The Chosen Season 5 Episode 4: Bible Study & Discussion Guide (Exploring The Chosen with Small Groups and Youth)
- Kevin Keating
- May 13
- 6 min read
Episode 4 of The Chosen Season 5 invites us to reflect on the importance of remembrance, a key theme of the Passover and of the overarching biblical story. Below I'll share a Bible Study and discussion questions that you can use to explore Season 5, Episode 4 with your community. And if you love the Dayenu (“It would have been enough”) scenes, I also have directions for crafting a community Dayenu with your family, church, or small group. Also be sure to check out my recap, review, and analysis of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, and Episode 8.
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Before Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 4: Review Questions
As usual, I’d encourage you to do a quick review before launching into your discussion of The Chosen Season 5 Episode 4:
In Episodes 2-3, what predictions did Jesus make about the Temple, the future of the church, and the End?
How have the various disciples been reacting to Jesus’ ominous words?
Episode 4 spotlights Jesus’ female followers. How has Jesus worked in the life of Mary Magdalene? Eden? Tamar? Mary and Martha? Joanna?
Before Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 4: Bible Study & Discussion Questions
Whereas Episode 3 included multiple chapters of biblical content, Episode 4 is more interested in exploring big picture biblical themes and ideas. Of course, it still includes several moments from the Last Supper (John 13:23-34) and the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree (Mark 11:12-14). For most viewers, however, the highlights of Episode 4 will be the original Dayenu (“It would have been enough”) prayer during the Last Supper and the Gospel Dayenu during Jesus’ supper with the women. Although the Dayenu is not found in Scripture, it is a traditional Jewish prayer designed to help God’s people remember the many ways that the Lord blessed and redeemed them during the Exodus. For today’s discussion, you’ll look at one of the many passages in the Torah urging the Israelites to keep the memory of the Exodus alive:
“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 8:1-20, ESV)
After reading, you could point out:
Season 5 of The Chosen takes place during the Jewish festival of Passover, a celebration that commemorates the Exodus of God’s people from slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land of Canaan. This passage is one of many speeches given by Moses in which he encourages the people of Israel to remember what God did for them during the Exodus. In Episode 4, we’ll see some of the ways that Jesus and his disciples may have kept the memory of the Exodus alive during the Passover.
Now ask your group:
What kind of attitude leads people to study and commemorate the past? What kind of attitude leads people to ignore or forget about the past?
Why does Moses encourage the Israelites to keep the memory of the Exodus alive? What are some of the consequences of forgetting the story of what God has done?
What’s the connection between remembering what God has done and remembering to do what God has commanded?
What parts of the Exodus story does Moses highlight? Why do you think these highlights are significant?
What are some of the different ways that Jews and Christians keep alive the memory of the Exodus and other great acts of redemption? Are there any practices that you find particularly meaningful?
Are there any ways that you have tried to commemorate and share the memory of how God has worked in your own life? Why is that also valuable?
What’s the ultimate goal of commemorating the past? What type of attitude should we be seeking to cultivate in ourselves?
After Watching The Chosen Season 5 Episode 4: 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 some of the following questions:
The episode begins with the disciples reciting the Dayenu, an ancient Jewish prayer that may have been included in the Passover liturgy of Jesus’ day. What’s the purpose of this prayer?
How does Big James add onto the end of the prayer? Why is doing so significant?
Later, at the end of the episode, the female disciples create a new version of the Dayenu centered on Jesus’ acts of healing and salvation. What does their prayer communicate about Jesus’ identity and mission?
What did you find meaningful about these moments of prayer and remembrance?
Jesus has a long discussion with John about the story of Jephthah from Judges 11 and a similar story found in Greek mythology. How does this conversation reinforce the importance of (properly) remembering God?
Later, Judas approaches Jesus and urges him to “close the deal.” What’s wrong with his attitude in this conversation?
What does Judas forget/fail to remember about Jesus, God, and past acts of redemption? How is this “forgetting” related to his bad attitude?
Jesus challenges Judas to choose who he belongs to. Who/what does Judas choose? Why?
What does Judas’ story reveal about the dangers of forgetting about God and trusting too much in ourselves?
As a follow-up discussion/event, your group may also want to craft a community Dayenu together.
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