On Sunday, Dec. 15, Dallas Jenkins, creator, writer, and director of “The Chosen,” addressed criticism of a scene from the show’s upcoming fifth season. The scene, which depicts a conversation between Jesus and Judas, was shared last week during a livestream event.
Jenkins described the controversy as “not a huge one” but acknowledged that some viewers are unhappy.
“After we showed the Judas-Jesus scene in our livestream earlier this week, a friend of mine texted me and said, ‘Hey, over on [social media], you got them going again,’” Jenkins said. “It’s over the issue of, ‘Did Jesus pray for people? Did Jesus pray specifically for Judas? Did Jesus want Judas to change his mind? Did Judas have free will? Was Judas ever saved?’—all the typical Judas questions started to come up.”
Critics Say ‘The Chosen’ Got the Scene ‘Wrong’
Jenkins acknowledged that a segment of the audience believes the scene misrepresents biblical accounts.
“There’s a measurable amount of people who believe that we got it wrong,” Jenkins said, “that I got it wrong.”
Critics expressed concerns ranging from general disapproval to accusations that the series’ writers were “leading people to hell.” One viewer asked a question Jenkins described as “fair” and “worth considering: ‘Would Jesus have prayed for Judas to change his mind?’”
“While I’m somewhat surprised that the concept of Jesus saying the words ‘I’ll pray for you’ are controversial, I’m not actually that surprised that something like this comes up, because it’s a sensitive topic,” said Jenkins.
RELATED: ‘The Chosen’ Criticized for Season 5 Scene in Which Jesus Promises To Pray for Judas
He continued, “Whether it’s Jesus and Judas or whether it’s eternal salvation or not, these are important issues, and that’s why I’m actually glad sometimes when this happens.” Jenkins said these type of controversies provide a “great opportunity and a great reason to have the conversation, to talk about these kinds of things.”
Dallas Jenkins Addresses Fans, Not Critics
Jenkins emphasized that his comments were directed at fans genuinely seeking understanding rather than critics who “love to take things out of context.” He said:
Now the problem is that while some critics are fair and reasonable, others are silly, and they love to read minds. They love to take things out of context. They love to claim things were said that weren’t there, such as Jesus praying for Judas to change his mind, which, of course, is not in the show, but all that kind of stuff comes up. And I’m not actually talking to those folks. I’m not trying to…convince anyone else. I’m talking to you, the person who is either genuinely seeking or genuinely trying to understand, or maybe isn’t as familiar with some of these topics or issues, or also has a friend who came to you and said, ‘Why do you watch this heretical show’ and [it would] be good for you to have an answer.
