Exploring the Chosen: The Apostles
So far in our exploration of The Chosen, we’ve learned about Mary Magdelene and the three Apostles in Jesus’ inner circle: Simon Peter, James, and John. While they receive less attention in the Bible, there are nine other men who formed Jesus’ 12 Apostles. This week we’ll look at what is fact about these men from the Bible and what is added narrative in the show for entertainment purposes.
Andrew
The Facts: Andrew was Simon Peter’s brother, and was a fisherman like Simon Peter, James, and John. He was a disciple of John the Baptist and quickly recognized Jesus as the Messiah. The Gospel of John states that he brought his brother Simon Peter to Jesus (John 1:35-42). Additionally, Andrew was one of the first to extend the Gospel beyond the Jewish people, when he and Phillip brought some Greeks to Jesus in John 12:20-22.
The Chosen’s Narrative: We don’t know much about Andrew’s personality from the Gospel accounts, but it’s apparent he had a true heart for bringing others to Christ. We don’t know if he visited John the Baptist in prison; in fact, this is unlikely. We also don’t know if he couldn’t dance as portrayed in the show. But his faith in Jesus and passion for making Jesus known to others is something we should all emulate.
Matthew
The Facts: Before Matthew became a disciple of Jesus, Matthew was a Jewish tax collector, which probably made him disliked by his fellow Jews, as is portrayed in The Chosen. Jews hated the tax collectors who collected taxes for Rome, and were allowed to extract more than Rome required and keep the extra for themselves. The incident shown in The Chosen where Jesus is criticized by Pharisees for eating in Matthew’s house with other despised tax collectors and sinners is recorded in Matthew 9:12-13. Jesus responded by saying: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. . . For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Throughout The Chosen, Matthew is shown recording Jesus’ encounters, sermons, and miracles. While we don’t know when Matthew put pen to paper, he is the author of the longest of the four Gospels. Many scholars believe it was the first Gospel to be written.
The Chosen’s Narrative: The portrayal of Matthew is one of the most interesting in The Chosen, as they’ve chosen to show him with characteristics of autism spectrum disorder. It’s an interesting take, but certainly nothing in the Bible indicates Matthew had these tendencies. There’s nothing in the Bible that indicates he was estranged from his family or was less versed in the Torah than the other disciples, though given his position as a tax collector, neither is too far-fetched.
Thomas
The Facts: Thomas is one of the Twelve, and is not mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), beyond the listings of Jesus’ Apostles. He is also referred to as Didymus in the Bible, the Greek equivalent of Thomas, which means twin (although we don’t know who his twin was). The Gospel of John shares several accounts of Thomas that give us more insight into his character. In John 11:1-16, the Apostles try to persuade Jesus not to return to Bethany, fearing for their lives. Only Thomas speaks in support of following Jesus, saying, “Let us go, that we may die with Him.” Thomas may have been a bit of a pessimist, but he was ready to follow Jesus to death. The other story of Thomas in John 20:19-29 is perhaps the most famous and where he earned his nickname “Doubting Thomas.” Thomas was skeptical when told by the other Apostles after they had seen the arisen Jesus, that Jesus had risen from the dead. Thomas said he would not believe until he could put his finger where the nails in Jesus’ hands were (John 20:25). However, it’s important to realize that Thomas was not displaying opposition to the truth, but genuinely seeking to investigate and understand. Once he encountered the risen Christ, he believed and devoted his life to spreading the Gospel. Jesus didn’t reprimand Thomas, but told him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).
The Chosen’s Narrative: A large portion of The Chosen focuses on a romantic relationship between Thomas and another of Jesus’ followers, Remah. This is a wholly fictional narrative, as there is no person named Remah featured in the Gospels. We know that in addition to Simon Peter being married and having a mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14), some other Apostles were married as well, based on Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians 9:5. Therefore, it is not opposed to Scripture to suppose that one or more of the Apostles were married or pursuing marriage during this time, but the account in The Chosen is not supported by Scripture.
