Perhaps the greatest oddity among faith-based entertainment is the tendency to create alienating evangelical films. It is not the fact that these films, intent to spread a Christian message, are in any way insulting or demeaning towards those of other faiths. It is, rather, the fact that there is what appears to be an impulse to display the messages of Christianity so overtly and, oftentimes, through such wooden acting and unrealistic plots that it is difficult to take seriously both the message and the film. 

        Dallas Jenkins’ recent television show ​The Chosen,  based on the life of Jesus, provides a pleasant diversion from the norm. A crowd funded venture, it is rare in its choice to focus not solely on Jesus, but rather him as seen through the eyes of his disciples and friends. Melding fiction and fact, the show takes the gaps in Biblical narrative as an opportunity for cinematic gain. Veering from the possibilities of inciting accusations of heresy, ​The Chosen​—unlike ​The Last Temptation of Christ—​ uses the situations of Jesus’ disciples when they are first encountered in the Gospels to form backstories of each character. 

        The show opens with a number of characters with whom the audience is unfamiliar—their names are only revealed later nearing the end of the first episode. The stories of Simon, Mary Magdalene, Matthew, and Andrew before the appearance of Jesus are ones that are not shown in great detail in any of the Gospels. Some historical details available—such as Matthew’s occupation as a tax collector—are used to expand upon both the story of the characters and the overall plot of the show. 

        One of the main purposes of showing the conditions of these characters before they meet Jesus is to display his unique nature in choosing to befriend those who have sinned in ways that to many would seem unforgivable. In one particularly powerful scene from the show, Jesus and his small entourage of disciples pass by the booth in which Matthew collects the citizens’ taxes. Walking by his booth, the following exchange begins 

                               Jesus: ​Matthew! Matthew, son of Alphaeus! Matthew: Y​es?
                               Jesus: ​Follow Me.
                               Matthew: M​e? 

                               Jesus (smiling): ​Yes, you. 

        After a brief pause, Matthew leaves his booth and joins Jesus. To a modern audience it is difficult to understand quite how much tax collectors were hated. Romans were indifferent towards them and, despite being Jewish themselves, tax collectors were spat upon when in the street and, due to their occupation, had few friends. Relationships with family members became strained as a result of their choice of vocation. There is a tendency today to think of the Jews as solely victims oppressed by the Romans; this view, while often true, is not a wholly accurate one when the treatment of tax collectors by commoners and the high priests treatment of common citizens. ​The Chosen ​brilliantly shows how clear this discrimination pervaded the Ancient Middle Eastern world. 

        Characters in ​The Chosen do not constantly speak of “the glory of the Son of Man” as is often done in contemporary Christian films. The acting and scripts are all too often stilted and unrealistic in contemporary faith based films, comprised of excessive dialogue that would appeal only to Christian viewers. Even then, the dialogue and situations remains unrealistic—I do not know any Christian men who have held an impromptu service in their backyard to recite a “resolution” to be better fathers (a scene from the 2011 Christian film ​Courageous​). If a Christian has difficulty stomaching the poor scripts of an overwhelming number of contemporary Christian films, then one can only imagine what a non-Christian’s reaction would be. 

        A significant strength of ​The Chosen—​ and the reason it differs from other faith based entertainment—is its ability to keep from becoming a cinematic evangelical parade that is all too often shown in contemporary Christian entertainment. It, firstly, would be unrealistic for this to be the case when the text from the Gospels does not contain disciples constantly praising Jesus and speaking of him as some distant being. They acknowledge him as the son of God, but they also treat him as a friend who desires to know them—something he makes clear from the moment he tells each of his disciples to follow him. 

The Chosen ​is a refreshing leap forward in faith-based entertainment—filled with excellent acting, strong direction, a sound script, and an engaging combination of fact and fiction that is both fascinating, engrossing, and inspiring.