As a New York Times bestselling author, Jerry Jenkins is well aware of the numerous books (besides the Bible) published about the life of Jesus, and he’s seen many, many movies and television shows about our Lord and Savior.
For that reason, Jenkins wanted to write something that would portray Jesus in a much different way—a way that would show his humanity and everyday life. He wanted readers to see Jesus through the eyes of those who actually met Him, and to be changed and impacted in the same way they were.
That became a much easier task when his son, Dallas, a filmmaker, produced the highly-acclaimed crowdfunded television series, The Chosen. Jerry Jenkins, the co-writer of the Left Behind book series with Tim LaHaye, said he watched each episode of the first series of Chosen 20 times to help him write the book.
“Some of those movies and television shows are hard to relate to,” Jenkins told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “So, Dallas said let’s hone in on the humanity of Jesus, His sense of humor, the way He interacted with friends and how they were changed to be something they never were before they encountered Him.
“It’s turned out to be a very emotional experience to watch to see how it’s rendered. There is some artistic license, and obviously we never want to add or take away from the gospel. But we didn’t know what these things might have looked like before they were rendered in Scripture. This series has been seen 140 million times and in almost every country of the world, and I was as moved by it as much as anyone else.”
Jenkins says that his son is planning on producing seven seasons of the television show and that he has the good fortune of being contracted by Focus on the Family and Broadstreet Publishing to write the first three books for it. Of course, he says he’ll do more if he’s asked to, depending upon the success of the television series.
For more of Jerry Jenkins’ work with Chosen and his story as a lifetime writer, listen to this entire episode of Greenelines. {eoa}
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