Basically, before any of the episodes are made, myself and a couple others (there are three spiritual advisors) 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. For example, in Season 1 of “The Chosen,” they have Peter fishing on Shabbat.
Well, you know, Peter was an observant Jew. He wasn’t going to fish on Shabbat, but that was an integral part of Peter’s backstory. So I said, “Look, I don’t think he would have been fishing on Shabbat.” But then I said that there is an understanding that you can break almost any commandment to save a life. It’s called pikuach nefesh. So if you believe that your life is in danger, sometimes you have to do things in order to save a life. And so they actually put that into “The Chosen.”
Here’s another example from this last season [Season 3]. There are actually a lot of biblical holidays mentioned in “The Chosen,” and they originally had Rosh Hashanah being celebrated like a carnival or a festival.
Well, it’s a holy day of the year. There are no carnivals on Rosh Hashanah. It commemorates the day God created the world. You blow the shofar. It’s about God judging the world, the awe of God. So, they said, “Ok, we’ll correct that and we’ll make the carnival leading into the New Year.” There’s been a number of different things like that, such as some of the prayers, the Shabbat dinner, that we’ve been able to give input into.
Is there anything else that you would like people to know about your book and its message? And how would you encourage someone who is struggling to believe in miracles today?
I think the book “Signs and Secrets of the Messiah” is going to help people see the miracles of Jesus, see the person and work of Jesus and ways they’ve never seen it before and just make it come to life. One of my favorite miracles in the book is the miracle of the great catch in John 21. The disciples are fishing all night and they catch nothing.
I want to encourage every one of the leaders who are listening that I believe we’re in a John 21 moment. I believe God wants to bring a great catch. He wants to see many people come into the kingdom at this moment in history, especially with everything that’s going on in the world. Our nets are going to be full. I believe it’s time for us to join nets in love for the great catch that God is wanting to bring at this time in the season. We have to believe for it.
This miracle is meant to show Jesus as God made manifest in the flesh. He’s not just a wise man. He’s not just a great teacher. He’s not just a prophet. He is the creator made flesh and blood, the Word of God incarnate. And therefore he has power over the fish, over the oceans, over everything that’s been created. Even if your nets have been empty, God has the power to fill them.
And I think that’s my encouragement to people who are struggling to believe that God can show up and he can do miracles. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And these miracles, just like the incarnation of Jesus, are meant to show the heart of God for your life. Just like the man who couldn’t walk for 38 years or the man who was blind from birth.
You could be in a situation for such a long time, but you never know when God is going to show up, open your eyes, give you the ability to walk. It’s not in our timing. It’s in his. And we just need to love him and be grateful and believe, no matter what, because he is the God of the impossible. He is the God of the improbable. But the reality is, Jesus didn’t do miracles in places where there wasn’t faith. Faith isn’t a guarantee that God is going to do a miracle. But oftentimes it greatly diminishes the potential for us to be able to see it.