Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool (Exploring The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 with Youth)

Dallas and Jonathan Season 2 of The Chosen

Update: Learn more about how The Chosen adapts Simon the Zealot

During the public premiere of The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4, Dallas Jenkins said it was the most complex and challenging episode of The Chosen to film, and it sure does show. This episode is our first extended visit to Jerusalem and introduces us to Simon the Zealot, a future disciple, as well as the invalid at the pool of Bethesda (who, in The Chosen, is the brother of Simon the Zealot). While the conflict among the disciples and their struggle to come together temporarily takes the backseat, this miracle-of-the-week storyline is one of the most intricately constructed episodes of The Chosen so far. Moreover, in addition to being a compelling story, The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 offers several interesting themes that will be worth exploring with your youth group.

The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 Intro Questions: The Man at Bethesda Pool

To begin your time, have your youth read the main passage that this episode of The Chosen is adapting:

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. (John 5:1-13 ESV)

Explain to your youth group:

• During the time of the New Testament, it was common for people to believe that certain places like the Pool of Bethesda had miraculous power to bring healing. Some Jewish people might have believed this was because God had blessed these places, but others believed that these healing centers were connected to pagan gods like Asclepius.

• The Pool of Bethesda was specifically known to heal people only at a specific time - when the waters had been stirred up. It was most likely an underground hot spring. Only the first person to reach the stirring waters was healed.

• Invalids - people with debilitating sicknesses, injuries, or birth defects - would often congregate around these miraculous places like Bethesda in hopes of having their sicknesses healed. Some might have family members carry them back and forth from home and help them when needed, but others were basically homeless people who had to beg in order to get food and care.

Now ask your students:

• What do you think it would have been like to be a person who waited around pools like Bethesda in hopes of having a sickness or disability healed? What emotions do you imagine you'd feel?

• In this story, Jesus sees the invalid lying by the pool of Bethesda and asks him, "Do you want to be healed?" How would you react if someone asked you that question after you'd been disabled for almost 40 years?

• Why do you think Jesus asked him that question? What do you think he meant by it?

• Notice that the man doesn't reply directly to Jesus' question. Instead of saying he does or doesn't want to be well, he explains why he thinks he can't get well - he doesn't have anyone to put him in the pool when it is stirred up. Jesus then simply tells him to get up and walk and he's healed. What do you think we're supposed to conclude?

Explain that this episode of The Chosen Season 2 will be exploring many of these questions imaginatively, filling in the details that the Bible leaves us to wonder about.

Roman Soldiers in The Chosen

Review Questions: The Chosen So Far

Since the story of The Chosen has grown increasingly complex in Season 2, it's a good idea to regularly review some relevant information from previous episodes (especially since there's not a regular "previously on The Chosen" segment). Here are a few questions you might want to review (no need to take too long - just a quick recap):

• Who are the disciples that are following Jesus so far?

• In Episode 2 of The Chosen Season 2, Jesus encountered a man who had his career crumble all around him. Who was he? What did he do?

• Which disciples seem to be the potential leaders of the group?

• In Episode 6 of The Chosen Season 1, Jesus faced opposition from a Pharisee in Capnernaum. Do you remember his name? Why was he mad at Jesus?

Viewing The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4

Although The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 did livestream on YouTube and Facebook, new episodes are now only being left up for 24 hours before being taken down. To watch this season with your group, you'll need to pick up The Chosen app (Google / Apple).

While watching The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4, I make occasional comments through the chat but I try to not do too much teaching. I want the youth to enjoy it and not just see The Chosen as an elaborate preaching illustration. For the most part, I just clarify who characters are and occasionally I briefly explained a reference or allusion that is confusing to my youth.

The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 Discussion Questions: Simon & Jesse

To begin your discussion, ask your youth group:

• What stuck out to you about this episode? Were there any scenes that you found interesting or moving?

• Did you have any questions about what happened?

• Did the healing of the invalid man by the Pool of Bethesda play out like you expected?

Explain to your students:

• In order to explain why, in the Gospel of John, the invalid tells Jesus that he has no one to put him in the water, this episode of The Chosen depicted him as having a brother who abandoned him in order to pursue life as a Jewish Zealot.

• Remember that, during the time of the New Testament, the land of Israel was occupied by the Roman Empire, which had conquered it several decades earlier. As The Chosen has showed us at various points, the Romans were hated by most of the Jews, who viewed them as oppressive enemies.

• The Zealots were a group of Jews who believed that God had called them to overthrow the Roman Empire through physical force. Some of these Zealots, known as Sicarii, would carry out terrorist attacks and assassinations of Romans and Jews who cooperated with the Roman Empire.

• Jesus really did know a Zealot named Simon. The Gospels tell us almost nothing about him, but they all list him as one of the twelve disciples. While the Chosen depicts Simon the Zealot as the brother of Jesse, the invalid Jesus heals by the Pool of Bethesda, this detail does not come from the Gospels. The Chosen creatively connects these two characters in order to make a point.

Now ask your youth:

• Why do you think The Chosen made Simon the Zealot and Jesse the Invalid brothers?

• How does it affect your view of Jesse, to know that he had a brother who left him at the pool in order to go fight the Roman Empire?

• How does it affect your view of Simon the Zealot, to know that he went off to become a Zealot and fight for the freedom of the Jews while leaving his brother helplessly lying by the Pool of Bethesda?

• What has Simon the Zealot put his hope in to bring salvation? What has Jesse the Invalid put his hope in to bring salvation? How do the hopes of Simon and Jesse turn out?

• Jesse initially hopes that the Pool of Bethesda will save him from his injury but ends up disappointed. In the place of the pool, what does he discover is a much better hope?