Philip
The Facts: Philip was a follower of John the Baptist when he was called by Jesus (John 1:43). He found his friend Nathanael (another Apostle discussed below) and told him about Jesus, which is shown in The Chosen. Philip is only mentioned in the Gospels a few other times. Philip was involved in the same encounter with the Greeks as Andrew, as recorded in John 12:20-22 discussed above. He was the Apostle who calculated the amount of money it would take to feed the 5,000 (John 6:7). After the Last Supper, Philip requested that Jesus show them the Father (John 14:8-9). Jesus responded by saying, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Philip is also mentioned as one of those who gathered in Jerusalem to pray after Jesus’ ascension to await the giving of the Holy Spirit as Jesus had instructed (Acts 1:4-14).
The Chosen’s Narrative: The Chosen portrays Philip as the more mature, level-headed Apostle, due to his experience as a disciple of John the Baptist. It is true Philip was a disciple of John the Baptist, and it’s not far-fetched to think he might be more comfortable with some of the precarious situations the disciples find themselves in, but none of this is recorded in Scripture.
Nathanael
The Facts: As portrayed in The Chosen, Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, to which Nathanael replied, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46), since Nazareth was such a remote and insignificant town and held in low esteem by the Jews. When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, Jesus said, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit” (John 1:47). Jesus mentions seeing Nathanael under the fig tree (where Nathanael was previously), which causes Nathanael to immediately recognize Jesus as the Son of God. Other than this conversation, Nathanael is not mentioned in the Gospels other than being named as an Apostle (and is referred to as Bartholomew in Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s Gospels and as Nathanael in John’s Gospel).
The Chosen’s Narrative: The conversation between Nathanael and Jesus regarding the fig tree has always caused speculation because the Gospels do not expound upon what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree or why this was so important. The Chosen creates a backstory for Nathanael to give a plausible explanation, but this is all conjecture. There is a Jewish saying that being “under the fig tree” means studying Scripture or meditating on God’s Word, but it is not clear this is what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree from the Bible. But certainly, Jesus shows His omniscience in that He knew Nathanael was under a fig tree without actually seeing him, and Jesus knew Nathanael’s heart. We don’t know that Nathanael was an architect at all as depicted in The Chosen. Additionally, The Chosen takes the words Jesus spoke, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” and turns it into a personality trait, in which Nathanael is shown as brutally honest in the show – all the time. Again, this is plausible but not proven in Scripture.
Little James
The Facts: We know very little about the man The Chosen calls “Little James,” to distinguish him from the other Apostle named James-son of Zebedee (James the Greater), and Jesus’ half-brother James (who was not an Apostle). Little James was the son of Alphaeus, and referred to that way often in the Bible to differentiate him from the other James’ (discussed in the blog dated 11/16/23). Some verses in the Bible call him “James the Less” (Mark 15:40) to differentiate him, which we should understand to mean smaller of stature or younger.
The Chosen’s Narrative: Basically everything about Little James in The Chosen is added narrative because James son of Alphaeus is not mentioned in the Gospels beyond being listed among the Apostles. His ministry work as an Apostle was as a faithful servant who lived in obscurity in the pages of the Bible. We don’t know that he was disabled as depicted in the show, for example, though adding this detail allows for a beautiful (fictionalized) conversation between Little James and Jesus about why Jesus allows suffering and the hope of Heaven in the show.
Thaddaeus
The Facts: Thaddaeus is an interesting character because he is referred to with three different names in the Bible: Thaddaeus (Mark 3:18), Lebbaeus (Matthew 10:3), and Judas son of James (Luke 6:16, Acts 1:13), and the Gospel of John refers to him as Judas (not Iscariot) to differentiate him from Judas Iscariot (John 14:22). Bible scholars think that Judas was perhaps his given name, while Thaddaeus (meaning breast-child) and Lebbaeus (meaning heart-child) were nicknames. Some scholars suggest this may indicate he was a gentle, tender person, which The Chosen portrays. Thaddaeus’ only spoken words are recorded in John 14:22, when he asks Jesus why He would only reveal Himself to His disciples and not the whole world, after Jesus had told the disciples that Jesus was going away (to be killed), but that the disciples would see Him again (probably referring to when He would appear to them after being resurrected before His ascension to heaven), but the unbelieving world would not see Him.
