This morning my New Testament reading ended in an odd spot at Mark 14:26, so I kept reading and finished the gospel. I sat and pondered why the reading plan would stop at such a weird place but knew it was due to the number of verses in the New Testament being split over four months. My mind began to wander as I sat, and I thought about the last week of Jesus’s life. I’ve been reading a set of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons on Christ’s last week, so things relating to Christ’s sacrifice have been common in recent weeks.

I began to think of the two men who walked with Jesus on the road after His resurrection. Luke 24:27 TLV “Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.” I’ve often wished that everything Jesus said in that conversation would have been included in the gospel record. Could you imagine Jesus going from Genesis to Malachi, showing everything that points to Him?! But had that been recorded, I believe we would be robbed of such rich treasure hunting and making connections between the Old and New Testaments.

The truth is, reading Matthew and Mark this month has once again made me realize just how much I don’t know or haven’t retained about who Jesus is. It’s easy to fall into the trap of, I know this story and gloss over huge chunks of the gospel narrative. As I sat thinking so many thoughts this morning, I prayed; Lord, I want to know you; you have given me four gospels, Hebrews, the epistles, Revelation, and all of the Old Testament that points to you. Help me to know you better and love you more. Cleanse me from the thoughts of I know this, restore to me a hunger and a deep passion for knowing you.

The best way to know Jesus is not watching things like The Chosen that are loosely based on Scripture and take too much creative license. The best way to know Jesus is to read the gospels, the epistles that expound on His message, and the Old Testament that points to Him. One of the greatest schemes of the enemy has been to pull us away from Scripture to seek an “experience” not connected to Scripture. We find ourselves wanting to hear God outside the Bible; I can’t count the times I’ve heard people say, I read the Bible, but I wanted more. The people I’ve listened to say that end up speaking more about dreams and visions than Scripture. That is not how we gain a deeper relationship with Jesus, nor are dramas that admit they are loosely based on Scripture.

John 20:31 TLV “But these things have been written so that you may believe that Yeshua is Mashiach Ben-Elohim, and that by believing you may have life in His name.”

Walk with Jesus in the gospels. Spend a month reading John one through seven every day, then eight through twelve the next month, followed by thirteen through seventeen, and eighteen through twenty-one.

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I know The Chosen is a popular series, but there are many issues that raise concerns. I have watched several interviews with Dallas Jenkins and have become uncomfortable with his unwillingness to address serious questions. He has admitted to taking license in the series, which no doubt will bring about confusion as to what did happen in Jesus’s life and what is simply artistic license to make things flow better. This YouTube video is almost six hours long, and it shows why The Chosen is not bringing the biblical gospel to people. The video shows interviews with the creator, social media videos of the man who plays Jesus, and more. I know you may say six hours long, but if the truth matters to us, we can all take a few days and get through the video. The person and work of Jesus are too important and too holy to be messed with in the way The Chosen series does.