of the priest Eli – on whom their line would have a curse because of Hophni and Phineas)

Ahimelech is teaching Abiathar about the loaves.

David shows up.

He is on a mission “from THE King” (God)

Pikuach nefesh (?) What is this?

Ahimelech knows something good will come through David

David mentions the “giant”

4:36 Simon wakes up in hay (in Jericho), Matthew is already up

Matthew is a mess, horse dung on him

They talk about how they will find Mary

Simon doesn’t know how to cook

Matthew describes Mary (he likes her)

Drunk Roman soldier, just come from tavern, came up “stairs”

8:25 mother Mary and Ramah looking for food

They talk about being hungry

Mary says Jesus is a mystery – in talking about why He doesn’t just make Mary to come back

They spy berries – poisonous

Mary talks about living in Egypt, Egyptian gods

Ramah doesn’t see how anything good can come from Mary M’s disappearance

Mary quotes, “some trust in chariots, some in horses, but we will trust in the name of Adonai our God”

(Psalm 20:7 NKJV) —7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

Ramah is still worried

11:15 Mary M at Tavern

Mary is gambling

“Thro” (Jethro) is running the tavern, “Hohj” is lead gambler

Mary wants the men to “play by the rules” – it makes her pause in saying it

Mary is “done” gambling

Mary is planning on drinking away her money

Thro steps in to protect Mary

Mary remembers her dad teaching her what to do when she is scared (“we say the words…”)

(Isaiah 43:1 NKJV) But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.

Mary leaves, leaves her money

13:25 Thomas is counting food portions, talking with Andrew

They don’t have enough food

Philip is not there, off perhaps in Jerusalem

Thomas wants to know if Jesus can make food

Andrew says that following John B often meant they went hungry

James and John chopping wood, watching Simon Z exercising

Zealots have lots of rules to follow

All Jews have 613 rules to follow

Eema and Abba –

James and John realize they have a long way to go in maturing

Why did Jesus pair up Simon and Matthew to find Mary?

James says, “I actually don’t understand why most of this, just pieces here and there, when good things happen, but the rest? I’m just following.”

John says it’s going to take a long time for everyone to understand

17:50 Simon and Matthew at the tavern

Simon knows places like this.

Matthew quotes Psalm 139 verse

(Psalm 139:8 NKJV) If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

Matthew speaks up, asks if they’ve seen Mary

Hohj speaks up. Mentions Lillith. Says she took his money

Knuckle bones

Matthew wants to split up, Simon says “no”.

Matthew says, “What if you were cut off from Jesus by something in your past? Wouldn’t you want help getting back to Him as soon as possible?”

Mary speaks up, “Boys?”

She’s drunk

“He already fixed me once, and I broke again”

Matthew speaks up, “I’m a bad person. My whole life, all for me. No faith.”

He tells her he owes much to her.

Simon mentions the lame man coming through the roof, at Mary’s suggestion.

Simon sees the good that Matthew is doing.

22:42 Pharisees talking in the temple

Dunash, Shmuel, Yanni

This must be President Shimon’s secretary (Dunash)

He acknowledges that with 613 commandments, some clash and cause pain and suffering

Shmuel quotes Psalm 19 – the Law is perfect, reviving the soul

Two witnesses required to establish a fact (Look up the verse)

If a man dies and his wife is the sole witness, it makes her … an agunah (abandoned woman). If she remarries, she becomes an adulterer and her children become illegitimate.

Dunash follows Hillel – the more compassionate school of thought among Pharisees

Shimon (son of Hillel) cares for people, women, widows, under valued

25:05 Yanni and Shmuel in a room

Upset that Dunash wouldn’t pursue the case against Jesus

They will now go to Shammai, the more rigid teacher.

Yanni mentions a story about Shammai and the Feast of Tabernacles

Making a hole in the roof made the birth chamber a “sukkah” so they wouldn’t be violating the law of Tabernacles. (True story)

26:35 The disciples

Philip is back with news about John the Baptist being arrested.

Mary returns with Simon and Matthew

Ramah and Mary mother hug Mary M.

Simon told about John’s arrest, Jesus knows

Mary wants to talk with Jesus

Jesus is alone in a tent – grieving over John B

Jesus says to Mary, it’s good to have you back

Mary is ashamed that Jesus redeemed her and she threw it all away.

Jesus says, “Well that’s not much of a redemption if it can be lost in a day”

She says she just can’t do it. Jesus says, do what? She says “repay you”

Jesus just wants her heart.

Do that and the rest will come in time

“Did you really think that you’d never struggle or sin again?”

He tells her to “look up” (is this from the first episode?)

Look at Me

I forgive you. It’s over

31:05 Andrew and others weeping over John

Philip describes life imprisonment.

Simon Z offers to break John out

Thomas says it’s worse … (they are out of food)

Thomas tells Jesus about the food

Jesus suggests they pray,

They will go to a local synagogue (Wadi Kelt)

33:20 Synagogue at Wadi Kelt

Preparations for synagogue meeting

Jesus and disciples walking through grain fields

Jesus sad that Mary wasn’t helped by synagogue in Jericho

Reading in synagogue – no one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord … No ammonites … because they did not meet you with bread and water …

Jesus greets man with withered hand (Elam)

The service is interrupted

It is not lawful to heal on Sabbath

This man is more valuable than a sheep

Jesus heals the man. Disciples are smiling. Stretch it out.

“If he was meant to be healed, God would have done it Himself … good point”

37:36 Jesus and disciples back out in grainfields

Peter accidently starts eating grain. Forgot it was Sabbath.

Jesus tells the disciples they may eat.

Priest comes up and wants to know who they are

Jesus mentions David and Ahimelech

The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.

“Son of Man” passage –

40:25 Priest at Wadi Kelt discussing Jesus

Should they alert the Sanhedrin?

Someone claiming to be the Son of Man

It sounds as if they might wonder if Jesus isn’t the Son of Man?

Where/what is Jotapata???

42:02 End