The hugely popular television series, The Chosen, is the first multi-season story about the life of Jesus Christ. Garnering millions of dollars in support, it has become the top crowd-funded media project of all time.
So far, The Chosen’s worldwide audience has paid it forward to completely fund seasons one, two, and three with the hope of having a fully-funded season four in 2023.
The series continues to captivate audiences and has even inspired one renowned painter to capture a poignant moment between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
Dallas Jenkins, the show’s writer, producer, and director, met with artist Liz Lemon Swindle who illustrated the powerful “You are mine” scene from Episode One where Mary Magdalene is delivered by Jesus.
“This moment here, without even a close second, the single most important moment in the whole show,” Jenkins said to Swindle. “The whole Gospel is encapsulated in this moment. She ran from Him. He met her where she was. He met her in a bar … at her lowest point. He chases her down and then she finally surrenders. Thank you for capturing it,” Jenkins said while holding back tears.
“It was an honor to do,” shared Swindle. “I’ve heard over and over again just that different people respond to this and then move forward with it. It’s opened doors for them and books for them, and that’s really a great thing.”
The artist explained why she chose to capture that particular moment on canvas.
“I was her. I’m not wild by any means but I find myself putting a lot of things before Him and just getting busy with life and He kind of gets set over here until I can get to Him,” Swindle explained. “For me, it really made Him a priority because He made me one. I look at it and think, that could be me at so many different stages in my life. Not just one time, over and over and over.”
Swindle described a specific detail she included in the painting from the scene where Jesus and Mary embrace.
“One of the things that I loved in the whole sequence was her when she gasped … when He finally gets her attention. I believed that He addressed her as Mary Magdala and it takes her breath away,” Swindle said.
“I also loved one of the frames in there was that Jonathan’s mouth was partially open, almost as a gasp as well. So it just seemed to support the whole moment like, ‘she’s here’ kind of thing. And that meant a lot to be able to put that in.”
Jenkins recalled during that same scene, Mary was at a weak point when Jesus told her, “That’s not for you.”
“For her, she’s reaching for alcohol, she’s reaching for a vice, but for those of us who might not struggle with that, it could be something as simple as social media,” Jenkins said. “Anything that is distracting us, taking away and sometimes He just reaches out, puts His hand on yours and says, ‘That’s not for you.'”
Swindle explained she doesn’t typically name her illustrations and that she leaves it up to the beholder.
Fittingly, Jenkins named the painting, “You are mine,” which Swindle said was “perfect.”
The find out more about Swindle and her work, click HERE.
You can watch The Chosen HERE on their free app.
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