Explaining The Chosen: Season 2, Episode 7: Reckoning
In the second to last episode in Season Two of The Chosen, we see the tension rising, with Rome and the Jewish leaders becoming more concerned about Jesus’s influence. Jesus continues his ministry, teaching what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer to his most loyal followers.
Looking for my other articles Explaining The Chosen? Click here!
Caution: Spoilers ahead! Haven’t seen it yet? Click here to view!
Yehudah
During Shmuel and Yanni’s conversation with Yussif, they reference a man named Yehuda, perhaps better known as Judah. Now, it’s the wrong place on the Biblical timeline for them to be referring to Judah, son of Jacob (even though they mention Tamar in the same scene), so they’re talking about a man named after Judah.
Judah is a son of Jacob that we know a lot about since prophecy states that the messiah will descend from his lineage. Yehudah (Judah) is also the ancestor of the Jewish people or the Yehudim, as they’re called in Hebrew in the Bible.
False Witness
Shmuel and Yanni reacted with stunned silence when Yussif asked, “And what if you discover the healing was not on Shabbat?”. Why such stress? Because if they accused Jesus of healing on Shabbat and that was not true, they would be considered false witnesses. And the Bible says false witnesses are to be punished.
If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Deuteronomy 19:16-21 (NASB)
Depending on what punishment Shmuel and Yanni had in mind for Jesus (the penalty for blasphemy was stoning), their being incorrect in what they accused him of would bring that down on them! They were in a very serious situation, and it was of utmost importance that their testimony was correct!
“The grain thing”
When Simon and Andrew talked in the boat, Andrew expressed concern that Jesus had led the disciples to pick grain on Shabbat. He worried that it would draw negative attention from the Pharisees, which it did, as we see in the Gospels (Matt. 12:1-8).
The Pharisees accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath. Many, even today, see this as Jesus breaking a Law to demonstrate that we no longer have to adhere to Biblical Law as his followers.
The only problem with this interpretation is that no Law in the Torah says not to pick grain on the Sabbath. The “law” Jesus broke was a “fence” around the Law (fences are also discussed in Explaining The Chosen: S1 E4, S1 E8, S2 E3, and S2 E6) that the Pharisees had created. Like many Believers do today, the Pharisees wanted to help God’s people avoid disobedience by making rules for how to live. Some current examples would be when Christians decide never to be alone with someone of the opposite sex or to avoid alcohol.
The Fourth Philosophy
The Roman officer told Shmuel and Yanni that their information about the whereabouts of Jesus was outdated and asked them what they knew about the Zealots. “The Fourth Philosophy?!” Says Shmuel questioningly.
The Zealots were Jews that were very passionate and intensely disliked the Romans and the Pagan influence they brought when they were in power. They were considered a fourth philosophy (or sect) of Judaism, with the other three being the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.
Jotapota
While traveling to Jotapota, Gaius and Atticus discuss the state of Jotapota. Atticus describes the four sects of Jews found there and that the praetor there held his power loosely compared to elsewhere.
Josephus reports Jotapota (also known as Yodfat) as the site of a famous battle during the Jewish revolt against the Romans. Because of the great concentration of all Jewish sects, especially the Zealots, this city put up a long and bloody battle but was eventually defeated. The residents were killed or enslaved by the Romans.
Lord of the Sabbath and Son of Man
Andrew was upset that word could reach the Sanhedrin that Jesus claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath and the Son of Man. In Exodus 31:13, God says the Sabbath belongs to Him. For Jesus to claim to be Lord of the Sabbath is a huge statement!
The Son of Man is a phrase used throughout the Old Testament to indicate a person’s humanity, but it’s also used in reference to the messiah. Daniel 7:13-14 describes the Son of Man as the one that comes on the clouds to whom everlasting dominion is given! Just as the claim to be Lord of the Sabbath, using the phrase “Son of Man” to describe himself would have caused quite a stir!
Jesus’s race
When Quintus talked to Jesus, he said, “If your race weren’t so repugnant and odious, I’d offer you a job!”. Why would he say such a thing about the Jewish people?
People groups that lived near the Israelites and, later, the Jewish people didn’t understand their way of life. Historic resources document that the Egyptians were confused by the Hebrew people. They considered them lazy because they kept the Sabbath and strange because they worshipped only one God. The Romans disliked how the Jewish people answered to a higher authority than them.
Even more recently, we see this hatred and misunderstanding from the Nazi party and even see it in our culture today. Historically, one belief that kept people divided and hating one another was to see the other group as less than human. It’s not easy to hate and be abusive to a fellow human being, but it seems far more reasonable if you’re convinced that the other is of non-human status and unworthy of equal treatment.
