The Chosen: Breaking Stereotypes and Stained Glass Windows, Part III
Putting Windows Back Together Again
Whether or not Jenkins has succeeded in creating another Jesus, the popularity alone of The Chosen series will likely do one of two things: it will cause viewers to reject anything traditional about Jesus--including even the Bible--as a stereotype, or it will lure viewers into the self-fulfilling prophecy of seeing the Jesus of The Chosen everywhere--even in the Gospels, even though He isn't there. This will, therefore, create a mega-stereotype that eats up all other stereotypes, for Jenkins' Jesus will be the new control on what we can and cannot perceive as true.
I call this deception, but Jenkins calls it artistic license. Research says Jenkins "aims to depict Jesus as a charismatic, humorous, and deeply human person who lived and interacted with others in a grounded, authentic way." This is the Jesus who is supposed to replace "statues" and "stained glass windows." I don't think so. The end result is this: by linking “statues” and “stained glass windows” with stereotypes, Jenkins has not only stereotyped religious stereotypes; he has risked branding all that is historic and traditional (even the Bible) as the probable cause of our greatest misconceptions of Jesus.
Breaking "Woke" Culture Stereotypes
In reality, the most prevalent worldwide stereotype of Jesus today is arguably the "hippie" Jesus. This Jesus is not only a stereotype uninformed by Scripture; He is a false Jesus embraced by a decadent "woke" counterculture. This Jesus promotes tolerance and full inclusion of all lifestyles, and He seldom preaches against sin--except the societal sins of racism, materialism, and capitalism. Why Jenkins fails to mention this "Jesus," we have already suspected.
This Jesus has done more damage in my lifetime than any medieval stained glass window has ever done throughout the centuries. Oddly enough, it is this Jesus that has prevailed in High-Church denominations that have gone "woke." That being the case, isn't it a bit disingenuous of Jenkins to target the stereotypes of Jesus he calls "statues" and "stained glass windows," when these images have often already been replaced by pop culture?
Jenkins' casuistry is definitely up to something, for, whether this concern over "statues" and "stained glass windows" is a straw man or a red herring, the big lie is Jenkins' assumption that most people see Jesus as "stiff" and "stuffy." I don't really see how that could be true, after nearly two generations of seeker-sensitive purging of traditional "churchy" lingo and symbolism, not to mention the ubiquitous "woke" agenda of progressive Christianity and the prevalence of contemporary Christian music.
Arguably, if Jenkins is betraying his bias not only against what he sees as outdated, formal stereotypes but also against tradition itself, isn't he throwing out the proverbial truth with the "stained glass window" stereotype? But who's noticing? People like what Jenkins is dishing out. And, if he wants his Jesus to be a catalyst for change, he has succeeded, but not because his Jesus has brought a corrupt culture to their knees.
On the contrary, Jenkins' depiction of Nicodemus shows a Jesus who does not want to be worshipped. As hard as this is to believe, when Nicodemus attempts to kneel and to kiss Jesus' hand after he realizes that Jesus is the Messiah, Jonathan Roumie as Jesus says, "You don't have to do that. What are you doing? You don't need to do that." Not only does that not happen in John 3, I guess Jenkins didn't read the next chapter where Jesus talks with the woman at the well about worship, commanding that those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
Just prior to this, Jesus says, "for the Father seeketh such to worship Him" (John 4:23). Then two sentences later, Jesus reveals to this woman that He is the Messiah: "I that speak unto thee am he" (John 4:26). The inference is clear: Jesus is the Great "I Am," one with the Father who "seeks such to worship Him," and The Gospels tell of multiple people who fell at Jesus' feet to worship Him. But not so for Jenkins' Jesus. He's apparently so human and so humble that he doesn't want to be worshiped.
Replacing Stereotypes with Truth
But we haven't solved the riddle yet. If Jenkins' Jesus is simply his own version of the already popular "woke" Jesus of pop culture and progressive Christianity, how do we account for millions of viewers' expressions of surprise at seeing Jesus differently than ever before? If they already see Jesus as a "hippie," and if Jenkins' Jesus does little to contradict this perception (just look at the clothing he wears--not merely simple but uncharacteristically frayed and shabby), then how are they seeing Jesus differently? It would be impossible to describe people's conscious versus unconscious ideas about Jesus, but perhaps many of Jenkins' viewers see Jesus consciously as playful and permissive but unconsciously as noble and sedate.
Is this because all they know about Jesus comes from glimpsing a "statue" or "stained glass window," or is there yet a third perception of Jesus that viewers have absorbed from reading the Bible? If this perception is majestic and dignified rather than "relatable," it does not follow that it is a "stereotype" any more than any "stained glass window" is a stereotype. We are delving into the world of the subjective and the subconscious, but if we consider that 60-70% of Jenkins' audience claims at least some religious affiliation, they most likely have some knowledge of The Bible.
But if their perceptions of Jesus are changing from watching The Chosen, that would seem to suggest one of two things: either that these people never really knew the Christ of Scripture in any dynamic way, such that The Chosen could fill that void for them, or that The Chosen is indeed portraying a different Jesus. It must be noted that perceptions of Jesus are changing among people who already thought they knew Him. I think we know that Jenkins presents a different Jesus, although he would argue only that he is presenting a different "side" of Jesus--the side that anchors His authenticity as a "relatable" human being. Jenkins has said all along that he doesn't want The Chosen to replace The Bible, but he does want his show to make The Bible more accessible to viewers.
