Listening to Jesus

Hearing Jesus in the moment is important, but it’s what we do afterwards that makes a difference and proves we really listened.

Currently, the most popular and — in the minds of many — most well-done video portrayal of Jesus is the streaming series The Chosen. It has so captured a loyal audience that many people have contributed money for the ongoing production through a crowdfunding arrangement.

Many viewers feel invested in the show more than just financially. They want to see the biblical story of Jesus retold on the screen in ways that emphasize not only his humanity — which The Chosen does remarkably well — but also his divinity. The series does that well, too, but some fans were taken aback when Dallas Jenkins, the show’s creator, director and writer, mentioned in a YouTube interview that he was not planning to portray the transfiguration. He had previously said that the series is intended to support Scripture rather than simply reenacting its events. And in the interview, Jenkins added that showing the face of Jesus glowing, as the transfiguration scene would require,...