By noting how Mary is in the "Red Quarter", The Chosen is implying that she is a prostitute. FYI: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. Over the past year, we've been exploring how The Chosen adapts biblical characters like Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Jesus, and the Romans. In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. However, I'll acknowledge that what the show is suggesting about Mary's past life is certainly open to interpretation.]. By. To the credit of the production team, you cant discern a denominational slant from the script. 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. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. ***Update: Learn more about the origin of "Lilith" in my recent post ***. After sharing that information, you can ask: What stuck out to you about Mary Magdalene's depiction in The Chosen? 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. 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. The creators make changes in order to adapt the biblical stories to TV. These parallels are more than a neat bit of foreshadowing. In Episode 8, we see that Mary is still struggling a bit - her failure is driving her to be a bit too unrelenting in her work for Jesus- but other than that she seems to be back on track. However, a post by the official Twitter account for The Chosen claims that Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. Episode 1 depicts how she got these demons cast out of her by Jesus. Why do you think the creators added them? She becomes too perfect and seems to have no ongoing struggles in her faith like Peter or Andrew. What distinguishes Mary from the other women, however, is her association with prostitution. 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. For more details, check out my post focused specifically on Lilith, Demons, and Evil Spirits. To clarify why the creators would want to add new characters and stories and leave some stories out, you could ask the following questions: What are some other popular adaptations of books into film or television? (ex. Do you believe Jesus knows you by name? Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. One challenge that film adaptations of Jesus' life need to overcome is the lack of significant female characters. (he is God). The difference between its depiction of her life as a prostitute, with super-sexualized clothing and a zebra chariot, and The Chosen's depiction of her life is emblematic of changing views of prostitutes between the 1920's and today. Instead of being a femme fatale that Jesus needs to resist and tame, Mary Magdalene the prostitute is seen as an object of compassion and pity that Jesus needs to provide acceptance and safety. Jesus is said to have cast seven evil spirits out of her (Luke 8:1-3). We turned it into a bit of a game, where one of my youth would constantly ask "Is that Jesus?" The ancient name Lilith derives from a Sumerian word for female demons or wind spirits. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. 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. Jesus clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear that he was committed to pursuing them and offering forgiveness (Matthew 18:10-35). It's certainly not The Exorcist, but demonic stuff can really freak some people out. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3: Recap, Review, & Analysis, 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. However, some biblical interpreters mistakenly labeled her as such because the story before Luke 8 is about a prostitute being forgiven. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Mary and Nicodemus in Season 1 of The Chosen, The important role that Mary Magdalene plays in The Chosen is not nearly as surprising as that of, Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (, But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. (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. 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. 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. 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. That being said, there's no biblical reason to think that she could not have done so. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. How does that truth encourage you? Episode 7 Guide: Did Nicodemus Follow Jesus? The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. This shift in our societal understanding of the sex trade has changed the significance of Mary's supposed role as a prostitute. I have Bible studies/discussion guides for each episode of The Chosen Seasons 1-3, blogs exploring how The Chosen adapts key biblical figures, and articles exploring the controversial nature of adaptation. I will definitely continue watching it then, I just wanted to make sure! There was just a hint of judgment in Episode 7, but it gets brushed aside way too quickly, given the cultural expectations. It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. The Chosen does the "misunderstood reject rather than sinner" quite a bit in Season 1, but I think it's a sensible direction for Mary's character. Personally, I would have been much more interested in a subplot about Mary's former pimp trying to coerce her back into her former life than I am with the overly long fish taxation plot. 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. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. However, Jesus knew her real name. The implications of Mary living in the "Red Quarter" are still there. The specific demon is not named in Scripture. There you go! Still, at the end of the day, the 12 disciples who get the most screen time in the Gospels are all males. In the passage, who is it that says, "I have called you by name"? I've condensed the lesson into an easily printable pdf below. Your contributions mean so much. Without getting too detailed, I found it helpful to get my youth thinking about what adaptations are and how they work. The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. Mary Magdalene was a disciple of Jesus. We need to remember the perspective is of east and west are different East is how it performs, what it does its function West they would describe what it is or made of. Consider how the show depicts Jesus' first appearance. 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. Jesus heals her evil spirit(s) at the end of Episode 1. All four Gospels suggest Mary was the first witness of the resurrected Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-11, and John 20:1-18). Since I criticized Season 1 of The Chosen for making Mary too perfect, it's only fair that I acknowledge how Season 2 seeks to rectify that issue. Did anyone notice what it was that made her recognize him? 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. In the Bible, there is no indication that Nicodemus met Mary Magdalene or that he tried to heal her or exorcise her evil spirits. 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. 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). 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. Why do you think The Chosen is trying to connect episode 1 to what will happen when Jesus is resurrected? Thank you! Over time, the Western artistic tradition repeatedly depicted Mary as a prostitute and the mistaken association got stuck in the cultural consciousness. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. It's odd? Many Christians still memorize this passage to remind them of how God is always with us, even in the most difficult trials. Constantly ask `` is that Jesus? portrayed as a prostitute, where one of my youth thinking about adaptations. Time in the Bible being forgiven word would be better translated as demoness and see is. That information, you can ask: what stuck out to you Mary... 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