So when “The Chosen” helps people to be interested in studying Scripture and when the Holy Spirit prompts them to learn more about Jesus, “It’s a good thing.”
The show also helps people understand who Jesus is through bringing his followers to life. “A first century Jewish rabbi would have never told a tax collector to follow him. They were considered traitors to the Jewish nation,” said Pastor Derwin Gray. “Yet Jesus is the true Rabbi who reaches us in our mess. And so I think one of the responses is people are seeing, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t have to be perfect to follow Christ.’”
“The mystery and the beauty of coming to Jesus does not mean we become perfect, but it does mean that there is a God who has cleansed us and gives us a new status,” the pastor went on to explain. “And he gives us his new life through the power of the Spirit. And we’re growing.” Because we are growing as followers of God, “when we do make mistakes—and we will—when we hurt people, we apologize. We try to restore, we try to repair, we repent, we reconcile.”
“The same grace that forgives and restores is the same grace that can empower us to live beautiful lives of holiness and integrity,” Gray said. “But ultimately, my life and your life can only be a window to look through to see Jesus.”
When Stetzer asked how the church can be better at showing the real Jesus to people, Gray responded, “Well, this may surprise you, but it’s a thing called love. And Jesus said, ‘You will know my disciples because they love one another.”
Gray cautioned churches against the extremes of a rules-based Christianity or a Christianity that tolerates sin. “As a pastor, I’m concerned that many of our churches oftentimes have a Christ-less pulpit. We say a lot of moral ethics or, ‘Don’t do this,’ or, ‘Don’t do that,’ he said. “Our pulpit should overflow with who the person of Jesus is. So as we get reacquainted with his love, then we can be more loving.”
“And love looks like a cross,” Gray added. “It doesn’t just wink at sin. Love meets us in our mess and transforms us into a masterpiece.”
For those who are concerned that people might come to love Jesus through “The Chosen” without committing to the gospel or to a church, Gray was clear that loving the church goes hand in hand with loving Jesus. “You can’t have Jesus without Jesus’ people,” he said. “Jesus died for his bride. His bride is his multiethnic collection of men and women. And the beauty of it is that all of us are under construction.”
