As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. This is not a theologian or an apologist. As a result, adaptations of the Gospels from previous generations place a greater emphasis on how Jesus calls Mary to repent and brings about her moral transformation. Its not perfect, but its a pretty great start. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (, As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. (ex. Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene, Lilith, & the Redeemer (Exploring The Chosen with Youth), Elizabeth Tabish as Lilith/Mary Magdalene in The Chosen, Over the past year, we've been exploring how The Chosen adapts biblical characters like, You may want to warn students beforehand that this episode contains some demonic activity. EDIT: To more specifically address your question about Mary Magdalene, my intuition is that they chose the name Lilith because few viewers are likely to know the name, and so therefore wont confuse her with another Bible character before her true identity is revealed. The Bible never mentions "the Red Quarter." You may want to warn students beforehand that this episode contains some demonic activity. The Chosen seems to be hinting that Mary is a prostitute (e.g. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? (Plots & Theme), Episode 2 Guide: Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew, Episode 3 Guide: Life Among the Disciples of Jesus, Episode 4 Guide: Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool, Episode 5 Guide: Mary's Demons & the Destiny of John the Baptist, Episode 8 Guide: Judas, Matthew, & the Sermon on the Mount, Episode 1 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Lilith, and the Redeemer, Episode 2 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Shabbat, Episode 3 Guide: Depicting Jesus in Art, Film, and TV, Episode 4 Guide: When Jesus Met Simon (Peter), Episode 6 Guide: Jesus, Shmuel, & the Pharisees. 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. This comes out powerfully in the first Episode like to show you why is mary magdalene called lilith in the chosen here. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (. In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. And just like one day the risen Jesus will reveal himself to Mary and free her from grief and fear by calling her name, Jesus first reveals himself to "Lilith" and frees her from her grief and fear and demons by calling her by her true name, Mary. Catholic Christianity offers the world the fullness of the Christian Faith. You can also purchase the DVDs of season 1 on Amazon if you're worried about trying to stream & do Zoom at the same time. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. Because The Chosen seeks to be kid-friendly, it may use the term "Red Quarter" in order to hint to older viewers that Mary is either a prostitute or a sexually immoral woman without explicitly mentioning prostitution or sex. 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. And just like one day Mary will initially fail to recognize the risen Jesus, confusing him for a gardener, she initially fails to recognize Jesus when he first comes to her, confusing him for one of the men who's been hassling her. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (. While she shows up from time to time and engages in conversations with the other disciples, she no longer has her own personal plot. There is however a very clear disclaimer at the beginning of the series saying this isnt word-for-word and its no replacement for reading your Bible, etc. How does that truth encourage you? 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. 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. Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? It hints at where the show is going: This passage takes place after Jesus' death and resurrection at the end of the Gospels. It's odd? For Mary's actual fall, it felt like the show was trying too hard to keep her character PG. She was a witness of Jesus' crucifixion and burial (Mark 15:40-47) and also the first person to discover the empty tomb, witness the resurrected Jesus, and share the good news with the disciples (John 20:1-18). Thus, when Jesus first encounters Mary, what he offers her isn't forgiveness for her life of prostitution; it's relief from the oppressive demons that drove her to the type of life that she's lived. Nicodemus was brought in to perform an exorcism on her but failed, making him question the fullness of the Law. This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. If you try it out, please let me know how it goes and if you have any feedback! There was just a hint of judgment in, Mary Magdalene was a female disciple who traveled with Jesus during his ministry (, All four Gospels suggest Mary was the first witness of the resurrected Jesus (, The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute and the mistaken association got stuck in the cultural consciousness. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by an evil spirit, Lilith, for some time. FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Although, like Nicodemus, the account of Jesus' life in the Gospels tells us relatively little about her, the part that she plays as the first witness to the Resurrection is objectively much more significant. Without getting too detailed, I found it helpful to get my youth thinking about what adaptations are and how they work. However, some biblical interpreters mistakenly labeled her as such because the story before Luke 8 is about a prostitute being forgiven. 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), 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. Why do you think they were removed? What distinguishes Mary from the other women, however, is her association with prostitution. When he encounters her again in Season 1 Episode 2, he is surprised to discover that she has been completely healed and is free of the evil spirits. 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. Moreover, her biblical significance has been amplified even more by the attention that she's received from the interpretative and artistic traditions of the West. Expert Answers: The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. I wouldn't take too long discussing these questions. Still, at the end of the day, the 12 disciples who get the most screen time in the Gospels are all males. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. Under the influence of this tradition, many people see Mary as being emblematic of Jesus' compassion for lost and broken souls, and this makes her a perfect candidate for the kinds of stories that The Chosen wants to tell. 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. 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. According to the Gospel accounts, Jesus cleansed her of seven demons, and she financially aided him in Galilee. 