The Chosen Season 5 Episode 1: Bible Study & Discussion Guide (Exploring The Chosen with Small Groups & Youth)
Updated: 2 days ago
Episode 1 of The Chosen Season 5 is set to pick up where Season 4 left off: with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. All four gospel accounts describe this event, with only minor differences. This Bible Study and Discussion Guide contains questions that you can use to explore The Chosen Season 5, Episode 1 with your church community, Bible study, or youth ministry. You can also find my review and analysis of The Chosen Season 5 Episode 1 here and Episode 2 here. Want a little additional background? Check out my video discussion of the Triumphal Entry in The Chosen & Scripture podcast series, or my analysis of the key biblical events and themes of Holy Week.
Before Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 1: Review Questions
The Chosen is a serialized show. That is to say, (most) episodes are not one-off stories that can be viewed independently; they are chapters in a larger, overarching story that must be viewed sequentially in order to be properly understood. Indeed, with each new season, the serialized dimension of the story becomes more pronounced and the one-off episodic elements have receded.
In light of this, I would not encourage people to jump into a study of The Chosen Season 5 unless they have already watched the preceding seasons. While they may be able to follow the basic flow of events in an episode, they'll miss out on the emotional significance of these events and how they fit into the character arcs that have been playing out over the course of the show. You can find free studies of all four of the previous seasons of The Chosen here. But even if you're watching with people who have watched all four seasons, I'd suggest reviewing the previous episodes before watching Season 5.
To begin, I would suggest that you review where The Chosen Season 4 left off:
What miracle did Jesus perform toward the end of Season 4? What were some of the different responses to this miracle?
Where were Jesus and his followers heading at the end of Season 4?
Jesus was riding on a donkey. What was the biblical significance of this?
When the crowds heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, how did they respond?
Next, you may want to review the stories of specific characters in The Chosen with questions like:
Who is [the character]?
What life was like for [the character] before the ministry of Jesus began?
How has the life of [the character] changed over the past three seasons?
Where did the show leave [the character] at the end of Season 4?
Depending on the amount of time you have, you can decide which characters you want to focus on. Here are a few you might want to consider:
Yussif, Shmuel, and Yanni
Joanna and Chuza
Judas
Simon Peter and Andrew
Zebedee, Big James, and John
Thomas and Ramah
Pilate, Atticus, and Claudia
Caiaphas
Before Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 1: Bible Study & Discussion Questions
As I noted in my introduction, it looks like The Chosen Season 5 Episode 1 will focus on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is interesting to compare the distinct accounts of this event offered in each Gospel. For the sake of time, however, this study will focus on Luke’s version of the triumphal entry:
And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:36-44, ESV)
After reading, you could point out:
This passage takes place at the beginning of the week leading up to Passover. Passover is an ancient Jewish celebration that commemorates how God delivered Israel from Egyptian slavery and brought them to the Promised Land. Many Jews believed that this past event provided a picture of what God would one day do to deliver their people from Roman oppression through the Messiah. That is why hopes for a Messiah-Savior were particularly high during Passover.
In Jesus’ day, faithful Jews would regularly make pilgrimages to Jerusalem for holy days like Passover. Crowds would often gather outside of the city to greet travelers with quotations from the Hillel Psalms (Psalms 113-118). The words that they use to greet Jesus are based on one of these:
Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord. (Psalm 118:25-26, ESV)
After reading this section from the original psalm, ask your group:
Compare the words of the psalm that we just read to what the people are singing in Luke. What’s different in Luke? What does that show us about how the people were thinking about Jesus?
When the Pharisees hear the people, they tell Jesus to rebuke them. Why?
Jesus refuses to rebuke the people. What does this show about his understanding of himself?
At this point you may want to provide a little more context:
You might expect Jesus to feel pretty good, given the enthusiastic response to his arrival. But instead Luke tells us that Jesus begins weeping over the city and says: “the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you…” Most scholars agree that Jesus here is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem that would happen in about forty years (70 AD). Rome surrounded and destroyed Jerusalem in response to a violent Jewish revolt against Rome that began around 66 AD.
Now ask your group:
Jesus says Jerusalem will be destroyed “because you did not know the time of your visitation” and “the things that make for peace.” If the leaders of Jerusalem had accepted Jesus as the Messiah and embraced his teachings, how would it have prevented war with Rome?
Although many people are currently receiving Jesus with joy, eventually public opinion is going to turn. What aspects of Jesus’ ministry are people excited about? What may they not understand about Jesus’ purpose and teachings?
People often get excited about certain aspects of Jesus - until they are exposed to some of his more challenging and unpopular teachings. Today, which aspects of Jesus get people excited? Which of his teachings tend to turn them off?
Why is it important for us to embrace the Jesus who is offered to us in Scripture instead of picking and choosing what we like?
If we put Jesus’ teachings into practice, how will they help “make for peace”? Is there a specific area of your life where you feel a need to pursue peace in the way that Jesus taught?
After Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 1: Bible Study & Discussion Questions
After watching an episode of The Chosen, I typically ask people a couple basic questions:
What stuck out to you about the episode? What did you connect with the most?
Did you have any questions? Was anything unclear?
I plan on crafting a more specific set of discussion questions after I’ve had a chance to watch The Chosen Season 5 premiere. But if you’re discussing Episode 1 after watching it in theaters, I think these more open-ended questions should suffice for now.
Supporting The Bible Artist
Have my resources helped you explore and enjoy The Chosen? My resources are used by thousands of Christians like you, as well as church communities and ministries across the globe. You can help my work continue through one-time gift or recurring support*.
*Members who contribute $5/monthly or $50/annually receive access to exclusive content, including monthly blogs and pdf versions of my Bible study/discussion guides, as well as free gifts and other perks.
