In the Bible, there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was raped. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. The assumption at that time was that women became prostitutes because they were inherently immoral and desirous. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (Luke 8:1-3) and a story about a prostitute (Luke 7:36-50). In The Chosen, during Season 2, Episodes 5-6, Mary Magdalene briefly leaves Jesus and falls back into sin, before being sought out, forgiven, and restored to ministry. An adaptation like The Chosen isn't meant to replace the Bible; it's meant to drive us deeper into the Bible and spiritual reflection. In The Chosen, we see a brief flashback during Season 1, Episode 1 that strongly implies that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier. More importantly, allowing some of the disciples to judge Mary a bit more would have added more tension and could have fueled future arcs. However, some biblical interpreters mistakenly labeled her as such because the story before Luke 8 is about a prostitute being forgiven. In The Chosen, Nicodemus meets Mary Magdalene in Season 1, Episode 1. Mary Magdalene was a female disciple who traveled with Jesus during his ministry (Luke 8:1-3). When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? She becomes too perfect and seems to have no ongoing struggles in her faith like Peter or Andrew. Mary Magdalene is never called Lili or Lilith in the Bible. Dallas mentioned how some viewers didn't like that Mary fell back into old ways, which seems ridiculous, but just goes to show how out of touch some people are with both real life and how stories work. When Nicodemus encounters her, we discover that the evil spirit that is possessing her is named Lilith. The creators of The Chosen have published a series of interactive Bible Studies that help viewers explore some of the Scripture and biblical themes that inspired the show. I hope I better can temper myself. There is however a very clear disclaimer at the beginning of the series saying this isnt word-for-word and its no replacement for reading your Bible, etc. It's also strange that we never actually return back to the fact that Mary was having PTSD - Jesus forgives her fall but doesn't say anything about her ongoing suffering (perhaps that's a storyline for a future season). She struggles to believe that she can be accepted after falling back into her old life but Jesus forgives her and the disciples embrace her. Lilith was close to committing suicide by walking off a cliff before a dove (Holy Spirit) caught her interest and she followed it back to town, where she had an emotional moment being healed by Jesus who quoted her trusted childhood Bible verse from Isaiah and exorcised her with a hug. (Jesus), What about Jesus' identity does this hint at? That being said, there's no biblical reason to think that she could not have done so. And we also just had fun chatting about random stuff, like how Quintus was totally fitting the stereotype of the evil bald guy. We turned it into a bit of a game, where one of my youth would constantly ask "Is that Jesus?" Luke briefly describes how Mary Magdalene was exorcised by Jesus and became one of his traveling followers (Luke 8:1-3). After Jesus heals her evil spirit, she resumes calling herself "Mary," her birth name, and refuses to answer to the name associated with her spiritual oppression. There was just a hint of judgment in, Mary Magdalene was a female disciple who traveled with Jesus during his ministry (, All four Gospels suggest Mary was the first witness of the resurrected Jesus (, The Bible includes Mary Magdalene in a list of women who had evil spirits healed by Jesus. The Hebrew word "lilit" only shows up in Isaiah 34:14, where most modern translations render it as something along the lines of "night bird." Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? Enough said.). This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. Dallas Jenkins (Director) is not Catholic, but - in my mind - makes the best Christian films I have seen anywhere. Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? In The Chosen, it is not entirely clear whether Mary Magdalene was engaging in prostitution before the events of Season 1, Episode 1. If you liked this post, you might want to check out some of my other posts on The Chosen and Bible adaptation. And just like one day the risen Jesus will reveal himself to Mary and free her from grief and fear by calling her name, Jesus first reveals himself to "Lilith" and frees her from her grief and fear and demons by calling her by her true name, Mary. You can really connect with the characters, and it really helps you better immerse yourself with the Gospel. They were fully engaged by the show on the level of entertainment but also seemed solidify their understanding of important gospel events and figures, as well as the cultural context. (he calls her by her name), How does this connect to what happened in episode 1? The important role that Mary Magdalene plays in The Chosen is not nearly as surprising