The Chosen: Holy Spirit at Work

The first two episodes of Season 5 of the hugely popular series The Chosen opened in cinemas throughout South Africa yesterday, April 10. Günther Simmermacher went to see it and delivers his verdict.

The latest season of The Chosen begins quietly. There’s tension in the air. Jesus is addressing the Twelve, seated around a U-shaped table, speaking of what is to come and the world-changing meaning of it all. We barely have time to digest the weight of it when the scene shifts to a few days earlier, outside Jerusalem.

Jesus is about to enter the Holy City, on a donkey, to a frenetic welcome by cheering crowds. The scene is captured in best epic mode, sweeping the viewer along with the fervour of the Hosannas.

The Chosen, now in Season 5, has always been produced for the TV screen, so it was a pity when its epic sequences — such as the Feeding of the Multitudes — were confined to the small screen. As with the last season, the new one gives viewers an opportunity to enjoy the cinematic grandeur on the big screen, with the first two episodes currently on circuit in cinemas throughout South Africa.

Season 5 covers Holy Week. The first two episodes depict the Palm Sunday entry and the driving out of the profiteers in the Temple, along with scenes from the Last Supper, to which the narrative returns periodically.

The visuals are riveting, and there is no sense that budgets were trimmed. The performances are, as always, very good.

Jonathan Roumie remains the most convincing and appealing Jesus I have seen — on the big screen or small. Here is a Jesus you want to love and follow, not the distant and often humourless Son of God of many other portrayals. And yet, this Jesus is also the Son of God on a mission that is above our paygrade as mere humans. Roumie strikes a perfect balance.

Roumie’s portrayal of Jesus is inspired by more than an actor’s skill or the scriptwriters’ competence. I would argue that in his performance — and in the series in general — we see the Holy Spirit at work.

Extraordinary scene

Shahar Isaac, who plays Simon Peter, told The Southern Cross in an interview to look out for a scene involving Paul Ben-Victor as Herod Antipas and Richard Fancy as Caiaphas, as an example of great acting and scripting. The scene is mesmerising, and reveals much about the politics that informed the events to come. One may quibble that this Caiaphas is too old to have a controlling father-in-law (Fancy is 81!), but even in a series like The Chosen, some artistic licence must be allowed.

The script is extraordinary. Clearly, a great amount of thought and research has gone into it, to reflect authentically what is known and to fill in the gaps of what the Gospels do not tell us. The fiction of the latter does more than just fill the gaps: it explains and illuminates in ways that help us understand the Gospel narratives better.

Jesus in the Temple

The cleansing of the Temple is a good example of that. In Episode 1, we meet a couple of traders in sacrificial animals. One of them outlines the economics of trade in the Temple, which boils down to the exploitation of the faithful that offends Jesus. We also observe the corruption of the money-changing and Temple taxes.

This gives us context to Jesus’ shocking action when he overturns the tables that represent the infrastructure of exploitation. One trader — also one of the exploited — asks Jesus: “Why are you doing this?” One would think that Jesus’ reasons might give cause for reflection for some of those who exploit others in the name of God.

There are other historical details in the script which testify to the meticulous research behind it. Just one example: When Joanna reveals that she has organised an abode for the disciples in a house owned by a friend, the reference to that friend being an Essene is not an important plot point. Still, it indicates that even the most gratuitous detail has been thoroughly researched.

The idea that Jesus and the disciples were hosted by Essenes at the Last Supper goes back to Benedictine Father Bargil Pixner OSB (1921-2002), a historian and archaeologist who excavated what he proposed was an Essene gate in the area on Mount Zion traditionally believed to be the site of the Last Supper (and Mary’s Dormition).

This may give us confidence that everything in the script is carefully considered.

The makers of The Chosen emphasise that their gap-filling storylines are subjective imaginings. Some of them we can take for what they are — as fiction — but others are astutely realised narratives that enhance what the Evangelists tell us.

In that way, The Chosen is an aide to understanding the Gospel and contemplating Christ — and along the way, it is thoroughly entertaining. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is at work here.

The trailer for Season 5 of The Chosen can be viewed at https://intl.thechosenlastsupper.com. Tickets for the cinema run can be booked on the same site, or bought at the respective cinemas. For a list of cinemas, see https://www.scross.co.za/2025/03/the-chosen-returns-to-sa-screens/

Season 5 is expected to be released for free streaming no earlier than September on The Chosen’s app or website (https://watch.thechosen.tv/), where the previous four seasons are freely available for streaming.