A world-renowned artist recently created a painting that captures the heart of Jesus Christ in the popular TV series The Chosen.
Liz Lemon, known for her paintings on faith and religion, painted a piece illustrating a powerful moment from episode one where Mary Magdalene was delivered by Jesus.
The Chosen's director, producer and writer, Dallas Jenkins, shared his thoughts on the painting in a video uploaded to YouTube.
"This moment here, without even a close second, the single most important moment in the whole show," he told Swindle. "The whole Gospel is encapsulated in this moment. She ran from Him. He met her where she was. He met her in a bar ... at her lowest point. He chases her down, and then she finally surrenders."
"Thank you for capturing it," Jenkins said to Swindle as he held back tears.
"It was an honor to do," Swindle replied. "I've heard over and over again just that different people respond to this and then move forward with it. It's opened doors for them and books for them, and that's really a great thing."
Swindle also explained that she painted this particular moment on the canvas because she relates to it personally.
"I was her. I'm not wild by any means, but I find myself putting a lot of things before Him and just getting busy with life and He kind of gets set over here until I can get to Him," the artist shared. "For me, it really made Him a priority because He made me one. I look at it and think, that could be me at so many different stages in my life. Not just one time, over and over and over."
Swindle also included one detail in particular from the scene where Jesus and Mary embrace.
"One of the things that I loved in the whole sequence was her when she gasped ... when He finally gets her attention. I believed that He addressed her as Mary Magdala, and it takes her breath away," Swindle explained.
"I also loved one of the frames in there was that Jonathan's mouth was partially open, almost as a gasp as well," she added. "So it just seemed to support the whole moment like, 'she's here' kind of thing. And that meant a lot to be able to put that in."
In that same scene on the Chosen, Jenkins recalled Jesus telling Mary, "That's not for you," as she tried to reach for alcohol during a weak point in her life.
"For her, she's reaching for alcohol, she's reaching for a vice, but for those of us who might not struggle with that, it could be something as simple as social media," Jenkins said. "Anything that is distracting us, taking away and sometimes He just reaches out, puts His hand on yours and says, 'That's not for you.'"
Swindle doesn't typically name her paintings, leaving that task to viewers of their work. This time, however, Jenkins decided to name the piece "You are mine."
You can purchase the artwork here.
According to CBN News, The Chosen has become the top crowd-funded media project of all time as it has garnered millions of dollars in support from its worldwide audience for its first three seasons. It is currently raising funds for season four, which will come out in 2023. The intended goal is to have seven seasons.
Photo courtesy: ©The Chosen/Angel Studios
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
