I raised 3 boys on the spectrum. My youngest was Mathew. I also have 2 grandchildren on the spectrum. Needless to say, I find Matthews character relatable and encouraging. Matthew continues to be one of my favourite characters.
Matthew's character is what hooked me as an autism mama❤ I especially love the growth they have shown in him and his relationship with his family. I also love what the Chosen has done with Little James as well.
I have 2 grandsons on the spectrum. They are on different levels one has is not is impulsive and the other is laid back and is very emotional. So I can see Matthew in both of them. Both are very good with math skills. As a retired preschool I asked my daughter to get them tested for Autism. She did. She was told one twins would most likely non verbal. She cried. I said what does it say in the Bible. She said I don't know. I said with God everything is possible. I told her to trust God. At 4 years old he started talking and hasn't stopped. He spent the night with us and we watched the Chosen he saw Matthew and he said I like him.
I went into the Chosen with no information other than it was about Jesus. So, I had no expectations at all. It took me several times through the episodes to figure everything out, but as soon as I realized Matthew was on the spectrum, I was impressed. That made him so much more relatable and likeable. I had never thought about the Gospel Writers as characters, and I loved how they had fleshed out Matthew the Tax Collector. He always intrigued me, because I wondered why someone would drop everything to follow Jesus, who was at that time not openly known as the Messiah. Way to go writers!
I love how the writers of The Chosen have used poetic license... The characters have more depth and in many ways are vrey relatable on a human aspect... People are people, and we all have characteristics that we have shared since the creation... So why not show these characters with the same human emotions, frailties and shortcomings we all have in common... It's often that people are more accepting when we share relateable experiences with them... The "I've been right where you are..." and "Let me tell you what God has done for me or delivered me from..." trials we have endured and relatable moments we share, gives hopes to people... 🍞 & 🐟
I love the show as it is. I love that it helps me to the Bible in a different light and not just something I couldn't understand parts of. I understand more about what I'm reading because I have something to relate to. I've never been a good history student and in some ways that how I saw the Bible, as the history of religion. Now I see in it how people coped, lived, and grew to love Jesus and God. I understand more because they have given it in a way we can all connect with. I love going back to certain passages and getting all the details because I saw part on the Chosen. My understanding of why is clearer now. I am happier and worship more and grow more in God. Thank you Dallas. Thank you Brandon.
I never thought of Matthew as being on the spectrum of autism though now I suppose he could have dome of those characteristics. My first thought, which continues today, is Matthew has OCD. I had a friend with severe OCD and the character of Matthew exhibits many of those characteristics…
I almost think that imagining the real Matthew as on the spectrum is stretching it a little. HOWEVER, as a Christian, Bible nerd, and creative, I am beyond happy with the choice to make Matthew autistic. It's such a seamless creative choice that gives us so much depth into the character of Matthew, even if it may very well have not been what the real Matthew was like. For me, it also communicates an even greater truth: that God calls even autistic folks to the ministry, and that we should welcome them as a brother or sister in Christ just as we would anyone else. That alone is honestly beautiful and justifies Matthew's portrayal for me more than anything else!
It's interesting that scripture doesn't expand more on the 12 apostles. I have to think it's intentional? However, what we know is, they started out really not understanding much, but eventually became bold pillars of the church. So much so, that when persecution broke out in Jerusalem, they remained. I hope Dallas shows this increasing dedication to the Lord. Although much of it happened after resurection.
I disagree that it doesn't impact our understanding of scripture. These relatable characters have helped my understanding tenfold - my mom's too. Before the show, everything in the Bible was so disjointed to me and I couldn't even imagine what inflections of tone people might have used (except for when Jesus went off on someone, lol). But what's mostly helped my understanding is grasping Jewish religion at the time Jesus started his ministry and why His teachings angered so many people and were considered so revolutionary. Simply put; to me, the Bible is no longer filled with a bunch of faceless people with zero personality going back & forth on whether or not they believed He was the Son of God (ie: Matthew 8:27). The show has not only made me desire to read the Bible, but I can now envision settings, faces and how statements related to what the times were like back then, which in turn helps me apply/convert it to today's times - and all of that has helped me actually absorb what I'm reading. (It also helped tremendously to switch from KJV to NIV). The Chosen has given me a whole new perspective on what I'm reading in the Bible and I'm so grateful to Dallas & everyone involved in the production for providing us with such a realistic, relatable and unique perspective - and doing so with an unmatched quality of anything before it. ♥ ✝🙏
Not that's something that caught my interest. Matthew, a disciple, former tax collector, and writer of a gospel..... _on the freaking Spectrum!!_ Never mind how fleshed out and three-dimensional everyone is...especially Jesus himself....but to include an Autistic in the Twelve? That requires someone who is the King of Chutzpah! I tip my hat to thee, Angel Studios!
matthew genuinely grew on me, when i first watched the chosen season 1 a few months ago i thought "hes kinda weird" and then months later he is 100% my favorite from the chosen
Absolutely--when you really think about it, Matthew's Gospel is filled with "details" that can easily be interpreted as 4chan-style "weaponized autism"--the genealogy at the beginning with the whole "Thus there were X generations..." thing, the comprehensive "This fulfilled the prophecy..." notes, etc.
Matthew being a tax collector not understanding why people are mad (their feelings) and being very detailed, makes it possible that he was on the spectrum. I think The Chosen did a great job at portraying someone on the spectrum in Matthew and the actor conveyed very well making autism awareness so that people understand when they encounter it in real life.
My husband is on the spectrum and he agrees that Matthew could have been autistic based upon the intricate details revealed in his gospel. He said that the way Mathew is portrayed is very much in line with his own thought processes. Several members of our family are on the spectrum and thus we relate to the Matthew character quite well. I am glad that Dallas and The Chosen chose to flesh out the character development of these well loved characters.
I picked up that Matthew was played with characteristics of people on the spectrum! I think it's interesting because it wasn't completely pulled out of thin air. It doesn't matter if Matthew truly did have autism or not. It's not his only trait, and the show doesn't make it his defining characteristic. But I think it's interesting to wonder, given the clues in his gospel.
On the contrary, I believe it did impact the show in that it created a more humanly relateable character and storyline. Thats why The Chosen works and a lot ofnother Christian films don't. However, i am confident it did not affectbthe message if the bible nor salvation. So im cool with it. Actually Matthew's call has been one of my favorite scenes in Season 1. I feel it can stand alone in itself, but what power to know that kind of back story and then see that scene.
Matthew seems to be the only one who noticed this pattern in the genealogies. Just sayin'... Mat 1:17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
Imagine everytime you're able to closely identify with a character, its assumed that the character in question is only there for diversity's sake 😔. Matthew's Portrayal in this is autism representation done right. His comments to Phillip and his parents about always feeling different from other people, always being outside the circle, is how I've always felt, even in my own family. Going back and looking at the gospels, I do see hints of where the writers are drawing this interpretation from, Matthew seems to be a pretty intelligent, detail oriented guy. He seems like the type to be concerned about having his facts straight, and with info he couldn't have witnessed, like Jesus's ancestry, gathering the information would've required some effort on his part and not that many resources to do it, especially given the persecution that took place in the early church. This was somebody who was very focused abd very adamant that he completed his task.
