mattbraunlin
Member
Jesus, Anyway.
Today I am going to examine a certain moment from a scene from Dallas Jenkins’ The Chosen.
Although no one loves this series more than I do, as a general rule I don’t spend too much time on the finer details of the writing. The bulk of the plot is interpretation and fleshing-out of Scripture, rather than directly from Scripture. The series is beautiful and joyous beyond words, but it is not the Bible, and when it comes to sermons and apologetics it is always best to stick directly and closely with God’s holy word.
But I have decided to make an exception to this rule, and will discuss one of the themes presented in The Chosen’s Season One finale, specifically Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well (named Fortina for the show). Though not explicitly stated in the Bible story by which it was inspired, this Chosen moment makes a point which is universally relevant, in understanding God’s word, in our walk with Christ, and in the good and bad times of our lives. [Spoiler alerts here]
Having gotten to know Fortina a bit as a deeply sinful, socially-shunned, and downtrodden Samaritan woman, near the end of the episode we see her making her way, alone, to draw her daily ration of water at Jacob’s well. Jesus is waiting there, and immediately engages her in one of the most beloved theological debates in the entire Bible. Jenkins and crew did a truly wonderful job of balancing true Scripture with dramatic finishing touches, and it is so very moving to see this lost and miserable woman transform before our eyes into a beacon of Joy and laughter through her encounter with her Saviour.
But a couple of minutes before that transformation, there is something easy to miss in this debate that resonates in both its daring, and its crucial importance: Fortina wins the debate.
Through the first two thirds of the scene or so, Fortina deftly counters every point Jesus makes of the hope and Joy and freedom his living water offers her. She admits the guilt of her sin, but also points out that the very laws of her Jewish oppressors have made it impossible for her to make amends for these sins. She claims she is trapped, oppressed, and powerless.
And she is right. As far as all she knows and has been taught to be true is concerned, she has Jesus euchred.
And then Jesus wins anyway.
Every fact Fortina makes about why she is so unhappy is right on the money. Her situation has been made hopeless by the oppressive, chauvinistic legalism of the religious system of her day. Were she dealing with you or me, she would have walked away from us in cynical triumph, more miserable than ever.
But Jesus is bigger than the facts. He is bigger than the system. And in his purest love and compassion, he miraculously overcomes her pain and suffering and sets her spirit free, to the point where she is inspired to run as fast as she can back into to town to tell everyone she meets about her life-changing encounter with Christ.
From a human perspective? Impossible. From God’s perspective? Reality.
Fortina’s life is powerfully representative of the lives of all of us at some point or another. Sometimes we are right. Whether our problem is anger, lust, bereavement, poverty, addiction, pain and trauma, lack of faith, or so many other troubles, sometimes there is no way out. But only as far as the world (and especially, ourselves) are concerned. And as Jesus Himself states in John’s gospel, In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’
The thoughts, words and deeds of followers of Christ make no sense to the unsaved, because they are too proud of being right. They see only the iron-clad laws of nature, their legal system, their upbringing and their circumstances, and refuse to grasp the notion that our faith is in something bigger than that. Something that laughs in the face of the pitiful grasp of our brains and our senses, and speaks to our hearts through faith. We let Jesus be right anyway.
And we must not forget that Jesus’ beautiful impact on our lives, from his perspective, involves innumerable anyways. We did nothing to deserve salvation, but Jesus gives it anyway. Our salvation involved physical, emotional and spiritual agony beyond anything we can imagine, but Jesus endured it anyway. He was not obliged in any way shape or form to lift a finger to help us, but he gave everything anyway. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1 that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and for God Himself to suffer and die to save the likes of you and me makes about as much logical sense as for you and me to do the same for a deer tick.
But He did it anyway. He loved us so very much that he made the costliest sacrifice in human history to set us free from the impossible, crushing weight of the world. When we surrender control of our lives to Jesus, and walk by faith, not circumstance, his blood washes us clean of the filth of our sins and we are made not only worthy, but beautiful, in God’s eyes, and fills our lives with wonders and achievements which confound and frustrate things like odds, statistics, and even facts.
Jesus longs to make your life beautiful, anyway. He will take the impassable mountains and valleys of your life and navigate you through them, in ways you cannot yet imagine, but will treasure forever. He will make you understand the Truth of why Christians are so eager to share our faith with others: firstly because we are commissioned by Jesus to do so, but also because the Joy of what he has given and shown us is simply too miraculous to keep to ourselves. We want to go running back into town, like Fortina did, and cry out the message of salvation we now carry with us. We want to share with everyone the Man who, against mathematically impossible odds, has made us happy.