• If Simon the Zealot had gone through with his attempt to assassinate the Roman leader, his hope would also have been disappointed by the intervention of Atticus, the undercover Roman agent. After seeing his brother healed by Jesus, do you think he will continue to hope in violence to bring salvation?

• What kinds of things do people today put their hope in?

• In what ways do these hopes end up disappointing us?

• What do you think it looks like to stop putting hope in things that disappoint us, like the Pool of Bethesda, and to instead focus our hopes around Jesus?

As a teaser for the future, explain to your students:

• You might have noticed Shmuel, the Pharisee who opposed Jesus in The Chosen Season 1, was back and joined by a new group of Pharisees. Some of these Pharisees witnessed the healing of Jesse and saw how Jesus told him to get up and take his mat and walk. Carrying a mat around was forbidden on the Sabbath, so we can expect that their conflict with Jesus about this to come up in next episode of The Chosen Season 2.

Bonus Commentary on The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4:

Why does this episode omit John 5:14-15?

While The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 closes on a happy note, with Jesse joyfully dancing on his new legs full of gratitude to Jesus, the original account of this story in the Gospel of John ends much more ambivalently:

So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. (John 5:10-16 ESV)

The ending of this story in the Gospel of John seems to suggest that the invalid, after getting healed by Jesus, turns into a snitch, reporting Jesus to the Pharisees. The sketchiness of the invalid is further highlighted by how his healing in John 5 is closely mirrored by the healing of the man born blind in John 9 and the much more faithful response of the blind man.

We don't see any signs of Jesse responding to his healing in a sketchy way in Episode 4 of The Chosen Season 2. There are two possible explanations for this. The first is that we simply haven't gotten to that point in the story. This would be very in-keeping with the Gospel of John, which is quite interested in the way people initially respond to Jesus with faith when he does a miracle but eventually fall away when he doesn't something inexplicable or the water gets too hot. The second explanation is that the show wanted this story to have a happy ending and so it significantly changed it to end in the desired place.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the second explanation will prove true, but I would prefer the first - since there are plenty of other miracle healings that the show could have utilized instead of undermining a central feature of this specific story. That said, this is an adaptation and that means it's their telling of these stories, so I won't be too bummed if they've taken reworked this relatively minor story.

Jonathan Roumie as Jesus in The Chosen

The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 & Scripture: FAQ

Did Simon the Zealot have a brother named Jesse? Did Simon the Zealot have a brother who was paralyzed?

In the Bible there is no indication that Simon the Zealot was related to the paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda. The Bible gives us very little information about Simon the Zealot and no information about his family.

In The Chosen, during Season 2 Episode 4, Simon the Zealot is depicted as being the brother of the paralyzed man Jesus heals by the Pool of Bethesda, who is named Jesse in the show. The connection between the two figures is invented in order to add depth to Simon's character and suggest thematic connections between their stories.

Who was the man at the Pool of Bethesda?

The Bible tells us only a couple things about the man that Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda:

1. He went to the pool in order to be healed by its reported power.

2. At the time when he was healed, he had been paralyzed for thirty-eight years.

The Bible does not give us his name or mention anyone to whom he was related.

In The Chosen, the man at the pool is given the name Jesse and is depicted as the brother of Simon the Zealot (see more above).

How did Simon the Zealot meet Jesus?

The Bible does not describe how Simon the Zealot met Jesus. By the time the Gospels mention Simon (e.g. Matthew 10:1-4), he appears to have already been established as a disciple of Jesus.

In The Chosen, during Season 2, Episode 4, Simon the Zealot is reunited with his brother, Jesse, after years of separation. He discovers that Jesse has been healed by Jesus. In Season 2, Episode 5, Simon seeks out Jesus and joins the disciples.

What did Simon the Zealot do before he met Jesus?

The Bible does not tell us anything about Simon the Zealot before he met Jesus. However, his title "the Zealot" suggests that he may have been a member of a band of violent Jewish revolutionaries. The Chosen follows this theory and portrays Simon as a Zealot who gives up his violent ways in order to follow Jesus.

Who is Atticus in Scripture?

So far, there are no obvious figures in Scripture that correspond to Atticus Aemilius. He is most likely a character invented by The Chosen to help advance the story and perform actions that we know must have happened but which are not described in detail in the Bible.

Who was the angel at the Pool of Bethesda?

In the description of the Pool of Bethesda in the King James Version, we are told:

For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. (John 5:4, KJV)

Readers of most modern translations will notice that this verse is not included in the main text of their translation (but it is typically found in the footnotes). This is because this line is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts of the passage and most scholars believe that it was not in the original Gospel of John. The scribe copying the passage may have added this line to explain why the waters brought healing, since it was confusing to readers in his day. There may have been a pagan association with the Pool of Bethesda and so it's also possible he was trying to cover it up. Regardless of why this line was included, we know nothing else about the angel described - if he even existed.

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A New Resource for Engaging Scripture Creatively

After watching The Chosen, have you ever felt inspired to create your own work of Bible Art or biblical adaptation? Read Scripture Like an Artist is a Bible journal that will help you engage with Scripture through your imagination and respond to what you are reading through art and/or creative writing. For each passage that you read, you will still take notes on important literary features like plot and theme, but you will also have space to respond by sketching, doodling, or writing something inspired by the passage. There's also a separate area for you to draw and take notes on your favorite biblical characters. By engaging with Scripture creatively, you'll allow your imagination to be unconsciously shaped and formed by the images, metaphors, and patterns of the biblical story. And, who knows? Perhaps your quiet time will generate an idea that you can turn into something beautiful!

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