Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | February 09, 2023

The Chosen by Dallas Jenkins began from Rock Bottom

Rock Bottom is the surest place to sit and mourn your ruin. No one to see you; weep all you want. Rant all you want.

Rock Bottom is also the place to build a sure foundation; to rise from the ruins.

Rock Bottom is where Simon and Eden find themselves at the end of Episode 7 (Season 3). It was a sure place for Simon to sit there and mope about what happens in his life. All through Episode 7 Simon goes about sulking, giving Jesus a sideways glance, wondering when He will ever [or if He will ever] step into his situation. 

But by the end of Season 3 and at the end of Episode 8, Simon has understood that Rock Bottom is the place of his sure foundation. The old Simon is being chipped away (bit by bit) by Jesus, and Peter is taking shape: The Rock on which Jesus would build his Church. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18).

Dallas Jenkins hits Rock Bottom

Rock Bottom is also the place where the creator of The Chosen found himself, a few years ago. But Dallas Jenkins was not ready to sit and cry. Instead, he built up from there. And look and what he has given the world: The Chosen, a beautiful interpretation of the scriptures, inspired by the Holy Spirit. A Jesus one can relate to. Situations, one can identify with. Parables that are scripted and interpreted with a deeper meaning.

Like Eden and Simon who cried and processed their failure, Jenkins and his wife, Amanda, too cried and tried to make sense of their life. Their 2017 film, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone flopped at the box office. What’s confusing is that they had felt God’s hand on the film right up to the moment it bombed. 

“In two hours, I went from being a director with a very bright future who’d finally made it in Hollywood, to a director with no future,” Jenkins explains. “I remember being so hurt and confused. I was stuck at home on Friday with my wife at pretty much the lowest point in my career, crying and praying and trying to make sense of it all and trying to figure out what was next.”

As the couple cried, prayed, and tried to process the failure, Amanda felt God impress upon her heart two things. The first was the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. The second was the phrase “I do impossible math.” The rest as they say is history.

Jenkins’ miracle is a miracle that awaits anyone who trusts in the Lord and tunes in to his Spirit.

The Chosen by Dallas Jenkins, a slick production

The Chosen is a slick production. Every episode speaks, and every actor stands out even when they do not have a dialogue. Expressions during a scene are what spark up the production. Every prop is placed in the perfect place. The lighting, the feel… all take you back to the time when Jesus walked on this earth.

What’s more, you can picture yourself in the scenes with Jesus. Be it Photina (the woman at the well) or Tamar who tears open the roof to let her paralytic friend down or Veronica who crawls to touch the hem of His Garment. Or even Gaius, the Roman Soldier, who softens as the episodes progress.

The dialogues are a gem. Jesus is portrayed with a sense of humour, always dining, and joking with the ones he heals and with his chosen ones. “If we don’t make time for our friends, we won’t have any. I want every word heard and none silenced,” says Jesus.

The Chosen By Dallas Jenkins will resound in eternity

Jenkins and his team have stitched together scenes that will have a resounding impact in eternity. I can only imagine what Jenkins has in store for millions of his viewers who are hooked on the ‘Loaves and Fishes’ production, in the seasons to come.

The show is best described in the words of John the Baptist from The Chosen: Joanna has slipped in Andrew, John’s favourite disciple, in the prison to meet him. This is after her encounter with Jesus. John asks Joanna, what was it to like meet Jesus? Joanna is at a loss for words trying to formulate a sentence. John answers for her: “Like you were grateful for food and didn’t realize you were starving.” (Season 3 Episode 1).

I have watched all 3 seasons in one go over two weeks and plan a re-run binge. There’s so much more to gain from every episode. My only problem is that I now visualise Jesus from The Chosen when I pray. Jonathan Roumie, you beauty. 

From Rock Bottom, Jenkins has built a foundation where he is deepening the faith of millions of people and encouraging them to have a personal relationship with the Lord, without actually telling them to do so.

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