Moreover, her biblical significance has been amplified even more by the attention that she's received from the interpretative and artistic traditions of the West. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. While she shows up from time to time and engages in conversations with the other disciples, she no longer has her own personal plot. Although The Chosen is still a few seasons away from the Resurrection of Jesus, it is clearly beginning with the end in mind. I hope you enjoy them! Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? Im not a person who cries during Jesus movies, but Ive cried several times during this series, because you can just feel the humanity of the scenes and everything is ten times more relatable. This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. That being said, there's no biblical reason to think that she could not have done so. The Gospels don't tell us very much about what these women do, with the significant exception of the burial and resurrection, but this provides leeway for female characters to play a more significant role throughout the ministry of Jesus and not just when they are mentioned. After Jesus heals her evil spirit, she resumes calling herself "Mary," her birth name, and refuses to answer to the name associated with her spiritual oppression. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. And to be fair, there isnt a whole lot of backstory for any of the disciples in the Bible, so its not a surprise the writers filled in the blanks with some artistic license. (for LOTR: Arwen's bigger role, some action scenes. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. Can you think of moments when you may need to be reminded that God is with you? Your contributions mean so much. In the same way, we get our first glimpse of the pre-resurrected Jesus as we follow her struggles in the first episode. Dallas Jenkins (Director) is not Catholic, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I have seen anywhere. Although there's nothing in the Gospels that suggests that these two figures should be linked together, Mary mistakenly became identified with the forgiven prostitute in the interpretative tradition of the Western Church. There's a sense in which Mary's demons might be seen as a metaphor for the oppressive forces that brought her into her life in the sex trade but this is only barely suggested. In the passage, who is it that says, "I have called you by name"? Luke notes that Mary had seven spirits exorcised from her, but the other women experienced miraculous healing as well. Starting around episode three I think is when it finds its groove. Your contributions mean so much. This is symbolically tied to her encounter with another demon, Belial, who calls Mary Lilith, asserting the continued existence and power of her old identity. This is Tom My 3 month old son is battling an extremely rare and [Free Friday] after an early miscarriage 3 weeks ago, I Our new campus chapel is so close to being ready! These experiences cause Mary to flee back to her old life, drinking and gambling. Jesus clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear that he was committed to pursuing them and offering forgiveness (. East pencil writes or draws used for note taking West pencil is yellow has a eraser and lead. The Chosen invents this story to illustrate biblical teachings about Jesus' grace and forgiveness. It's a great comfort in the midst of the pandemic and other turmoil. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. As a result, adaptations of the Gospels from previous generations place a greater emphasis on how Jesus calls Mary to repent and brings about her moral transformation. Did anyone notice what it was that made her recognize him? The Chosen isn't trying to mess with the Bible. Her name always was Mary, but through her past of turmoil, mental illness, rape, or whatever else caused her to be mentally tortured, she led everyone to believe she was Lilith. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (Luke 8:1-3). Catholic priest burned to death, another shot in north Press J to jump to the feed. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, and she financially aided him in Galilee. I'm not saying we needed to see anything explicit, but the show certainly could have implied a bit more than it did. So you have to watch past the first couple episodes to get to the good ones. Lilith here could just mean demon possessed. Still, at the end of the day, the 12 disciples who get the most screen time in the Gospels are all males. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. By noting how Mary is in the "Red Quarter", The Chosen is implying that she is a prostitute. The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. You can also purchase the DVDs of season 1 on Amazon if you're worried about trying to stream & do Zoom at the same time. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (. I would have introduced her PTSD much earlier in the season, giving her more space to try to struggle with it on her own before eventually falling back into her old life. The assumption at that time was that women became prostitutes because they were inherently immoral and desirous. The difference between its depiction of her life as a prostitute, with super-sexualized clothing and a zebra chariot, and The Chosen's depiction of her life is emblematic of changing views of prostitutes between the 1920's and today. They prompt us to consider how these two events, Mary's first encounter with Jesus and her first encounter with the risen Jesus, are connected in a deeper way. An adaptation like The Chosen isn't meant to replace the Bible; it's meant to drive us deeper into the Bible and spiritual reflection. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by evil spirits for some time. One challenge that film adaptations of Jesus' life need to overcome is the lack of significant female characters. In The Chosen, Mary Magdalene is played by Elizabeth Tabish. Everything is very true to the Gospels, and theres no dialogue written to score theological points. ***Update: Learn more about the origin of "Lilith" in my recent post ***. The creators of The Chosen have published interactive Bible Studies that are meant to explore some of the Scripture and biblical themes that inspired Season 1 and help viewers apply them to everyday life. It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. For the most part, I just clarified who characters were (see my comment above) and occasionally I briefly explained a reference or allusion that was confusing to my youth. The creators of The Chosen have published a series of interactive Bible Studies that help viewers explore some of the Scripture and biblical themes that inspired the show. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. Over time, the label stuck and now many adaptations depict her this way. The Chosen does the "misunderstood reject rather than sinner" quite a bit in Season 1, but I think it's a sensible direction for Mary's character. If you try it out, please let me know how it goes and if you have any feedback! Describe a pencil. Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? Personally, I would have been much more interested in a subplot about Mary's former pimp trying to coerce her back into her former life than I am with the overly long fish taxation plot. Having offered some criticism, I will say that the scene of Jesus forgiving Mary was moving. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. What's disappointing is that it doesn't delve too far into the implications of this. The episode with the woman at the well in the season finale could have been an interesting opportunity to bring her character into conflict with the other male disciples, but this opportunity was also missed. We need to remember the perspective is of east and west are different East is how it performs, what it does its function West they would describe what it is or made of. Thats as far off-script as they go for the rest of the season, everything else is pretty true to a harmonized Gospel narrative. Why do you think the creators added them? (the Lord), Who is it that says these words in the show? When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. It hints at where the show is going: This passage takes place after Jesus' death and resurrection at the end of the Gospels. (he calls her by her name), How does this connect to what happened in episode 1? (he calls her by name at the end when he heals her). She struggles to believe that she can be accepted after falling back into her old life but Jesus forgives her and the disciples embrace her. Just like one day Mary Magdalene will be caught up in despair because she can't find Jesus' body, she's caught up in despair at her own situation. In my opinion it works. This version of Mary - not the one who needs moral reformation but the one who needs sympathy and belonging - fits perfectly with the kinds of stories that The Chosen has focused on. To recap: in, One other thing - the show could have allowed some of the disciples (like John) to go a bit further in being judgmental toward after her return. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. She is clearly sleeping with a man out of wedlock when the episode begins and they are sleeping together in "the Red Quarter" - a sleazy part of town. Dallas mentioned how some viewers didn't like that Mary fell back into old ways, which seems ridiculous, but just goes to show how out of touch some people are with both real life and how stories work. (for LOTR: Tom Bombadil. we first meet her as a client flees her place in "the Red Quarter"), but it's relatively disinterested in depicting what her life as a prostitute was actually like. It is an excellent form of Lectio Divina. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Many characters and stories are based on events in the Gospels, but there are also characters and events that the creators made up to tie things together. 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