Less-than-human is how the Romans viewed Jesus’s people as a mass to be controlled, not a group of individuals chosen by our Creator. I appreciate how The Chosen’s writers ensured Jesus stood with his people when confronted with Quintus’s insult. I’m sure Jesus didn’t like how the Romans hated his people, God’s chosen people.
The anti-semitism demonstrated in this scene of The Chosen should remind Believers that we should view the Jewish people as God does. God has a heart that welcomes all, but the Bible is clear that he has a special place in His heart for the Jewish people. If we are Bible believers and believe in God’s sovereignty, we must be the first to recognize the value of the Jewish people to the world.
“Sorry about your cousin.”
Quintus, in his arrogant way, apologizes for what happened to Jesus’s cousin, John the Baptist. We know how this sad story went because it’s recorded in Matthew 14:1-12 and Mark 6:17-29. In short, John confronted Herod because he married his sister-in-law while his brother was still living, against the law of Levirate marriage in Leviticus 18:16.
Herod professed that he was Jewish (this is questionable historically) but didn’t keep the Laws of the Torah. When John confronted Herod, it greatly offended Herod’s new wife, Herodias. After Herodius’s daughter performed a dance that satisfied Herod and his guests at a party, Herod offered her whatever she wanted. At the guidance of her mother, she asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter, and that’s what she got!
Like other prophets in the Bible, John was given the gift of prophecy, which cost him his life. He boldly obeyed when God gave him messages for the people even though he wasn’t liked. Although we may not have been given the gift of prophecy, we should learn from an obedient servant like John. He boldly spoke the truth and gave his life to serve God, even until the end.
The Lord’s Prayer
In this scene, Jesus teaches his followers to pray, as recorded in Matthew 9:6-13 and Luke 11:2-4. This prayer has become precious to all of Jesus’s followers since and is a meaningful prayer for Believers today as well.
Although you probably learned the Lord’s Prayer in English, and it’s recorded in the New Testament in Greek, it’s likely that Jesus and the disciples initially said it in Hebrew or Aramaic. For this reason, many have memorized and recited it in one of those languages instead.
Here it is if you want to learn the Lord’s Prayer in Hebrew.
אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם
Ah-vee-noo, she-bah-shah-mah-eem,
Our Father Who is in Heaven
יִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֶךָ
yeet-kah-dahsh sheh-meh-kah
holy is Your name
תָּבֹא מַלְכוּתֶךָ
Tah-vo mal-choo-teh-kah
Your Kingdom come
יֵעָשֶׂה רְצוֹנְךָ
Yeh-ah-seh reh-tson-neh-kah
Your will be done
בָּאָרֶץ כַּאֲשֶׁר
bah-ah-rets ka-a-sher
on earth as
נַעֲשָׂה בַשָּׁמָיִם
na-ah-sah va-shah-mah-yeem
it is in heaven
תֶּן־לָנוּ הַיּוֹם
ten-lah-noo ha-yom
give to us this day
לֶחֶם חֻקֵּנוּ
leh-chem choo-kah-noo
our daily bread
וּסְלַח־לָנוּ אֶת־אַשְׁמָתֵנוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר
oo-seh-lach la-noo et ahsh-mah-teh-noo kah-ah-sher
and forgive our sins as
סֹלְחִים אֲנַחְנוּ לַאֲשֶׁר אָשְׁמוּ לָנוּ
so-leh-chim ah-nach-noo la-ah-sher ahsh-moo lah-noo
we forgive those who sin against
וְאַל־תְּבִיאֵנוּ
veh-al teh-vei-eh-noo
and lead us not
לִידֵי מַסָּה
lee-dey mas-sah
into the hands of temptation
כִּי אִם־הַצִּילֵנוּ
kee-eem ha-tzee-leh-noo
but deliver us
מִן־הָרָע
meen hah-rah
from the evil one
Side note: The last part of the Lord’s Prayer (For thine of the power and the glory forever and ever, Amen) isn’t here because it isn’t in the Biblical text and was later added by the Protestant church. I’m not opposed to the addition; I just didn’t include it here.
Some think Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew. He probably spoke both (maybe among other languages as well). If you’re interested in the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, here’s an excellent resource for that: https://jesusspokearamaic.com/Libraries/LordsPrayer-StudyGuide/Study-Guide-Lords-Prayer.pdf
What a great way to wrap up the episode. I look forward to finding more fascinating gems in future episodes! Find all my articles Explaining The Chosen here.
