Rabbi Jason Sobel, one of the spiritual advisors on the TV series, “The Chosen,” shared in a recent interview with ChurchLeaders what the process of giving input on the show’s content looks like. Sobel joined ChurchLeaders to discuss his new book, “Signs and Secrets of the Messiah: A Fresh Look at the Miracles of Jesus.”
“I’ve been an advisor on ‘The Chosen’ since its inception,” said Sobel. “I was the original spiritual advisor and got to take Dallas [Jenkins] and the team to Israel as they were raising the money and dreaming of doing ‘The Chosen’ and have been involved ever since.”
Rabbi Jason Sobel Helps Shape Content of ‘The Chosen’
Rabbi Jason Sobel was raised in a Jewish home and came to believe in Jesus as Lord after having a dramatic encounter with God. He is the founder of Fusion Global and the author of several books, including “Mysteries of the Messiah” and “The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi,” the latter of which he co-authored with Kathie Lee Gifford. During the interview on his latest book, “Signs and Secrets of the Messiah,” Sobel took some time to share his experience advising on “The Chosen.”
The popular TV series based on the life of Jesus has faced controversy at different times throughout its run, and some of those controversies relate to its content. Certain people, for example, have claimed the show is influenced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS).
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For example, some interpreted a quote from Season 3 of “The Chosen” as a reference to the Book of Mormon. However, the show’s creator and director, Dallas Jenkins, said that the quote (where Jesus says, “I am the law of Moses”) was not a quote from the Book of Mormon, but was simply a “theologically plausible line.”
In an interview earlier this year on “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast,” Jenkins emphasized that it is his priority to be faithful to the Bible while creating “The Chosen.” “I come from a conservative, Bible-believing background,” he said. “I’m a strong evangelical who believes that the Bible is God’s Word. So we start with that as our primary source of truth and inspiration, and we don’t change it.”
Jenkins and the show’s other writers consult with a group of spiritual advisors as they create the “The Chosen.” Sobel said there are three spiritual advisors who give feedback on the content before episodes are filmed and who “read the scripts for biblical accuracy, as well as historical and cultural accuracy.”
“Obviously, my focus besides the Bible accuracy is how the Jewish context is playing out within the story,” said Sobel. One example of how his input has impacted “The Chosen” comes from Season 1 when the writers decided to “have Peter fishing on Shabbat.”
