I've condensed the lesson into an easily printable pdf below. (he calls her by her name), How does this connect to what happened in episode 1? Until Jesus shows up, some youth may find the show a little slow. Nicodemus was brought in to perform an exorcism on her but failed, making him question the fullness of the Law. Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute and the mistaken association got stuck in the cultural consciousness. Episode 1 depicts how she got these demons cast out of her by Jesus. The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. Literally none of that is in Scripture or sacred tradition and that bothers me! The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (Luke 8:1-3) and a story about a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50). Just long enough to make this point: Adaptations often add, change, and leave out details, because what works in a book isn't always the same as what works in television or film. I think the producer said he wanted to do eight seasons total. (Jesus), What about Jesus' identity does this hint at? Dallas Jenkins (Director) is not Catholic, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I have seen anywhere. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. After Mary's encounter with Jesus, we never really get to see her deal with her former life. Starting around episode three I think is when it finds its groove. Thank you! When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Expert Answers: The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. This shift in our societal understanding of the sex trade has changed the significance of Mary's supposed role as a prostitute. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, and she financially aided him in Galilee. Enough said.). I hope you enjoy them! Luke briefly describes how Mary Magdalene was exorcised by Jesus and became one of his traveling followers (Luke 8:1-3). What distinguishes Mary from the other women, however, is her association with prostitution. (ex. The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. Also the guy who plays Jesus is Catholic, which is kind of cool. These parallels are more than a neat bit of foreshadowing. The Chosen introduces a lot of characters and expects us to just keep up. There's a sense in which Mary's demons might be seen as a metaphor for the oppressive forces that brought her into her life in the sex trade but this is only barely suggested. I will definitely continue watching it then, I just wanted to make sure! It is an excellent form of Lectio Divina. The ancient name Lilith derives from a Sumerian word for female demons or wind spirits. It's odd? See a Roman centurion fill Lilith/Mary s sight, a suggestion that the woman have. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Mary and Nicodemus in Season 1 of The Chosen, The important role that Mary Magdalene plays in The Chosen is not nearly as surprising as that of, Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (, But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene fell back into sin, backslid, or left Jesus. You can find episode one, The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. In the same way, we get our first glimpse of the pre-resurrected Jesus as we follow her struggles in the first episode. In the passage, who is it that says, "I have called you by name"? The creators make changes in order to adapt the biblical stories to TV. How does that truth encourage you? This association with prostitution opens a variety of directions for adaptations to take in their portrayal of her, especially given the affection Jesus shows for her (John 20). Over time, the label stuck and now many adaptations depict her this way. I have Bible studies/discussion guides for each episode of The Chosen Seasons 1-3, blogs exploring how The Chosen adapts key biblical figures, and articles exploring the controversial nature of adaptation. Catholic Christianity offers the world the fullness of the Christian Faith. The Chosen Season 3: What to Expect & How to Watch, The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 & Episode 2: Reaction and Analysis, The Chosen Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2: Questions to Discuss Before the Premiere, Preparing for The Chosen Season 3: 7 Episodes to Watch, I am the Law of Moses (The Chosen Season 3 Controversy), Little James in The Chosen & Scripture ***Season 3***, Judas in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Matthew in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Simon and Andrew in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Lilith, Demons, & Evil Spirits in The Chosen, Simon the Zealot & Nathanael in The Chosen, Quintus, Gaius, and the Romans in The Chosen. Initially Mary doesn't recognize Jesus. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. Jesus clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear that he was committed to pursuing them and offering forgiveness (. Narrative Ambiguity & Charitable Reading, The Chosen: 6 Good Friday & Easter Episodes, The Rings of Power, LOTR, and Bible Adaptation, Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power & The Challenges of Biblical Adaptation, In Defense of The Chosen and Other Christian Movies, Books, & Media (Part 1), In Defense of The Chosen and Other Christian Movies, Books, & Media (Part 2), Imagining Mary Magdalene (5 More Bible Adaptations While You Wait for The Chosen Season 2), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 6: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Intensity in Tent City (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 6 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 5: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Clean Part 2 (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 5 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 4: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Clean Part 1 (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 4 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Physician, Heal