as that of Nicodemus. The second passage is the Scripture that Mary has written down: This passage that Mary's father taught her is from the Book of Isaiah. /r/Catholicism is a place to present new developments in the world of Catholicism, discuss theological teachings of the Catholic Church, provide an avenue for reasonable dialogue amongst people of all beliefs, and grow in our own spirituality. Have you seen other examples of how Jesus can show up suddenly and change someone's life in a big way? This is not a theologian or an apologist. Her association with prostitution was a result of the proximity between the first mention of her in Luke (. The trauma of her rape is hinted at again in Season 2, Episode 5, and is the trigger that causes Mary to backslide. In Episode 8, we see that Mary is still struggling a bit - her failure is driving her to be a bit too unrelenting in her work for Jesus- but other than that she seems to be back on track. I offer my work for free and rely on the generous support of readers like you. As I noted above, in the Bible there is no indication that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Im not sure many people caught this, but when Jesus follows Mary outside, he calls to her saying, Mary of Magdala! Mary then turns around, dropping her jar and says to him, How do you know my name? I think one could make sense of the Mary/Lilith name in that scene alone. I think the producer said he wanted to do eight seasons total. LOTR, Harry Potter), In [adaptation], can you think of some characters or stories that were added by the film? (he is God). Im not a person who cries during Jesus movies, but Ive cried several times during this series, because you can just feel the humanity of the scenes and everything is ten times more relatable. Can you think of moments when you may need to be reminded that God is with you? Expert Answers: The Gospels never refer to Mary as Lilith. I thought Mary's storyline in Season 2 of The Chosen had a lot of potential but it was unfortunately not given enough room to breathe. Consider how the show depicts Jesus' first appearance. Episode 8 Guide: The Woman at the Well, Eden, & Zohara, Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers, The Chosen Season 2 Controversy (Jesus, the Bible, & the Process of Inspiration), Should Nicodemus Kneel? Until Jesus shows up, some youth may find the show a little slow. Just long enough to make this point: Adaptations often add, change, and leave out details, because what works in a book isn't always the same as what works in television or film. After Mary's encounter with Jesus, we never really get to see her deal with her former life. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Mary and Nicodemus in Season 1 of The Chosen, The important role that Mary Magdalene plays in The Chosen is not nearly as surprising as that of, Be that as it may, the Gospel of Luke tells us that there were women who went Jesus and names Mary Magdalene among them (, But why does Mary Magdalene get all the attention and not Joanna or Susanna, who are also mentioned? Season 2 Reflection P1: What is The Chosen Season 2 about? And just like one day Mary Magdalene will be the first witness to the risen Jesus (perhaps to Nicodemus as well as the disciples), the show also makes her the first witness that we see in action. I offer my work for free and rely on the generous support of readers like you. However, a post by the official Twitter account for The Chosen claims that Mary is not being portrayed as a prostitute. Over time, the label stuck and now many adaptations depict her this way. However, some scholars believe the word would be better translated as demoness and see it is a reference to a Mesopotamian spiritual being. Narrative Ambiguity & Charitable Reading, The Chosen: 6 Good Friday & Easter Episodes, The Rings of Power, LOTR, and Bible Adaptation, Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power & The Challenges of Biblical Adaptation, In Defense of The Chosen and Other Christian Movies, Books, & Media (Part 1), In Defense of The Chosen and Other Christian Movies, Books, & Media (Part 2), Imagining Mary Magdalene (5 More Bible Adaptations While You Wait for The Chosen Season 2), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 6: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Intensity in Tent City (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 6 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 5: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Clean Part 2 (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 5 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 4: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Clean Part 1 (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 4 with Youth or Small Group), The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3: Recap, Review, & Analysis, Physician, Heal Thyself (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 3 with Youth or Small Group), Two by Two (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 2 with Youth or Small Group), Little James in The Chosen & Scripture (Adapting Biblical Characters), Homecoming (Exploring The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 with Youth or Small Group), John the Baptist in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), Lilith, Demons, & Evil Spirits in The Chosen (Adapting Biblical Characters), 2022 BY THE BIBLE ARTIST. Below I'll share an outline describing how to do a Viewing Party for The Chosen Episode 1 (I Have Called You by Name). This comes out powerfully in the first Episode like to show you why is mary magdalene called lilith in the chosen here. