|
by
Doug Ward |
In April my wife Sherry and I saw Season 5 of The Chosen at a local
theater, joining millions of other viewers across the country. The three parts
of Season 5 brought in a total of about $47.9 million at the box office.
Appropriately,
the release of the films was timed to coincide with the Paschal season. Part
One begins with the events of Palm Sunday, and Part Three concludes with Judas'
betrayal of Jesus with a kiss on the eve of the crucifixion.
The
Last Supper, Jesus' final Passover meal with his disciples, was a major focus
of Season 5. On that unforgettable night, the disciples celebrated Israel's
miraculous deliverance from Egypt and also learned about the meaning of the
death that their teacher would suffer on the following day.
While
we do not know the exact details, the Last Supper would have included a
rehearsal of the miracles of the Exodus with expressions of praise and
thanksgiving for these and other blessings. The films picture the disciples
giving thanks through a recital of several stanzas of Dayenu ("it
would have been enough"), a ritual that has long been a tradition at
Jewish Passover meals.
The
form of Dayenu that we have today begins, "If He had brought us out
from Egypt and not carried out judgments against the Egyptians, it would have
been enough. If He had carried out judgments against the Egyptians and not
against their idols, it would have been enough. If He had destroyed their idols
and not struck down their firstborn, it would have been enough." The
enumeration of miracles and blessings continues through fifteen stanzas,
praising God for the parting of the Red Sea, the manna in the wilderness, the
revelation of the Torah, the gift of the Promised Land, and the Jerusalem
Temple.
Though
we do not know what form of Dayenu might have existed in the first
century, I think this was a fitting scene for the filmmakers to include in
their portrayal of the Last Supper. It communicates the essence of a Passover
meal.
Another
scene from Season 5 pictures a conversation between Jesus and several female
disciples, where these women thank Jesus with a kind of personal Dayenu.
Mary Magdalene begins with something like, “ Ïf you had cast out seven demons from me but
not called me to be your disciple, it would have been enough" (see Luke
8:2). Joanna and others add their own expressions of what Jesus has done for
them.
Neither
Dayenu scene is recorded in the Bible, but these scenes express an
important spiritual truth. For Christians and Jews, salvation is both corporate
(the deliverance of a people) and personal (God rescuing us as individuals).
Thanking God for corporate and personal salvation is an important part of
worship, during the Paschal season and throughout the year.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 07 May 2025, 12:09.
