Tag Archives: The Chosen

Roll the Credits

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PB and I don’t go out to see a movie very often, but when we do, I am always impressed by the long list of names that roll by at the end, each one having contributed to the making of the film. We like to sit through the entire list of credits out of respect for all the hard work and dedication of so many people.

We are the last ones to leave the theater. I just know that if one of my loved ones’ names was rolling by, I’d want to acknowledge it. And point it out to everyone in the theater.

That’s kind of how I feel when I come to one of those long lists of genealogies in the Bible. While it may be tempting to skip over them, I tend to think those names deserve a little attention. After all, they were real people. If God saw fit to include their names in His Word, I should at least acknowledge them.

I’m reading 1 Chronicles in March. (See my Bible Reading Plan 2026) The first several chapters contain long lists of historical records and family lines. This will be a real test of my stick-to-itiveness, but there are gems hidden in there, I’m sure of it. Each name has contributed in some way to the story of Jesus. I’m just glad I don’t have to pronounce any of those names out loud.

Shout out to Hazarmaveth, Hazzelelponi, and Tilgathpilneser.

I see you Ir, Er, and Uz.

Kudos to you, Ulam, and your 150 grandsons. (Thanks for not naming them all.)

You can bet that I’ll be watching the credits roll when season six of “The Chosen” is released. PB’s name will be cast upon the big screen, along with hundreds of other extras. Wait for the “O”s and don’t blink.

Gall

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“They came to a place called Golgotha.
There they offered Jesus vinegar to drink,
mixed with gall;
but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.”
Matthew 27:34

See that knobby thing growing on that tree branch? It’s a gall. Galls are any kind of abnormal growth on a plant. They can be caused by insect infestation, bacteria or viruses, injuries or irritations.

I never paid much attention to those weird lumps before.
Now I see them everywhere.

Vinegar or wine infused with wood from a gall produces bitter tasting painkiller. It was offered to Jesus on the cross but he refused to take it. Christ was determined to take on the full force of our sin and drink the cup of suffering to the dregs without anesthesia. It had to be vinegar and gall because 1,000 years before the crucifixion, King David wrote,

“They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”
Psalm 69:21

Why all this talk about galls?
PB has been chosen to be an extra on “The Chosen.”
He goes to Utah soon for three days of filming crowd scenes for season six.

I’m not sure he’ll pass as a Jewish rabbi, but perhaps he could be a bedouin sheep-herder from the far northern reaches. Or an Anglo-Saxon merchant with Viking blood carrying lutefisk and lefse from the North Sea.

I bet he’ll be the only one on the film set with a gall on his walking stick.