By Amy J. Cattapan

When the TV show The Chosen first became popular during the pandemic, Catholic actor
Jonathan Roumie (who portrays Jesus) saw his fame rise quickly. Despite being an introvert, he
agreed to let a camera crew follow him around for nearly a year as he met with other famous
Christian artists, best-selling authors, and theologians. The result is the new four-part docuseries
Jonathan & Jesus, streaming for free on Amazon Prime.

While much of Jonathan’s conversations with these celebrities and his experiences
dealing with fame will fascinate adults, there are also some great lessons for our middle school
and high school students tucked inside. As I watched, I thought about how certain segments
could be used as opening activities or discussion starters for students in grades 7-12.

A few segments for students

I’d encourage you to watch the whole docuseries to see what it’s like to be mistaken for
Jesus while walking on the street. However, for our young people, I’d recommend picking out
5-15-minute segments to share and discuss. Here are a few of my favorites and how I’d use them:

• Jesus and the Disciples – Episode 1 has a great four-minute segment (approximate
  time stamp 8:00-12:00) about what it was like to be a follower of a rabbi during
  Jesus’s time. This segment begins with Jonathan visiting the Basilica of the Holy
  Apostles (Santi Dodici Apostoli) in Rome, where Sts. Philip and James the Less
  are buried. Following that is a brief historical explanation of what it meant for a
  Jewish man to follow a rabbi in the first century. If I were still teaching seventh-grade religion, this would fit in perfectly when we started talking about Jesus
  calling his disciples.
• How the Church Spread – Shortly after the explanation of the apostles in Episode 1 is an 8-minute explanation of the early years of the Church. This segment
  begins with Jonathan visiting the Appian Way with a Roman historian who
  explains that the Appian Way is the road St. Paul and other apostles would’ve
  taken to get in and out of Rome. He then explains how the orderliness of the
  Roman Empire made it possible for the early Christians to spread the faith
  quickly. Years ago, I taught an eighth-grade Church History class. Wish I’d had
  this as a way of introducing them to the early years of the Church.
• Interfaith Dialogue & Ecumenism – Episode 2 of the series (8:50-18:00) includes
  conversations with Evangelical pastor Francis Chan, Catholic podcaster Matt
  Fradd, and NYT bestselling author Bob Goff. During this segment, Jonathan also
  meets with politicians from both sides of the aisle at a special screening of The
  Chosen Christmas special back in 2021. This would be great for a youth ministry
  or high school group to discuss the importance of Christians working together.
• Trusting in Jesus – At the end of the last episode, Jonathan shares his “surrender
  story.” In 2018, he was a struggling actor with an overdrawn bank account. He
  got down on his knees in prayer and surrendered his career to Jesus. I won’t spoil
  what happened next; I’ll only tell you that I’d heard his story in many interviews,
  but in the docuseries you get to see actual footage Jonathan had recorded for
  himself that day. (Grab your Kleenex!) Pair this with teaching your students the
  Litany of Humility or the Surrender Novena.

This is a very raw and vulnerable documentary that shares how being a person of faith has
sustained Jonathan Roumie in a challenging career. We know our entertainment culture often provides a lot of poor role models for our young people. How refreshing to be able to show them someone who is handling the fame and challenges with such grace!

Amy J. Cattapan, Ed.D., teaches middle school English in Chicagoland, where she also
writes novels for teens and tweens and nonfiction books to inspire teachers and catechists.
Website: www.ajcattapan.com
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