The story behind ‘The Chosen’ – 03/30/2024 – Reinaldo José Lopes

May the reader forgive me for my Catholic mind, but for this scribe the temptation to address biblical themes during Holy Week is almost impossible to overcome. This is why I would like to take advantage of the space, this time, for a very brief historical analysis of “The Chosen” (“The Chosen”), the popular American streaming series that is retelling the trajectory of Jesus of Nazareth and his apostles. For now, we’re on season four (out of a projected total of seven).

The richness of detail and the soap opera rhythm of the narrative require a good dose of creativity, especially with regard to the details of the personality and previous history of the disciples of the Nazarene — things about which the New Testament Gospels, in general, they silence. The canonical texts say, for example, that Peter had a mother-in-law (that is, he was or had been married) and that she was healed by Jesus, but we have no idea what his relationship with his wife was like or even her name. her.

Another interesting point to highlight is that, by trying to create a unique plot from the four Gospels, each of which has its own story and perspective on Christ, “The Chosen” takes up a very ancient Christian tradition, whose most famous representative takes the sonorous name of “Diatessaron” (something like “from four” in Greek). Composed around the year 170 AD by Tatian, a Christian scholar from Assyria (currently northern Iraq, roughly speaking), the work attempts to eliminate apparently duplicate characters and bring together the events cited by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in an order considered logical. (In most Christian churches, the idea ended up not catching on, and Tatian was even considered suspected of heresy.)

In the appearance of the characters, the series makes a welcome break with the old Hollywood habit of portraying the inhabitants of Judea and Galilee as blue-eyed Americans or Europeans. Jonathan Roumie, interpreter of Jesus and son of an Egyptian of Syrian origin and an Irish woman, would most likely not be out of place in Nazareth in the year 30 AD. A little more dubious historically is the presence of black actors and actors of Indian origin, but we know that the reach The “globalization” of Judaism is a very old phenomenon, as are the long-distance connections of the Roman Empire (coins from Rome have even been found in Vietnam, for example).

Interestingly, however, perhaps the biggest stumble of the first seasons has to do precisely with the Romans and the role of the villain Quintus (Brandon Potter). Few people know that, as an inhabitant of Galilee, Jesus did not grow up under direct Roman occupation. The land of Christ’s family had its own independent ruler of Jewish origin, Herod Antipas (20 BC-AD 39).

The situation was different in Judea and its capital, Jerusalem, which were occupied by Roman governors, such as the famous Pilate. In Galilee, however, the soldiers that Jesus and his disciples encountered may well have had nothing directly to do with Rome, being mercenaries from neighboring regions, such as Syria, or even from more distant places (Herod the Great, father of Herod Antipas, had Gallic bodyguards, for example —”barbarians” from present-day France).

As for the apostle Matthew, a publican or tax collector, it makes less sense to imagine him with Roman soldiers on his neck than as an employee of an “outsourced company” collecting someone’s debts to a bank. This was basically how tax collection worked in that context — there was an amount required by Rome, and the rest of the money remained in the hands of the “businessmen” who had obtained that concession. It was, obviously, the perfect recipe for scenes of corruption and extortion.

One last point: despite the historical uncertainties surrounding the Gospels, it makes a lot of sense to imagine that Jesus’ preaching and his parables adopted a simple and direct language, which spoke directly to the daily lives of his listeners. In this regard, “The Chosen” hits the nail on the head.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.