Who’s ready for another wild episode where someone else says “Yes” to Jesus? This time it’s Simon the Zealot, and he doesn’t stroll in casually. Oh no. He arrives in full Zealot stealth mode—creeping through shadows, tracking Jesus like he’s on a top-secret mission, and sizing up the disciples like he’s deciding whether to join their club or take them down. Classic Simon.
On his way, he bumps into a demon-possessed man, but this is not the first time he meets him. The demon enters the disciples camp and starts talking to Mary, bringing up memories of her old self possessed by not only one demon, but seven. The demon attacks Mary and luckily Simon the Zealot was lurking nearby and stepped in. Mary is safe, but the demon overpowers Simon and Jesus commands the demon to leave the man, ensuring everyone is safe from evil. None of this is in scripture by the way! The writers of The Chosen took a lot of liberties in this episode. This interaction isn’t in the bible and neither is the meet up that Jesus has with John the Baptist.
Let’s talk about John the Baptist. He pops up along the shoreline like he’s been waiting for Jesus to walk by. Andrew is thrilled, but John has business to discuss. He tells Jesus he’s heading to Jerusalem to call out Herod for marrying Herodias, even though Jewish law forbids it. Jesus warns him not to stir up Herod’s anger, but John barrels ahead anyway. None of this conversation appears in scripture, but it does set the stage for what’s coming in future seasons.
Meanwhile, the Pharisees are still fuming about the healing at the Bethesda pool. Shmuel and his Pharisee buddy are scheming again, trying to spark an investigation into Jesus. Their plan? Pit the religious groups against each other and let the chaos do the work. Spoiler: this won’t be the last time they try to drag Jesus into trouble.
Back to Mary. After the terrifying demon encounter, she slips away into Jericho and heads straight into a bar. A bar. Mary, what are you doing? Jesus sends Simon and Matthew to go find her, and that’s where the episode leaves us—Mary missing, the disciples searching, and viewers hanging on the edge of their seats.
If you want to dig deeper into what the Bible actually says about these scenes (and what it doesn’t), check out the attached study guide. Let’s just say this episode takes more than a few creative detours from scripture.
Biblical Rewind 
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