For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Isaiah 53: 2, NKJV
As I've mentioned previously, I am a big fan of the Chosen series which depicts the life and times Of Christ from a perspective which many can comprehend. I have long said that the original writers of scripture didn't do us too many favors by not giving us a more detailed glimpse into the early life of Jesus. We know that Jesus was fully God {Johns Account 14:9}. However, we also know from the scriptures that Jesus was a simple man Who did not have that appealing of an appearance {Isaiah 53:2}. Granted, much of the images of what we have seen as Jesus come from early artist depictions, it is this image which we associate with Him. Of course, that's not the point in this discussion. What really matters, in this instance, is the flesh image of Jesus. That is what I feel that most people can associate with. In The Chosen, we see the human side of Him. We see Jesus bantering among His disciples, speaking to them what they will need to know further down the road. In one particular scene, Simon and Jesus proceed to give Thomas advice about his marriage. This is straight out of everyday living, and I love it! Despite being a rendition of the life of Christ, we can assume that the true day to day life of the Lord resembled something akin to this. When we look into the Hebrew culture of the day, do we see people interacting in this way? I would say yes. I believe that this is why this series is so popular, because for the first time we are getting to see Jesus as...one of us. We get to see Jesus dealing with the flaws of everyday life as we do. This is Jesus as He truly was.
Whence He ought, in all things, to be made like the brethren, that He may be becoming a merciful and faithful chief priest in that which is toward God to make a propitiatory shelter for the sins of the people.
To the Hebrews 2: 17, Concordant New Testament
As much as I love the Chosen series, those in the traditional religious paradigm have come up with a few critiques as to why they do not feel that this depiction of Jesus is worthy. For one, in many scenes Jesus carries with him a backpack. What place does modern technology have in the life of this Man? Forget the fact that people have been using containers to carry things on their backs for thousands of years. But to see Jesus doing this? You'd think that portraying Him in this way is akin to the greatest blasphemy. Another criticism is the scenes which depict the life of Jesus among His disciples. I believe that many would consider these scenes to be the "Locker room talk" of the culture back then. While not offensive in nature, it portrays Jesus as being...too human. And this is exactly why I like this series. This is exactly why I believe that it speaks to the hearts of so many people. But is this really the Jesus of His day? The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus was made "Like the brethren" {To the Hebrews 2:17}. God did not dispatch for us a Pharisee who would proclaim His laws and edicts. Instead, He sent forth His son, born of a woman. Not that the Son would judge the world, but that the world would be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}. Jesus proclaimed that the Fathers love and mercy was more important than the ritual sacrifice of the law {Matthews Account 9:13}. This is the real Jesus. The Jesus we can relate to.
~Scott~
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