I get it now: "The Chosen" and its ilk

Someone I know was turned off by the new TV series “The Chosen” when she saw a clip in which Jesus, having healed a leper, asks his disciples to give the man an extra tunic. Observing the healed man in his new garb, Jesus remarks, “Green is your color.”This is an example of some of the risks the creators of the series took when they decided to depart from a strictly biblical portrayal of Jesus and his disciples. No such sentence is recorded as having come from his lips. Would Jesus have made such a remark? The creators of “The Chosen” think he might have.This departure from scripture is both the series' weakness and its strength. Past video portrayals of Jesus and the Twelve tended to hew more closely to the gospel narratives (The Jesus Film, The Gospel of John, Jesus of Nazareth) or to deviate so wildly from it that they were only recognizable as Bible films because of the costumes and characters' names. As I watched the first season of “The Chosen,” I kept thinking, “Is this something Jesus would have done or said?” And very often, after thinking about it, my answer was, “Well.... yeah.”Let me clarify: I don't think Jesus in first century Palestine would have told a man freshly-healed of a socially-isolating, humiliating, incurable disease “green is your color.” Jesus in twenty-first century America might say that as a way of lightening the moment and expressing the joy of restoration. Jesus is the image of God, who is love itself, so he might be expected to express whatever is loving in any context.A better example is his remark to a woman who has hacked through a roof to lower her paralyzed friend to Jesus so that he might be healed. He gazes up at her peering down through the opening in the roof, and responds to her impassioned pleas for healing by saying, “Woman, your faith is beautiful.” Does the scripture record him saying this to her? No. The gospels do not even identify whether the paralytic's friend was a man or woman (in this case it is a woman who directed others to carry her friend and to break the roof). However, Jesus is recorded on several occasions as commending the faith of some. Faith and love seem to be things he truly likes. That's the Jesus I know.The Jesus in “The Chosen” consistently does the loving thing (as I see it) in each situation portrayed in the series. He is also humble. So far. Only one season has been released. According to its Wikipedia page, seven seasons are planned.The series has its bumps, its anachronisms, its tropes. It's not perfect. But, it is very watchable. The writers truly seem to respect the gospels. They seem to have sat down and thought it through. What kind of childhood might Mary Magdalene have had? What was Peter's opinion of Matthew? And how might Peter's wife have felt about him going off to follow Jesus? You may disagree with their conclusions, but it's good to have considered it.I used to be a lot pickier about Bible-based movies, because I realize the power of video to shape people's perceptions. However, I've come to see each sincere attempt to help viewers enter the world of Jesus as a positive thing, because it's an opportunity for people who know the Bible to see it again through fresh eyes, to think and critique. For each new generation of people who have never read the Bible, it is an open door for them to come in too, and join the conversation.Or, instead of joining the conversation, they may just want to sit down and have a good laugh. Or a good cry. I'll admit I did both while watching “The Chosen.” Once I learned to cut it some slack, once I decided to enjoy it for what it is, I was, as they say, blessed. And now I'm recommending that you enjoy it too.