The Chosen has become a very popular series on television today, and I'm sure I will be most unpopular for writing this, but I do not choose to watch the Chosen, and I hope you will continue reading to consider why I feel this way. I've only watched a few clips from this series, and I found it offensive. Unlike programs dealing with the Bible in which other characters are depicted such as Moses, Daniel, or Paul, the Chosen deals with Jesus, who was not only the perfect man but is also Almighty God. Trying to put the Biblical account of Jesus on film cannot be done without compromise, and compromise means you are presenting a different Jesus and thus a different gospel.
Pastor John MacArthur has rightfully said:
"The truth has been given to our custody and we are charged with guarding it against every possible threat. We should have a militant, defensive, protective stance against anything that undermines the truth."
The Chosen undermines the truth.
Honestly ask yourself, does the Chosen present the exact same Jesus of the Bible? Is Jesus changed in any way? You would have to truthfully answer yes, Jesus is changed. If they add to His Words, they change Him. If they take away from His Words, they change Him. If they do not present the exact same Jesus of scripture (same words), then they are presenting a different Jesus, right? Well, this is wrong. This is presenting Jesus plus or Jesus minus. Scripture clearly warns against doing this.
1. The Chosen is a violation of the second commandment.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Exodus 20:4.
2. The Chosen is a violation of the scripture that we are not to add to or take away from the Word of God.
2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. Deuteronomy 4:2.
6 Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. Proverbs 30:6
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. Revelation 22:18-19
The commandment says no images, no visual representations. We are not to come to know Him in this way. Perhaps you think I am overreacting? I'm simply pointing out what the Bible says about this. God uses written words for a reason. The Chosen is clearly presenting an image of Jesus, and it is not the same Jesus I read of in Scripture because of what they term "creative license". Creative license allows them to take away and add to scripture. The Bible tells us not to do this. If we reason in our minds that the Chosen is not that bad, not that different than scripture, that they share "some" of the scripture accurately, that some folks have been drawn to Christ by watching it so it must be good, or it's simply good for entertainment reasons, then we are "still" going against what God has said. We are not supposed to reason like this.
Reasoning like this is the example of Eve. It's that nasty old Eve mentality. Eve reasoned why it would be good to eat the apple that she was told not to eat. She said it would be good for food, good for her body, pleasing to the eyes, and she said it would make her wise. In the very same way, when we reason in our minds why we should ignore what God says then we are just like Eve. We say the Chosen is good because it has drawn some people to Jesus. Thus, we are saying that God says one thing, but we are deciding it's okay, and we will do another. We are saying we are smarter than God. No, we are to trust what God has said and obey it. We are not to reason a way around what God has said. We know what the commandment says. So, to be very blunt, if we are all about watching the Chosen, then we are saying that it's okay to disregard the commandments of God.