The Chosen set out to depict the life and ministry of Christ and his disciples in a television series. The creative license necessary for the series was going to initiate controversy, but the actual results have been a series that is not a faithful adaptation of Scripture, nor quality entertainment. The fifth season is set to debut next year, depicting Holy Week. In promotional material, The Chosen has showcased its misunderstanding of Judas, the betrayer of Christ.
In a behind-the-scenes video, Judas is depicted as a well-intentioned simpleton who won’t “get with the program” no matter how many people try to teach him. He simply needs to “take a chill pill.” Being well-intentioned yet dumb is a rather novel villainous archetype, and for good reason. A villain should have at least one of the following: intelligence, strength, or well-thought-out motivations. Judas could have been depicted as a zealot who grew increasingly disgruntled that Jesus was not seeking earthly power. This would have given Judas some impression of martial strength (recast required) and a logical motivation for betrayal. Instead, The Chosen depicts Judas as Jar Jar Binks breaking bad.
In The Chosen, Judas is shown to be a successful businessman who has “closed deals.” He’s worried about Jesus messing up his popularity and wants to impart advice on how to seize the opportunity. Judas is then made to feel useless when Jonathan Roumie’s Jesus rebuffs his advice.
Judas Has A Choice?
Jesus states that Judas has a choice to make as to whom we will serve, setting off a debate about free will and predestination. Yet these two ideas are often presented as a false dichotomy. Judas made the decision to steal, betray Jesus, and commit suicide. Yet God clearly foretold that this would happen, meaning that this betrayal was a fixed event as part of God’s plan, that Judas, although having a choice, lacked a will of his own that could defy God’s plan.
This was followed by some dreadful theology however.
Jesus Lost The Heart Of Judas?
The Chosen takes a clear theological position that Christ had Judas’s heart and lost it, in otherwords, Judas had salvation, walked away from it, and had the difficult decision to make on whether or not to come back to it.
The Bible does not affirm this wishy-washy view.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
John 10:29-30 NASB1995
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and no one can take His sheep.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
Paul specifically speaks to soteriology in Romans. The names of Christ’s beloved are written and sealed. If we could lose salvation we would lose salvation. But instead, Christ is merciful and so we work out our faith with fear and trembling.
In conclusion, by portraying Judas as a misguided individual rather than a figure driven by deeper motivations, the series has inadvertently diluted the gravity of his betrayal and its divine purpose. The emphasis on the idea that Judas had a choice but ultimately lost his salvation runs counter to biblical teachings about the permanence of God’s grace. Ultimately, while creative interpretations can offer new perspectives, they should remain rooted in the core tenets of faith that underscore the strength of Christ’s promise and the nature of redemption.
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13 Responses
I would argue that the Judas character in The Chosen is more a representation of the seed that sprang up quickly in shallow soil (Matt 13:5). It sprang up quickly, but because it had no root (ie no true salvation) when the sun came up the plant was scorched & died. This is a very timely characterization, as many so-called “Christians” show their true colors when they deny the faith. True followers of Christ persevere until the end (James 1:12).
I agree. This parable is applicable.
If Judas had no will and was programmed to do this, how can he be held accountable?
In Matthew 26, Jesus tells His disciples that one of them will betray Him. Eleven of the disciples respond, “Surely not I, Lord,” while Judas asks, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Notably, the other eleven refer to Jesus as “kurios” (Lord), whereas Judas refers to Him as “Rabbi,” indicating he did not recognize Jesus as “kurios.” This distinction is significant and ultimately clarifies any misguided judgment about Judas’s eternal fate. He unfortunately failed to see Jesus for who He truly was.
I collated scripture regarding Judas. This may be helpful to read all that is in the Gospels. I think Dallas stepped way out of line and I think scripture agrees. I am wondering who Dallas is “listening” to! https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xb5uryyb6iy1vizn4les7/A-summary-of-Scripture-about-Judas.pdf?rlkey=fc326e1pq2qfia32oojlnor75&st=j2xxyugo&dl=0
Judas represents Judeo-. That’s why that’s his name. The Jews clearly see this and complain about incessantly. I read Jewish books. Hyam Maccoby (a Jewish Talmudist who played a bit at being a New Testament scholar) wrote a few books I’ve read, one on Paul, one on Judas, and maybe another one. His book on Judas is called “Judas Iscariot and the Myth of Jewish Evil”. And, of course, in it he argues that Judas never existed and is a fictional invention by the church to make Jews look evil, to imply that Judah (Judas = Judah) is an evil Anti-christ. He’s picking up on something in the text that modern Christians miss, but medieval ones did not; Judas is named Judas because he represents in one person the rejection of Christ by the Jews. Only the medieval Christians obviously understood this as by divine design that God chose a bad dude named Judas to be the betrayer to make this point, whereas the Jew wants to argue that Judas simply didn’t really exist.
“Judas could have been depicted as a zealot who grew increasingly disgruntled that Jesus was not seeking earthly power.” That is actually exactly and literally how the show portrays Judas. You should watch it and see.
“by portraying Judas as a misguided individual rather than a figure driven by deeper motivations, the series has inadvertently diluted the gravity of his betrayal and its divine purpose. The emphasis on the idea that Judas had a choice but ultimately lost his salvation runs counter to biblical teachings about the permanence of God’s grace” The show portrays Judas as a figure driven by deeper motivations, it doesn’t portray that he had a choice but lost his salvation. But other than that…
I think that The Chosen made Judas very realistic. Many many people think they know what God is doing, but they get it wrong. (just look at all the “deconstructing of faith” going on these days!)
“The Chosen” gets just about everything wrong. It’s almost all unbiblical and the director/producer even admits 99% is made up. NO ONE should watch that trash.
Not to belabor the point – because each Christian can decide for himself what he is comfortable with (Rom 14) – but this show is *fiction*. Of course it is made up! If the producer pretended otherwise then that would be a problem… By trying to stay true to Scripture where possible, and considering how Jesus behaved overall in the New Testament, the end result is a series that actually is uplifting (promoting character traits & attitudes that honor God) and addresses human emotions in a very real way. (vs the real trash that gets created by pagans and marketed to our youth constantly) When the show first came out I did not watch it right away; there were other questionable “Bible” TV series that I stopped watching in the past, and so I was skeptical. And I know Christians who have decided to not watch it, and I respect them for that. But please do not resort to poor logic & name calling just because you have decided it is not edifying for you. If there are specific instances that The Chosen gets wrong, please do share, so others can consult the Bible and decide if they agree with your analysis. That would be building others up!
NOT poor logic or name-calling. NO one should watch it because, first it helps fund them and, second, because it teaches people blasphemy and heresy as fact. And I’d be happy to give you proof of the heresy and blasphemy throughout the series. Very little attempt is made to stay true to anything from what I’ve seen in my research. It is trash even as fiction.
Ah, thank you for clarifying Glenn. I apologize – I assumed you had not seen the show and were just degrading it. But it sounds like you have solid reasons for your stance (as do I). So I will leave it at that, and wish you a Merry Christmas. 🙂
The entire purpose of “the chosen” is to de-whitify and de-europeanize Christianity, and twist and pervert Christianity into a liberal, third world, cultural marxist, anti-white ideology that manipulates Christians into serving jewish interests.
For that reason, “the chosen” is trash in my opinion.
The producers have a (((messianic rabbi))) advising them, undoubtedly on the best ways to manipulate viewers into being anti-White and pro-jewish.
I strongly encourage all faithful Christians to AVOID watching this cultural marxist trash show.