The Chosen takes creative liberty with the Bible, and its fans believe there may be more to Yussif than meets the eye.
Dallas Jenkins’ hit series follows the life and teachings of Jesus Christ across Judea and Galilea, with the series planned to go all the way to his crucifixion and resurrection.
The creator has been open about his intentions with the series, hoping to accurately represent Jesus and the essence of scripture – but it’s not a one-to-one adaptation of the Gospels. Jenkins’ dramatic approach has been criticized; for example, the early episodes of Season 4 sparked backlash when Jesus didn’t heal Ramah. Some Christians even argue the show violates the Second Commandment.
However, “any artistic imagination” in the series is “designed to support the truth and intention of the Scriptures” – so, could Yussif actually be a key figure from the Bible?
The Chosen fans think Yussif is Joseph of Arimathea
Yussif (Ivan Jasso), a Pharisee in Capernaum, could be The Chosen’s version of Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus.
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“But after watching Yousef’s character development throughout the seasons. I think he’s Joseph of Arimathea, the one who ends up paying for Jesus’ burial along with Nicodemus,” one fan posted to the show’s subreddit, with others agreeing in the comments.
“I’ve wondered the same thing. He probably is. The name Joseph is just the Hellenized version of the name Yussef. Using the Hebrew pronunciation instead of the Greek one is probably their way of preventing that from getting spoiled in earlier seasons when he seemed more like an antagonist,” one wrote, to which the original author responded: “Ok I’m not the only one, I loved seeing his growth & humility to see that he was wrong about Jesus at first, Now he’s one of my favorite characters.”
This isn’t the first time this has been raised: in an earlier Reddit thread, fans suggested Yussif could be Joseph, having been tasked by Nicodemus to guard Jesus against Shmuel.
“It could be him. He did mention that he came from a wealthy and prominent family. He always respected Jesus and recognized that he is the Messiah,” one wrote. “Not an impossibility. He seems to come from a wealthy family in Jerusalem since he provided the materials to fix the broken cistern himself (from his family’s business connections) and is drawn to Jesus unlike other Pharisees (Samuel and Yanni for example) I have read that Yussif is the Hebrew equivalent for the name Joseph, so…,” another commented.