Today I am going to examine a certain moment from a scene from Dallas Jenkins’ The Chosen.
Although no one loves this series more than I do, as a general rule I don’t spend too much time on the finer details of the writing. The bulk of the plot is interpretation and fleshing-out of Scripture, rather than directly from Scripture. The series is beautiful and joyous beyond words, but it is not the Bible, and when it comes to sermons and apologetics it is always best to stick directly and closely with God’s holy word.
But I have decided to make an exception to this rule, and will discuss one of the themes presented in The Chosen’s Season One finale, specifically Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well (named Fortina for the show). Though not explicitly stated in the Bible story by which it was inspired, this Chosen moment makes a point which is universally relevant, in understanding God’s word, in our walk with Christ, and in the good and bad times of our lives. [Spoiler alerts here]
Having gotten to know Fortina a bit as a deeply sinful, socially-shunned, and downtrodden Samaritan woman, near the end of the episode we see her making her way, alone, to draw her daily ration of water at Jacob’s well. Jesus is waiting there, and immediately engages her in one of the most beloved theological debates in the entire Bible. Jenkins and crew did a truly wonderful job of balancing true Scripture with dramatic finishing touches, and it is so very moving to see this lost and miserable woman transform before our eyes into a beacon of Joy and laughter through her encounter with her Saviour.
But a couple of minutes before that transformation, there is something easy to miss in this debate that resonates in both its daring, and its crucial importance: Fortina wins the debate.
Through the first two thirds of the scene or so, Fortina deftly counters every point Jesus makes of the hope and Joy and freedom his living water offers her. She admits the guilt of her sin, but also points out that the very laws of her Jewish oppressors have made it impossible for her to make amends for these sins. She claims she is trapped, oppressed, and powerless.
And she is right. As far as all she knows and has been taught to be true is concerned, she has Jesus euchred.
And then Jesus wins anyway.
Every fact Fortina makes about why she is so unhappy is right on the money. Her situation has been made hopeless by the oppressive, chauvinistic legalism of the religious system of her day. Were she dealing with you or me, she would have walked away from us in cynical triumph, more miserable than ever.
But Jesus is bigger than the facts. He is bigger than the system. And in his purest love and compassion, he miraculously overcomes her pain and suffering and sets her spirit free, to the point where she is inspired to run as fast as she can back into to town to tell everyone she meets about her life-changing encounter with Christ.
From a human perspective? Impossible. From God’s perspective? Reality.
Fortina’s life is powerfully representative of the lives of all of us at some point or another. Sometimes we are right. Whether our problem is anger, lust, bereavement, poverty, addiction, pain and trauma, lack of faith, or so many other troubles, sometimes there is no way out. But only as far as the world (and especially, ourselves) are concerned. And as Jesus Himself states in John’s gospel, In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’
The thoughts, words and deeds of followers of Christ make no sense to the unsaved, because they are too proud of being right. They see only the iron-clad laws of nature, their legal system, their upbringing and their circumstances, and refuse to grasp the notion that our faith is in something bigger than that. Something that laughs in the face of the pitiful grasp of our brains and our senses, and speaks to our hearts through faith. We let Jesus be right anyway.
And we must not forget that Jesus’ beautiful impact on our lives, from his perspective, involves innumerable anyways. We did nothing to deserve salvation, but Jesus gives it anyway. Our salvation involved physical, emotional and spiritual agony beyond anything we can imagine, but Jesus endured it anyway. He was not obliged in any way shape or form to lift a finger to help us, but he gave everything anyway. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1 that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and for God Himself to suffer and die to save the likes of you and me makes about as much logical sense as for you and me to do the same for a deer tick.
But He did it anyway. He loved us so very much that he made the costliest sacrifice in human history to set us free from the impossible, crushing weight of the world. When we surrender control of our lives to Jesus, and walk by faith, not circumstance, his blood washes us clean of the filth of our sins and we are made not only worthy, but beautiful, in God’s eyes, and fills our lives with wonders and achievements which confound and frustrate things like odds, statistics, and even facts.
Jesus longs to make your life beautiful, anyway. He will take the impassable mountains and valleys of your life and navigate you through them, in ways you cannot yet imagine, but will treasure forever. He will make you understand the Truth of why Christians are so eager to share our faith with others: firstly because we are commissioned by Jesus to do so, but also because the Joy of what he has given and shown us is simply too miraculous to keep to ourselves. We want to go running back into town, like Fortina did, and cry out the message of salvation we now carry with us. We want to share with everyone the Man who, against mathematically impossible odds, has made us happy.