The Chosen Season 5 Episode 2: Bible Study & Discussion Guide (Exploring The Chosen with Small Groups & Youth)
- Kevin Keating
- Apr 29
- 7 min read
Episode 2 of The Chosen Season 5: Last Supper provides us with an opportunity to study one of the most challenging and intriguing stories in the Gospels: Jesus cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem. In this Bible Study and discussion guide, I'll share questions that you can use to explore Season 5, Episode 2 with your Bible study, small group, or youth ministry. You can also find my review and analysis of Season 5 Episode 2 here, as well as a YouTube discussion of Season 5 Episodes 1-2 here. Want to dig deeper into the biblical text inspiring the episode? Check out my discussion of the biblical account of the cleansing of the Temple here.
Before Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 2: Review Questions
The Chosen is a serialized show. 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.
In light of this, I would not encourage people to jump into a study of The Chosen Season 5 Episode 2 unless they have already watched the preceding seasons and episodes. While they may be able to follow the basic flow of events, 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. Even if you're watching with people who have watched all four seasons, I'd suggest reviewing the previous episodes before watching.
Here are a few questions to help you review where Season 5 Episode 1 left off:
What was the experience of the triumphal entry like for the disciples? What was the experience like for Jesus?
Which of the disciples are starting to anticipate what’s in store for Jesus? What are the other disciples focused on?
What does Jesus see in his vision at the end of the episode and what does he do in response?
Back in Season 3, Jesus preached to Gentiles in the Decapolis. What was the response? Who were the disciples that first preached there?
If you think your group may get confused by the Memento-esque double timeline of The Chosen Season 5: Last Supper, you may also want to point out:
The cold open for Episode 1, depicts the ending of the Last Supper. The cold open for Episode 2 will give us the preceding scene, Episode 3 will give us the scene before that, and so on. The two timelines will finally meet in Episode 8.
Before Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 2: Bible Study & Discussion Questions
As I noted in my introduction, Episode 2 focuses on Jesus cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem. John offers several significant details about this moment that are not included in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). However, studying both accounts will probably take too long, so I would suggest focusing on the synoptic version:
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. And when evening came they went out of the city. (Mark 11:15-19, ESV)
After reading, you could point out:
In Jesus’ day, most pilgrims to Jerusalem were not able to bring their own animals to sacrifice at Passover, and so they would have to purchase animals at the Temple itself. As you might expect, these animals were often sold at high prices. But to make matters worse, visitors would also have to exchange their own currency at a high exchange rate. This predatory behavior was allowed in part because the Temple leaders received a cut of the profits.
The money changers and animal sellers were only allowed into the outer sector of the Temple, which was originally designed to be a place for Gentiles who wanted to draw near to God in prayer.
In response to this corruption, Jesus quotes two passages from the Old Testament prophets. The significance of what he’s saying is made even clearer if you read more of the original context.
Now read:
“And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:6-7, ESV)
Ask your group the following questions:
What does Isaiah say about the purpose of the Temple?
How and why was the Temple in Jesus’ day failing to live up to this purpose?
Like the Jerusalem Temple, through the Church non-Christians from all backgrounds are supposed to be able to draw near to God. Are there things we do for our own convenience that can be barriers for non-Christian visitors?
Now read:
“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim. (Jeremiah 7:8-15, ESV)
You may want to explain:
Jeremiah is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem and of the first Temple, a prediction that was fulfilled in 586 BC (2 Kings 25).
Jeremiah references how the Philistines captured the Ark of God at Shiloh (1 Samuel 4), and how Ephraim, also known as the Kingdom of Israel or Samaria, was defeated and brought into exile by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17).
In the ancient world, if the temple of a god was captured or if a god’s people were sent into exile, it was seen as a defeat for that god.
Now ask your group the following questions:
The people Jeremiah is addressing seem to have faith that they will be delivered. Why does Jeremiah say that their faith is misplaced?
In 1 Samuel 4, the people thought they would be delivered from the Philistines because God wouldn’t want his Ark to be captured. Likewise, the Kingdom of Israel thought that it would be delivered from the Assyrians because God wouldn’t want his people to be exiled. Why do you think Jeremiah reminds his audience about these events?
In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders had become spiritual complacent and felt a false sense of peace because they were God’s people and ruled over God’s Temple. Why does Jesus point them to this warning from Jeremiah?
Today, what are some things people have faith in that make them spiritually complacent or give them a false sense of peace?
If someone claims to have faith in God, when is it appropriate to question whether that person is actually saved? What’s the danger of allowing people to be spiritually complacent and feel a false sense of peace?
Is there a way to warn complacent “believers” that comes across as loving, not proud or judgmental?
After Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 2: 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?
As always, if the conversation takes on a life of its own, I encourage you to run with it instead of feeling bound by the questions that follow. However, if you need more structure, you can ask the following questions:
The episode begins with a scene taken from the Last Supper. How does this moment connect to the rest of the episode?
After the credits, we flashback to the moments leading up to Thomas and Ramah’s trip to the wedding at Cana. What do we learn about Kafni, Naomi, and Thomas? How does that inform the way you think about the way we see them interacting later on?
What are some of the barriers that the Gentiles from the Decapolis face in the effort to worship God in the Temple?
One of the Gentiles questions whether the entire Temple system is in keeping with Jesus’ teaching, but Andrew points out that Jesus came not to do away with the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20). Who do you think is right? If Jesus did not come to do away with the Law, why do we no longer engage in sacrifices and other rituals from the Law?
In what ways does Episode 2 portray the High Priest, Caiaphas, as a sympathetic figure? In what ways does the episode also reveal his sinful motives?
Some of the merchants and money changers we meet in Episode 2 have sympathetic motivations and personalities. Why is it important to remember that people often do sinful acts for sympathetic reasons? Will that prevent them from facing judgment?
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