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). To recap: in, One other thing - the show could have allowed some of the disciples (like John) to go a bit further in being judgmental toward after her return. 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. I also suggest setting expectations for the first episode. 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. 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. In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was raped. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. Dallas Jenkins (Director) is not Catholic, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I have seen anywhere. Hopefully these questions will prove helpful as you watch episode 1 of The Chosen with your youth group. Episode 7 Guide: Did Nicodemus Follow Jesus? Click here for my affiliation policy. Although The Chosen is still a few seasons away from the Resurrection of Jesus, it is clearly beginning with the end in mind. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was raped. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. When he encounters her again in Season 1 Episode 2, he is surprised to discover that she has been completely healed and is free of the evil spirits. She is clearly sleeping with a man out of wedlock when the episode begins and they are sleeping together in "the Red Quarter" - a sleazy part of town. Just before Luke introduces us to Mary Magdalene, he tells a story about a prostitute that Jesus forgives (Luke 7:36-50). 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. Everything is very true to the Gospels, and theres no dialogue written to score theological points. 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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Im not sure many people caught this, but when Jesus follows Mary outside, he calls to her saying, Mary of Magdala! Mary then turns around, dropping her jar and says to him, How do you know my name? I think one could make sense of the Mary/Lilith name in that scene alone. The creators make changes in order to adapt the biblical stories to TV. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. 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. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. I hope I better can temper myself. I admire your comment. In The Chosen, Mary Magdalene is played by Elizabeth Tabish. Do you believe Jesus knows you by name? Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? Just like one day Mary Magdalene will be caught up in despair because she can't find Jesus' body, she's caught up in despair at her own situation. Yes, there are plenty of women who show up in the Gospels. Over time, the label stuck and now many adaptations depict her this way. One other thing - the show could have allowed some of the disciples (like John) to go a bit further in being judgmental toward after her return. Yes, we see that Jesus had warm and empowering relationships with females. In the same way, we get our first glimpse of the pre-resurrected Jesus as we follow her struggles in the first episode. For more details, check out my post focused specifically on Lilith, Demons, and Evil Spirits. It's a great comfort in the midst of the pandemic and other turmoil. Enough said.). The assumption at that time was that women became prostitutes because they were inherently immoral and desirous. 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. . I have not seen any anti Catholic scenes. Episode 1 depicts how she got these demons cast out of her by Jesus. [SPOILERS] Is the Jon Snow spin-off really such a good idea? The Chosen introduces a lot of characters and expects us to just keep up. What distinguishes Mary from the other women, however, is her association with prostitution. 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. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. Thank you! Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. 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). But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? I will definitely continue watching it then, I just wanted to make sure! Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute and the mistaken association got stuck in the cultural consciousness. To the credit of the production team, you cant discern a denominational slant from the script. I take comments made by The Chosen Twitter account with a grain of salt, especially since they are most likely made by digital marketers and not the actual creators of The Chosen. I'm not saying we needed to see anything explicit, but the show certainly could have implied a bit more than it did. I hope you enjoy them! Below I'll share an outline describing how to do a Viewing Party for The Chosen Episode 1 (I Have Called You by Name). There you go! He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. 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. (the Lord), Who is it that says these words in the show? Matthew, Mark, and John also describe Mary as a witness of Jesus' crucifixion/burial (Matthew 27:55-61, Mark 15:40-47, and John 19:25). The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. She struggles to believe that she can be accepted after falling back into her old life but Jesus forgives her and the disciples embrace her. Jesus clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear that he was committed to pursuing them and offering forgiveness (. Consider how the show depicts Jesus' first appearance. For the most part, I just clarified who characters were (see my comment above) and occasionally I briefly explained a reference or allusion that was confusing to my youth. 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. 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. 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. In a previous era of Hollywood Mary's status as a prostitute made her exotic and intriguing. LOTR, Harry Potter), In [adaptation], can you think of some characters or stories that were added by the film? However, I'll acknowledge that what the show is suggesting about Mary's past life is certainly open to interpretation.]. See a Roman centurion fill Lilith/Mary s sight, a suggestion that the woman have. 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). Although there's nothing in the Gospels that suggests that these two figures should be linked together, Mary mistakenly became identified with the forgiven prostitute in the interpretative tradition of the Western Church. These parallels are more than a neat bit of foreshadowing. There was just a hint of judgment in Episode 7, but it gets brushed aside way too quickly, given the cultural expectations. One challenge that film adaptations of Jesus' life need to overcome is the lack of significant female characters. **Update: I explore the origin of the name "Lilith" in my recent post **. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. 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).
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