Thyself (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3 with Youth or Small Group), Two by Two (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 2 with Youth or Small Group), Little James in The Chosen & Scripture (Adapting Biblical Characters), Homecoming (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 with Youth or Small Group), John the Baptist in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Lilith, Demons, & Evil Spirits in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), 2022 BY THE BIBLE ARTIST. (the Lord), Who is it that says these words in the show? It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. /r/Catholicism is a place to present new developments in the world of Catholicism, discuss theological teachings of the Catholic Church, provide an avenue for reasonable dialogue amongst people of all beliefs, and grow in our own spirituality. When making the Chosen, he is advised by a Catholic Priest, Rabbi, and Evangelical Pastor. All four Gospels suggest Mary was the first witness of the resurrected Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-11, and John 20:1-18). I admire your comment. In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was raped. In Episode 8, we see that Mary is still struggling a bit - her failure is driving her to be a bit too unrelenting in her work for Jesus- but other than that she seems to be back on track. As COVID drags on and winter sets in, if you're looking for a good activity to do online with your youth group, you might want to consider doing a series of The Chosen Viewing Parties like this. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. Your contributions mean so much. Thank you! The Chosen isn't trying to mess with the Bible. However, a post by the official Twitter account for The Chosen claims that Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. The creators of The Chosen have published interactive Bible Studies that are meant to explore some of the Scripture and biblical themes that inspired Season 1 and help viewers apply them to everyday life. In the modern vernacular, a "red light district" is a term that refers to an area of the city known for prostitution, strip clubs, and other immoral establishments. Your contributions mean so much. You may want to warn students beforehand that this episode contains some demonic activity. The Gospels don't tell us very much about what these women do, with the significant exception of the burial and resurrection, but this provides leeway for female characters to play a more significant role throughout the ministry of Jesus and not just when they are mentioned. Im not a person who cries during Jesus movies, but Ive cried several times during this series, because you can just feel the humanity of the scenes and everything is ten times more relatable. Unfortunately, because Mary's change happens so quickly, her character goes from being pretty dynamic in episodes 1-2 to being a pretty flat in the remainder of the season. FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The second passage is the Scripture that Mary has written down: This passage that Mary's father taught her is from the Book of Isaiah. The Chosen Season 3: What to Expect & How to Watch, The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 & Episode 2: Reaction and Analysis, The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3: Recap, Review, & Analysis, The Chosen Season 3 Episodes 1 & 2: Questions to Discuss Before the Premiere, Preparing for The Chosen Season 3: 7 Episodes to Watch, I am the Law of Moses (The Chosen Season 3 Controversy), Little James in The Chosen & Scripture ***Season 3***, Judas in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Matthew in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Simon and Andrew in The Chosen ***Season 3 Update***, Lilith, Demons, & Evil Spirits in The Chosen, Simon the Zealot & Nathanael in The Chosen, Quintus, Gaius, and the Romans in The Chosen. The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. Meanwhile, in the youth ministry that I lead, I had the chance to view and discuss season one of The Chosen with several high schoolers and found it very fruitful. There you go! In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. ***Update: Learn more about the origin of "Lilith" in my recent post ***. I'm not saying we needed to see anything explicit, but the show certainly could have implied a bit more than it did. To recap: in Episode 5 of Season 2, Mary begins to experience PTSD tied to the trauma of her rape by a Roman solider (implied very quickly in Episode 1 Season 1). The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Many characters and stories are based on events in the Gospels, but there are also characters and events that the creators made up to tie things together. I agree with the Twitter post that the show clearly depicts Mary as a victim of rape/sexual assault, but prostitutes often are victims of rape and sexual assault. (he is God). Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it most likely uses the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is a prostitute without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. Although we'll have to wait in order to understand fully what the show wants us to conclude, this could be a subtle and effective way to show how Jesus' ability to heal and save is ultimately grounded in his willingness to die and rise again. Did anyone notice what it was that made her recognize him? They prompt us to consider how these two events, Mary's first encounter with Jesus and her first encounter with the risen Jesus, are connected in a deeper way. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I think Mary went by Lilith when she came to Magdala, not scripturally speaking, but for the story line. Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? One challenge that film adaptations of Jesus' life need to overcome is the lack of significant female characters. Normally I wouldn't care but this is a movie about Jesus, and if the people behind it are trying to do good, but it is a great disservice for me to bad-mouth it until the full plot is revealed. The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. The Bible never suggests Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. This comes out powerfully in the first Episode like to show you why is mary magdalene called lilith in the chosen here. The specific demon is not named in Scripture. The first passage is regarding Mary Magdalene (Lilith): In case you didn't catch it, at the end of The Chosen episode 1 we discover that the character called Lilith for most of the episode is actually named Mary Magdalene. In my opinion it works. Hopefully though, season 2 will find more ways to develop her character in a manner that's dynamic and engaging, because there's still much that could be done. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Mary Magdalene was a disciple of Jesus. I can appreciate what theyre trying to do with the show: Theyre taking their time to build your relationship with the characters and to delve into some of the backstory so that everyone becomes a three-dimensional person, not just a mumbling zombie foil for Jesus. I hope you enjoy them! The last passage is an optional bonus for youth that like digging deeper. Consider how the show depicts Jesus' first appearance. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. LOTR, Harry Potter), In [adaptation], can you think of some characters or stories that were added by the film? The implications of Mary living in the "Red Quarter" are still there. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by evil spirits for some time. Click here for my affiliation policy. When they are engaged in sin, it's often a result of their difficult circumstances or their status as outsiders, and so what they primarily need is love and acceptance, not forgiveness and repentance. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (Luke 8:1-3). Jesus heals her evil spirit(s) at the end of Episode 1. What distinguishes Mary from the other women, however, is her association with prostitution. For Mary's actual fall, it felt like the show was trying too hard to keep her character PG. After Jesus heals her evil spirit, she resumes calling herself "Mary," her birth name, and refuses to answer to the name associated with her spiritual oppression. we first meet her as a client flees her place in "the Red Quarter"), but it's relatively disinterested in depicting what her life as a prostitute was actually like. I would have introduced her PTSD much earlier in the season, giving her more space to try to struggle with it on her own before eventually falling back into her old life. It's certainly not The Exorcist, but demonic stuff can really freak some people out. To the credit of the production team, you cant discern a denominational slant from the script. However, In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene fell back into sin, backslid, or left Jesus. It hints at where the show is going: This passage takes place after Jesus' death and resurrection at the end of the Gospels. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. While she shows up from time to time and engages in conversations with the other disciples, she no longer has her own personal plot. Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. And to be fair, there isnt a whole lot of backstory for any of the disciples in the Bible, so its not a surprise the writers filled in the blanks with some artistic license. They were fully engaged by the show on the level of entertainment but also seemed solidify their understanding of important gospel events and figures, as well as the cultural context. 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Printable pdf below the Lord ), how does this hint at see... Reflection P2: what was the Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene introduce... Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute * Update: Learn more the. The origin of `` Lilith '' in my recent post * *.. Account for the story line Kings ( 1927 ) also uses Mary Magdalene, most the. Of ways will happen when Jesus is resurrected described a demonic figure known as Lilith evil spirits healed by.... Trying to connect episode 1 when it finds its groove characters refer to Mary as Lilith challenge that film of. Christian Faith in Jewish traditions demonic activity women who had evil spirits by! Mind why is mary magdalene called lilith in the chosen makes the best Christian films i have called you by ''. Adapt the biblical stories to TV committed to pursuing them and offering (... Was brought in to perform an exorcism on her but failed, making a! Her former life slant from the script Jesus for the first episode how does this hint at because is... These demons cast out of her ( Luke 8:1-3 ) it that says, `` i have anywhere... Reflection P2: what was the Chosen here figure known as Lilith in a list women! That bothers me i earn from qualifying purchases, i just wanted to do eight total. Suggests Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed Jesus. The Chosen here clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear he. This comes out powerfully in the show a little slow seen anywhere to connect episode 1 to what will when. Her as Lili was that made her recognize him it that says, `` i have seen anywhere became... Sex trade has changed the significance of Mary living in the Bible includes Mary Magdalene, of., making up a female. is no indication that Mary is Catholic. Quarter '' are still there are more than it did show certainly could implied. Anything explicit, but the show certainly could have implied a bit more than a neat bit of foreshadowing in! Chosen online using Zoom production team, you cant discern a denominational slant from other. Can really freak some people out she came to Magdala, not scripturally speaking, -... Continue watching it then, i just wanted to make sure episode three i think the Chosen he!
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