If this were really his motive, however, why don't we ever hear him addressing the massive biblical literacy void among even professing Christians today? And how does he suppose he will fill this void--even if he wants to--by making a show that is 95% fiction? Bible knowledge alone will create biblical literacy, and Bible knowledge culminating in a life-changing, personal relationship with Christ is guaranteed to break stereotypes of any kind. Anybody knows that if you want to break stereotypes, you have to investigate the truth. Go back to the primary sources and read with an open mind. But Jenkins isn't even drawing from secondary historical sources. His source is himself, and his episodes arise ex nihilo, apparently.
Who ever heard of Peter fist-fighting or gambling or fishing on the Sabbath? Or who ever heard of Matthew being "on the spectrum" or of Little James having a disease Jesus doesn't cure? And whoever viewed Mary Magdalene as a thirteenth disciple or Judas as a victim? Apparently, Jenkins did. And now millions of people are buying into his outrageous imagination--and what happens if or when God's Word doesn't spark their lust for entertainment but asks for full concentration instead? I just don't understand the hype anyway--how a show about a man pretending to be Jesus in episodes that never happened is somehow turning the world upside down. But is it really? The proof is in the pudding, right?
Facing a Windowless Future
The other day, I skimmed an article sounding the alarm about tens of thousands of churches in America that expect to be permanently closing soon. The total may reach 100,000 in the next few years, representing one-quarter of all churches in America. Most of these are small community churches where members used to have an impact on their neighborhoods. Why this is happening requires complex analysis, to be sure, but, not only are many people abandoning worship altogether these days; many others have cast aside the small church with its accountability in favor of attending megachurches where no one knows whether they come or go. And many aren't really "attending" at all but are merely viewing services "remotely."
Where The Chosen fits into all of this is an honest question. For someone making a worldwide impact, what is Jenkins producing besides millions of loyal fans who not only binge-watch his show but who also scoop up his glut of merchandise? Where are Jenkins' new converts going? Or is even that terminology too quaint to use these days?
The Chosen has been a "staple" since 2017. In all that time, what has happened to those who claim to have encountered Jesus? Are they being discipled and encouraged to become active in their local churches? Or has Jenkins somehow unconsciously directed them away from traditional worship and church membership? Are they following another Jesus? And if they are, is this show actually helping to bring about the great falling away, even while claiming to point millions of people to Christ? I'm not convinced that Jenkins, in breaking stereotypes of "statues" and "stained glass windows," has not smashed the very idea of church itself as archaic and naive.
Jenkins doesn't seem to understand that, without dependence upon the Living Bread of Truth--God's Holy Word--all he has to offer his hungering crowds is a stone or a serpent or a scorpion. And I don't think he has broken stereotypes of Jesus at all. I think he has fossilized pop culture stereotypes of Jesus into the collective consciousness of untold millions of people, with literally no end in sight. As he says often, "We're just getting started." And he means it. The Chosen Adventure is an animated comedy aimed at children, whose conception of Jesus as a cartoon will be embedded into their earliest formative memories.
Jenkins is also planning various other multi-season series: one about Moses, one about Joseph, and one about the Book of Acts. If we doubted Jenkins' self-appointed mission to shape a global worldview for generations to come, we need to sit up and see what's really going on. As prolific as Jenkins has become in the world of "faith-based" media, The Chosen has resulted in one of the grandest deceptions in the history of Christianity: that an authentic portrayal of Jesus--or of anything from the Bible, for that matter--is to be found outside of Scripture.
Saving the Shards
When Jenkins said he wanted to break stereotypes of Jesus as "statues" and "stained glass windows," he arguably had in mind the entire worldview that produced those works of art and everything that surrounds them. But I don't think he was talking about idolatry, and his concern doesn't seem to involve observing the Second Commandment, or he wouldn't be breaking it left and right by turning Jonathan Roumie into an icon and placing him in one situation after another off the set where people jokingly refer to him as "Jesus." Jenkins has clearly crossed boundaries that Scripture forbids. He has created another Jesus. This Jesus is far more than a stereotype; He is an idol.
Ultimately, this "Jesus" requires no faith at all. We walk by sight these days. And that's exactly what an idol does for us. Unlike religious art and historic archetypes, idols don't point beyond themselves to larger truths. They claim to be "authentic" in their own right. They have power in themselves to do what God--or the Bible, apparently--cannot do. They profess "relatability" because they are made in our own image, and they claim viability when, in fact, they are deaf, dumb, and blind. And they do this, all while making us believe that it is God Himself and His inviolable Word that slumber inert, waiting for a jumpstart from human hands. It doesn't matter that Jenkins didn't chisel his idol from marble or that he didn't solder stained glass into a window. He has thrown "statues" and "stained glass windows" into the fire in order to shape his own golden calf. But he needn't have bothered, for you can find this calf, this "Jesus," everywhere—everywhere, that is, except in Scripture.
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