The Chosen Christmas Special Discussion Questions + What We Know So Far Written by the Elf on 11/8/21 – Last updated on 12/1/21. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
The Chosen Christmas special is here (December 2021) in a theater near you! Don’t know much about The Chosen?? Check out our review with discussion questions for The Chosen Season One, Season Two, Season Three and Season Four.
What to Know Before You Watch Christmas with The Chosen
Movie/Episode: Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers
Rating: (Not rated- our rating would be G)
Genre: Religious, Family, Holiday, Christmas
Length: 2 hours
Age suggested: 7+ only because it is so long and not interactive- younger ones will struggle to stay still and tuned in
Theater Release Date: 12/1/21 (You can grab tickets here)
The Chosen App Release Date/Where to Stream: Christmas With The Chosen will be available to stream on their app on a date TBA
Themes: The birth of Jesus, holiday, Christmas, Messengers
Summary of The Chosen Christmas Special:
See the birth of Jesus and Mary’s magnificent through the eyes of Mary and Joseph as interpreted by The Chosen team. We’re linking the preview below. Along with this special Christmas episode of The Chosen, viewers also get to see some holiday performances by a variety of CCM artists and hear some monolgues from cast members.
Other Performances in The Christmas Episode:
-The Bonner Family
-Brandon Lake
-Bryan & Katie Torwalt
-Cain
-Dawson Hollow
-For King & Country (known for their energetic Christmas concerts)
– Jordan Feliz
-Leanna Crawford
-Matt Maher
-Maverick City Music
-One Voice Children’s Choir
– Phil Whickham
-We the Kingdom
Where to Watch The Chosen Christmas Special-
When Can You Stream Christmas with The Chosen:
*Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers is playing in theaters December 1-10th (2021). You can grab tickets from fathom events here. And find tickets from Cinemark here. (Consider becoming a Cinemark movie club member! Check out more here!)
*The Chosen Christmas special will be available to stream on the Chosen app on a date TBD
*While you are waiting, you can watch episode 0 (or 9 depending on the platform) of season 1 which is the pilot Christmas episode from the perspective of the soldiers. You also can watch a 2020 Christmas special on the app.
Review of Christmas With The Chosen: The Messengers
We want to start out our review by saying that we really enjoy the Chosen as a show. We are thankful for the perspective it has given us as a family. And if you also enjoy it, by all means- please support it if you can by sharing about it, buying tickets, and checking out the merch. Supporting the show helps crowdfund new episodes!
That being said, we were pretty underwhelmed by this Christmas special. The first song made me tear up and I was so excited about the rest. The interviews started and I wondered why they were added? It felt like advertising filler- and we were already excited and there to see the show. We didn’t need more advertisements about it. Plus the very first monologue rubbed me the wrong way with it’s push towards the ‘we’re being persecuted’ narrative. To compare Christian persecution in modern America with people literally running to the hills to save their lives is at very best tone deaf, at worst Christian nationalism. It was so neat that they were discussing the names of God and the messengers of God but the overall message got lost. We are the messengers, and people need to know… but of what??
And while we really do not know very much at all about the birth of Jesus. Culturally and historically we can assume a few things and we were really disappointed that they didn’t at least play around with that a little more. A lot of this show makes assumptions about what might have been around the basis of Scripture. They have been so creative and inspirational with so many of their takes on the Disciples, to just go through the very basic nativity set up without any variation was disappointing. Check out books like ‘Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes‘ or ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes‘ to read more about what the birth scene might have looked like.
Overall there was a really high production value, some really great moments but also so, so, so much filler. And I would have loved to have it been more interactive, even just one sing along would have gone such a long way. We enjoyed it, didn’t love it, definitely would not bring an atheist friend to it. HOWEVER, a lot of viewers will absolutely love it and want to see it again every year! And it may very well be the perfect holiday activity for you and your group!
The Show: Christmas with the Chosen We are the Messengers
The overall show was MOSTLY Christmas music sung by contemporary Christian artists and interviews with them. Not family sing along style, more high production music video style. And if you enjoy that you will really enjoy the whole show! The women next to me was in tears she enjoyed it so much!
The monologues had some really great moments, they were delivered beautifully! But they just felt like out of place filler that just didn’t quite hit the mark to me.
The production values were great. They don’t have the budget to do massive effects (but they did such a great job with the stars and skies!) and this did not feel like it had been planned for a year. But it still all looked and sounded very well put together and theatrical- which is a big deal for a crowd funded show.
The actual episode was really done. It was very typical of the Chosen in that the characters were made very relatable and the banter was really fun and enlightening. However there was a lotttt of dialogue that was just exposition, which is to be expected in some places with a story like this one- it just ate into the relatability of the characters a bit. And the story just was not very creative (EG: Joseph was probably not the midwife and they were probably staying with relatives). And there is nothing inherently wrong with the traditional nativity story, like I said, there just is not a lot Scripturally to go off of. And we lovvvve watching The Star every year personally (It was the first movie we reviewed!). We just wished that they had had more interplay between the characters and that they gave us a different perspective on the manger scene.
5 Positives-
Why watch The Chosen Christmas Special in Theaters:
*We appreciate that there is diversity and representation in the show and on the special- although I would have loved to see more Middle Eastern representation.
*If you enjoy contemporary Christian musical numbers, this is amazing.
*Watching the movie in theaters supports the future projects of the show.
*The Chosen series really hits it out of the park by making Biblical characters human and relatable.
*Mary’s Magnificat is so, so beautiful. And something we often only hear the first part of, if it all, during the Christmas season. We love that they included it all and that Mary Magdalene was the messenger of it as well.
The Chosen Christmas Special Discussion Questions
- Have you heard Mary’s full song before? (Luke 1:46-55)
- What was your favorite song?
- Had you heard all of those names of God before? Which one was the most stirring for you? One you want to look into a little more?
- Mother Mary entrusts Mary Magdalene with a very important message, sometimes the role of women in the church can be controversial. But what does this scene tell us about the importance of women in the early church?
- How has the relationship between the two Mary’s developed throughout the series?
- Did you feel like this made Mary and Joseph a little more relatable rather than figurine characters that we usually see around Christmastime?
- What do you know about Lazarus as a Biblical figure?
Family and Small Group Activities to Go Along with Christmas with The Chosen.
*Caroling together
*Have a meal together and discussing the movie
*Figure out what aspects of Jesus and His message are important to be a messenger about together.
*How can you spread light and love together?
*Figure out a few ways to serve together this holiday season, get creative! (Check out the book 77 Ways Kids Can Serve!)
*Memorize Mary’s song together
Conclusion for our Christmas with The Chosen: We are the Messengers Review–
Our hope would be that if you see this movie this holiday season that you would be inspired with the hopeful reminder that we are called to be a radically loving messenger of God’s light in our world. And that you would really take some time meditating on Mary’s song…
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
Luke 1: 46-55 RSV
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
he has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.”
Sources:
The Chosen website
Fathom Events Ticket Page
IMBD Page
Thanks for checking out this post on The Chosen Christmas Special. Check out these other similar posts before you go!!
-The Chosen Season One Discussion Questions
-The Chosen Season Two Discussion Questions
–Reimagining the Manger Advent series