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM, Mary Magdalene, Lilith, & the Redeemer (Exploring The Chosen with Youth), Elizabeth Tabish as Lilith/Mary Magdalene in The Chosen, Over the past year, we've been exploring how The Chosen adapts biblical characters like, You may want to warn students beforehand that this episode contains some demonic activity. Luke notes that Mary had seven spirits exorcised from her, but the other women experienced miraculous healing as well. But she was not possessed by one as the movie mentioned but by many. In my opinion it works. EDIT: To more specifically address your question about Mary Magdalene, my intuition is that they chose the name Lilith because few viewers are likely to know the name, and so therefore wont confuse her with another Bible character before her true identity is revealed. In The Chosen, when we first Mary Magdalene in Season 1 Episode 1, she has already been possessed by evil spirits for some time. He attempts to heal her and exorcise the evil spirit in her, but he is unsuccessful and concludes that she is beyond hope. Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. Explain: The Chosen is a multi-season streaming series that's adapting the four Gospels. This shift in our societal understanding of the sex trade has changed the significance of Mary's supposed role as a prostitute. This is Tom My 3 month old son is battling an extremely rare and [Free Friday] after an early miscarriage 3 weeks ago, I Our new campus chapel is so close to being ready! (for LOTR: Tom Bombadil. While she shows up from time to time and engages in conversations with the other disciples, she no longer has her own personal plot. Yes, there are plenty of women who show up in the Gospels. (the Lord), Who is it that says these words in the show? (Plots & Theme), Episode 2 Guide: Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew, Episode 3 Guide: Life Among the Disciples of Jesus, Episode 4 Guide: Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool, Episode 5 Guide: Mary's Demons & the Destiny of John the Baptist, Episode 8 Guide: Judas, Matthew, & the Sermon on the Mount, Episode 1 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Lilith, and the Redeemer, Episode 2 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Shabbat, Episode 3 Guide: Depicting Jesus in Art, Film, and TV, Episode 4 Guide: When Jesus Met Simon (Peter), Episode 6 Guide: Jesus, Shmuel, & the Pharisees. The creators of The Chosen probably chose this name because it is associated with demons in Jewish traditions. Later Jewish tradition described a demonic figure known as Lilith in a variety of ways. Why do you think the creators added them? Thank you! Personally, I would have been much more interested in a subplot about Mary's former pimp trying to coerce her back into her former life than I am with the overly long fish taxation plot. Still, at the end of the day, the 12 disciples who get the most screen time in the Gospels are all males. I also suggest setting expectations for the first episode. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. Over the past year, we've been exploring how The Chosen adapts biblical characters like Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, Peter, Andrew, Matthew, Jesus, and the Romans. I take comments made by The Chosen Twitter account with a grain of salt, especially since they are most likely made by digital marketers and not the actual creators of The Chosen. Without getting too detailed, I found it helpful to get my youth thinking about what adaptations are and how they work. It's certainly not, Due to COVID restrictions, my youth group watched The Chosen online using Zoom. Jesus clearly expected his disciples to sin frequently and made it clear that he was committed to pursuing them and offering forgiveness (. I hope you enjoy them! This story was invented by The Chosen for the purposes of the plot. See a Roman centurion fill Lilith/Mary s sight, a suggestion that the woman have. Click here for my affiliation policy. Luke notes that Mary had seven spirits exorcised from her, but the other women experienced miraculous healing as well. In The Chosen, when we first meet Mary Magdalene, most of the characters refer to her as Lili. Catholic priest burned to death, another shot in north Press J to jump to the feed. As it was, we didn't really get a good sense of why Mary responded the way she did. And the parallels don't end there. 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