Last weekend my husband recommended this new series on BYU TV called The Chosen. It’s about the life of the Savior. It’s live action and in English, and really well done. I started watching it and I have learned so much! I need to recommend you watch it too. Now before you read on, I want you to know that I have done my best not to have any spoilers, so read on.
Mary Magdalene
I never knew that Mary Magdalene had been one of Jesus’s disciples. For some reason it had always seemed like the group of people who traveled with the Savior were all men.
My mind clearly didn’t know how things really were, but that was the assumption I made reading the Gospels.
I thought that Mary and Martha stayed at home, and Mary Magdalene was a friend of theirs. Now that seems silly, but then it made sense to me. This series The Chosen showed me that Mary Magdalen was a disciple. She was there when the Savior taught. And she was his friend. Seeing that played out onscreen is eye opening to me.
Simon Peter
When I read the scriptures I read about Peter, James and John. What righteous men they were to follow Jesus and be part of the original 12 disciples. But this program, The Chosen, has given me new insight. These were also men with real life struggles.
They had to pay taxes, and had families with problems. They didn’t begin existing when the Savior called to them. They had lives and challenges I never imagined. But more than anything, I hadn’t really thought of them as real men.
The scriptures are in a special language, and describe a time long gone. And those distance me from the reality of these men and their lives. The Chosen has opened my eyes and helped these men become real to me. And I love them for what they overcame to be the men of God that Christ asked them to be.
Jesus before
Another wonderful thing The Chosen pointed out, was that Jesus was a man. I keep seeing him in the Son of God role for 99% of his life.
But he had to work to provide for his needs, and he had to cook his own meals. He got cut if his hand slipped with a tool.
For some reason I always imagined that angels healed him, or he never got sick. I know the scriptures say he suffered all pains, but I thought that only happened in the Garden of Gethsemane. I mean, looking back now that seems silly. But I never saw Jesus Christ as a real man before this series.
The Rock
After watching the episode where Christ called his apostles on The Chosen, I looked up the name of Peter to see what it meant. I love Hebrew names because they always mean something beautiful. Turns out it’s in a different tongue, but Peter means ‘The rock’.
To be a rock one has to be strong, tough, and hard to move. That is how Christ saw Peter becoming, and gave him a new name. But I know that Peter likely started out like you and me. He had a dream that the Savior would come one day. But as the riggers of daily life kept coming, he stopped making that his greatest focus.
Learning from The Chosen
To read more of Abby’s articles in her Living in Harmony column, click here.
I am like Peter. I long for the day the Savior will come again. But I get caught up in chores and kids and school work, and soon forget to stay focused on what matters. I am loving this series. Well done BYU TV!
Writing this article without filling it with spoilers has been really hard. So I will stop now and simply encourage you to please watch The Chosen.
You will be glad you did. And there is SO much to learn in each episode. I am so grateful BYU chose to tackle such a challenging topic. I am learning in every episode.
Abby is capable and caring. She is learning more about Autism and parenthood every day. Having completed training to be an RBT (Registered Behavior Technician) for ABA therapy she is beginning to understand her son. And even though she is the first to admit she makes a lot of mistakes, she is so grateful to be on this journey. She comes from a family with many autistic members. She invites us to join her, as she shares her adventures. She wishes to emphasize that Autism is a difference not a defect. If you or a family member have autism, Abby wants you to know that the challenges can be overcome, and there are blessings in autism. You or your loved one are not sick or broken. Together we will teach the world this new language.
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