The Chosen Narrative: All encounters with Thaddaeus in The Chosen are fictionalized, as we have no Gospel accounts of his interactions with Jesus or the other disciples. It seems The Chosen has derived some of Thaddaeus’ character development from the supposition that he was gentle.
Simon the Zealot
The Facts: Simon the Zealot is another of Jesus’ Apostles (Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), and was also known as Simon the Canaanite (Matthew 10:4), both names to help differentiate him from Simon Peter. While the Bible does not expressly explain that Simon was part of a rebellious faction called the Zealots which existed during that time, who were a group of Jews who wanted to rid themselves of Roman rule through rebellion. It is possible that Simon was a part of this group or was sympathetic to their views. It is interesting that Jesus chose both Simon the Zealot and Matthew (the tax collector who would have been aligned with Rome) as Apostles who were most likely at opposite ends of the political spectrum in their views towards Rome.
The Chosen’s Narrative: While there is some biblical evidence that Simon was a part of the Zealots, we certainly have no evidence that he was involved in an assassination attempt on a Roman official as depicted in the show. Further, there is no indication that the paralytic healed at the Pool of Bethesda was in any way related to him as portrayed in the show.
Judas Iscariot
The Facts: As perhaps the most notorious betrayer and traitor in the Bible and of all time, you probably know a lot about Judas Iscariot. There are other people named Judas in the Bible as it was a very common name: Another Apostle was also named Judas (John 14:22), and one of Jesus’ own half-brothers was named Judas as well (Mark 6:3). When Judas Iscariot is being referred to in the Bible, it usually includes his surname to differentiate. Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve Apostles and he served as the treasurer of the group. He used this position to steal from the ministry’s coffers (John 12:6). It’s clear from John 13:21-32 that the other Apostles did not suspect Judas to be disloyal. Ultimately, Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss to identify Him to the authorities in exchange for 30 pieces of silver, as had been prophesized hundreds of years before in the Old Testament (Zechariah 11:12-13; Matthew 26:14-16). After Jesus is taken into custody, Judas is remorseful (returning the silver), but never truly repents commits suicide instead (Matthew 27:3-10). Judas’ betrayal of Jesus fulfilled many prophesies in the Bible, which you can read about here.
The Chosen’s Narrative: Beyond Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, he’s not often mentioned in the Gospels. And when he is listed with the other Apostles his name is always last on the list. It’s hard to imagine how someone who had followed Jesus for three years, seen all of Jesus’ miracles and Jesus’ love and concern for His disciples, could turn his back on Him. No doubt The Chosen will explore what might have transpired, but all we know is that Judas never truly repented of his sin, put his own desires before Christ, and ultimately paid and will continue paying the price in hell for eternity for his willing choice to reject Jesus (Matthew 26:24; John 13:10-11; 17:12).
What We Can Learn from The Disciples
We all have a role to play in helping build God’s Kingdom. Some of the Apostles are not mentioned much by name in the Gospel, yet Jesus called them each for a reason. They each played an important part in spreading the Good News of the Gospel and were willing servants who worked in obscurity. You don’t have to be as famous as Billy Graham to do Kingdom work. God has an important job for each of us! How are you making yourself available for God to work in and through to build up the Body of Christ? Why does God have you in the job, in the relationships, and in the family that you have?
Jesus is worth everything. Each of the Apostles gave up their lives and followed Him. No questions asked. They just dropped it all to follow the Messiah. Church history holds that every one of the Apostles was martyred for their faith in Jesus, except Judas Iscariot who didn’t have faith in Jesus, and John who was exiled on the isle of Patmos where he was separated from those he loved and suffered until his death. Every one of the Apostles (except Judas Iscariot) knew that Jesus was worth sacrificing their livelihoods, and ultimately laying down their very lives for Jesus. What are you sacrificing for Jesus and the Good News of the Gospel? How are you being an ambassador to others for Jesus and representing Him? Do others know you are a Christian because of the love you show them (John 13:35)?