The Chosen has been a transformational series, and it’s now in its second season. Its audience has exploded in the past year and only has more potential to grow. As the first multi-season Bible series to be created, it has the potential to reach beyond traditional Christian audiences and transform the culture both inside and outside the church. The series’ connections with real people in a Jewish cultural context as they encounter the Messiah are its biggest assets, so here’s a helpful guide to help keep up with the core subplots we saw in the second season’s second episode, entitled “I Saw You.”
***WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD***
Simon and Andrew
The two sons of Jonah continue a quiet competition with the Sons of Thunder, but the four men are mostly cordial in this episode. When Phillip arrives, Simon is wary of the stranger but surprised when his brother Andrew welcomes Phillip with open arms. Andrew tells his brother that he has a life outside of Simon. Simon still doesn’t fully accept Phillip, especially when the new disciple quickly takes a liking to Matthew and defends the former tax collector from the others’ mistreatment. However, Simon has begun to like Thomas more than the other disciples. Later, Andrew is glad to hear from Phillip that John the Baptizer remembers Andrew. When he discovers Matthew writing down recent events again, Simon chastises Matthew for doing this.
On their way to Caesarea Philippi, Simon makes sure that he has a one-on-one conversation with Jesus because Simon wants to ask the Lord about how the leadership structure should work when Christ is away. Simon is also concerned about Matthew writing everything down, but Jesus is nonplussed by this fact. Simon suggests how he thinks things should go, but the Lord says that Simon’s leadership skills will be needed in the future when things will have to be more structured due to Christ being absent. Simon wants to know what this means, but Jesus says that it’s another conversation for another time and warns Simon that he needs to be kinder to every member of the group and possibly slow down if it helps someone else. Throughout this episode, Simon continues to try to assert himself as the leader of the group while also being threatened by the leadership skills of Phillip.
Big James and John
The Sons of Thunder, after the others find out about their new moniker, settle into their position within the group as manual laborers. After the initial shock, the sons of Zebedee are indifferent to Phillip’s arrival and mostly keep to themselves in this episode.
Matthew
After Matthew can’t find any dry wood, Simon criticizes Matthew for his lack of skills. However, Phillip uses this opportunity to take Matthew under his wing by showing him that they can dry the wet wood that Matthew found. Phillip treats Matthew differently than the others do, so this prompts Matthew to open up to Phillip about how Matthew feels different from the rest of the world. Phillip says that he also feels different from others but believes that someone’s past doesn’t matter anymore after Jesus calls them. Phillip tells Matthew to remind Simon of this the next time that Simon criticized Matthew about something. Matthew does this when Simon chastises Matthew for writing down all the events that happen to them. Matthew tells Thaddeus that he has to have a good record because the disciples were already disagreeing about how things occurred.
Later, Matthew agrees to assist Mary Magdalene and Ramah by copying portions of the Torah for the women to learn. Matthew tells the women that he will ask Phillip what the most important passages are. Phillip tells Matthew that he will think this over and tell Matthew as soon as possible.
Mary Magdalene, Thaddeus, and Little James
After hearing some of the men recite from the prophecies of Ezekiel, Mary Magdalene is motivated to learn more. In this episode, she seems distracted by something but doesn’t want to talk about it. Thus, Mary throws herself into helping Ramah learn how to read and write, enlisting Matthew’s help by asking for his tablet and help with learning the Torah.
Thaddeus shares with Matthew his newfound love for praying and tries to encourage Matthew even though others do not treat Matthew the same way. Thaddeus attempts to keep the peace between Simon and Matthew during their feud over Matthew’s writing.
Little James has no notable scenes in this episode.
Thomas and Ramah
In this episode, Thomas is still trying to find his place among the group. He becomes slightly jealous of Matthew helping Ramah learn how to read and offers his assistance in her endeavors.
Ramah realizes that following Jesus was harder than she thought and is glad for Mary Magdalene helping her learn how to read and write. When Thomas offers to tell Ramah what she needs to know, Ramah is noncommittal.
Phillip and Nathanael
Phillip visits the main disciple group because John the Baptizer told him to do so. Phillip immediately makes his presence known among the group because he doesn’t immediately conform to their expectations. Phillip makes waves by quickly taking Matthew under his wing to mentor him. As a disciple with two years of experience in the wilderness, Phillip decides to help Matthew collect the wet wood so that they can dry it for later use. During this task, Phillip tells Matthew that the Messiah defines people by who they are rather than who they used to be.
Later, Phillip tells Jesus that he will follow Christ as his new rabbi, and the two men discuss John the Baptizer and the Lord’s future work. Phillip and Jesus agree that the Messiah’s work is unconventional, much like the work of His cousin John the Baptizer. Phillip also asks if they can stop to see a friend in Caesarea Philippi before they continue on, and Christ agrees.
As an architect, Nathanael is proud that he’s a Jew working among Romans, but he also grows impatient with the lack of progress on one of his current projects. While arguing with the foreman about these delays, the unfinished construction collapses, dooming Nathanael’s career. This sends the former architect into a depression as he sits under a fig tree and asks God why He let Nathanael’s projects fail when they were meant to be for Yahweh. Nathanael recites passages from the Psalms, burns his blueprints, and pours the ashes on his head.
Afterward, Nathanael bars himself in his house, which forces Phillip to climb in through the window to see him. The two of them are old friends, and Nathanael recounts his woes. Phillip is sorry for his friend but insists that Nathanael needs to be come and see the Man Who is the Messiah. Nathanael is skeptical because Jesus is from Nazareth, but Phillip insists that He is the Messiah, which is why Nathanael has to come and see him. Nathanael agrees, realizing that he does not have anything else to do, and he admits that he’s never seen Phillip act like this.
As soon as Phillip and Nathanael come to Christ, the Lord calls Nathanael a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Jesus informs Nathanael that He saw Nathanael while he was under the fig tree at his lowest point, which prompts Nathanael to immediately call the Lord his rabbi. Phillip is glad about this development. Christ tells Nathanael that he will see even greater things, such as the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man, but for now, the work in Syria will begin the following day.
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Is Ramah a follower of Jesus? The actress who is playing her is a lesbian on NCIS Hawaii. I’m a little confused. HELP ME.
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Forgive me but you made some incorrect statements that I want to bring to your attention: it was only Simon who mocked Matthew for looking for firewood in the ravine, Mary wasn’t intimidated she was excited to study The Torah after some of the apostles quoted not The Torah but Ezekial 39:9-10, Mary isn’t referred to as Mary Magdalene in this series but rather Mary of Magdala. Thank you for the updated subplots.
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Thank you for pointing this out! I’ll edit the post accordingly 🙂
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My pleasure.
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