🚨 TEARS ALERT: The Chosen’s Season 6 Episode 1 Just Revealed a Crucifixion Scene That’ll CRUSH Your Heart—Jesus’ Final Hours Exposed! 😢
Blood on the streets of Jerusalem. Disciples shattered. A mother’s unimaginable agony as the cross rises. This isn’t just a scene—it’s raw, unrelenting devastation that hits harder than anything in the Gospels. Jonathan Roumie’s Jesus endures the scourging, the mocking, the nails… and fans are already sobbing over the BTS footage of actors breaking down on set.
What makes it “unprecedented”? A twist in the betrayal that redefines forgiveness forever. Will it change how you see the Passion?
👉 Watch the heart-wrenching reveal NOW:
The multi-Emmy-nominated series The Chosen, which has amassed over 280 million viewers worldwide since its 2017 pilot, is no stranger to pushing emotional boundaries in its intimate portrayal of Jesus Christ’s life. From the wedding at Cana’s quiet miracles to the raw confrontations with Roman oppressors, creator Dallas Jenkins has built a franchise that humanizes the divine, blending scriptural fidelity with dramatic flair. But as production wraps on Season 6—filmed amid the sun-baked hills of North Texas and the ancient stone streets of Matera, Italy—the spotlight falls on Episode 1’s crucifixion sequence, a moment teased in behind-the-scenes footage that’s left cast, crew, and early test audiences reeling. Described by Jenkins as “the hardest scene in the whole series,” this opening installment dives headfirst into the Passion, delivering a heart-wrenching depiction of Jesus’ arrest, trial, and initial torment that promises to be as unflinching as it is transformative.
Filming for Season 6 kicked off in mid-April 2025 at Camp Hoblitzelle in Midlothian, Texas, a sprawling 1,000-acre site that’s served as the show’s Galilean stand-in since Season 3. But for the crucifixion’s visceral intensity, the production relocated to Matera, the southern Italian city whose Sassi cave dwellings have doubled as ancient Jerusalem in epics like Mel Gibson’s 2004 The Passion of the Christ. Jenkins confirmed in a June 2025 Variety interview that his team shot at the exact same location as Gibson’s film, spending three grueling weeks there—including one full week of night shoots under floodlights that mimicked torchlit Roman brutality. “It’s the most challenging thing we’ve ever done,” Jenkins told People magazine, his voice cracking as he recounted the physical and spiritual toll. The result? A sequence that doesn’t just recreate the biblical account but amplifies its human cost, interweaving flashbacks to Jesus’ ministry with the chaos of Gethsemane, ensuring Episode 1 feels like both a climax and a devastating prelude to the cross.
At the episode’s core is Jonathan Roumie, the 41-year-old actor whose portrayal of Jesus has earned him a devoted following and a 2024 People’s Choice Award nod. Roumie, a practicing Catholic who prays the Rosary daily and has spoken openly about his own spiritual renewal through the role, described the crucifixion prep as “brutal” in a post-shoot livestream. Episode 1 opens with the Garden of Gethsemane betrayal—Judas’ (Luke Dimyan) infamous kiss unfolding in shadowy olive groves, lit by the flicker of lanterns held by temple guards. As Jesus is bound and dragged before Caiaphas (Greg Barnett) and Pilate (David Amito), the script draws from all four Gospels, layering Peter’s denial with a poignant subplot involving Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), who witnesses the scourging from the crowd’s edge. Tabish, tear-streaked in a June 2025 BTS video released on The Chosen‘s YouTube channel, captured the collective grief: “It’s pure devastation… He never hurt anyone.”
What sets this scene apart—and fuels the “heart-wrenching” buzz—is its unprecedented emotional layering, a Jenkins hallmark that’s drawn both praise and scrutiny. Unlike The Passion‘s graphic focus on physical suffering, The Chosen emphasizes relational agony: Close-ups linger on the disciples’ fractured bonds, with John (George Xanthis) pleading futilely at Pilate’s doorstep and a heartbroken Mary (Vanessa Benavente) echoing her Magnificat in silent prayer amid the jeers. The flogging itself, crafted with input from medical historians to reflect first-century Roman practices (crude leather whips embedded with bone shards, per Roman historian Josephus), is intercut with visions of healed lepers and fed multitudes from earlier seasons—a narrative device that underscores the irony of the crowd’s cries of “Crucify him!” Production designer Dan Lemke oversaw the construction of three 12-foot crosses from olive wood sourced in Israel, while prosthetics artist Hugo Villasenor applied layers of synthetic blood and welts to Roumie, who lost 15 pounds for the role through a regimen of fasting and prayer.
The cast’s immersion ran deep, mirroring the show’s crowdfunded ethos of authenticity. Roumie underwent mock crucifixions during rehearsals, suspended for hours to capture the labored breaths and sagging limbs detailed in forensic recreations by the 1986 Journal of the American Medical Association. Co-star Paras Patel, as Matthew, revealed on a May 2025 podcast that the set enforced “sacred pauses”—moments of group prayer led by on-site chaplains—after intense takes, a practice born from Season 4’s emotional burnout during the raising of Lazarus. “It’s not acting; it’s reliving,” Patel said, echoing Roumie’s sentiment that the role demands “total surrender.” For Episode 1, this vulnerability peaks in a newly imagined beat: Jesus locking eyes with a remorseful Judas across the Praetorium, offering a whispered “It is finished” that hints at redemptive grace amid betrayal—a creative liberty Jenkins defends as “Gospel in spirit,” drawing from Jesus’ prayer for his persecutors in Luke 23:34.
Historically, the crucifixion narrative has been a cinematic lightning rod. Gibson’s The Passion grossed $612 million but faced backlash for its violence and perceived anti-Semitism; Franco Zeffirelli’s 1977 Jesus of Nazareth opted for restraint, earning critical acclaim but less box-office fire. The Chosen threads this needle by prioritizing psychological depth over gore—though not shying from the horror, with sound designer John Pritchett layering Roumie’s gasps over the crack of whips, sourced from archival WWII footage for authenticity. Biblical scholars like Dr. Amy-Jill Levine of Vanderbilt Divinity School, who consulted on the series, praise the approach in a Christianity Today op-ed: “It humanizes without sensationalizing, reminding us the cross was political execution, not mere spectacle.” Yet, not all feedback is glowing. Some conservative outlets, including Movieguide, question if the “family-friendly” label holds amid the brutality, urging parental guidance for younger viewers. Jewish advocacy groups like the Anti-Defamation League have monitored the production, commending Jenkins’ inclusion of diverse consultants to avoid stereotypes in the Sanhedrin scenes.
Season 6’s structure amplifies Episode 1’s impact: Likely eight episodes (though Jenkins hinted at “a little longer than normal” in an April 2025 livestream), it compresses the 24 hours from arrest to entombment, building to a finale reimagined as a 2-hour theatrical feature film. Prime Video snagged streaming rights in a 2024 deal with Amazon MGM Studios, with the bulk of episodes dropping in early fall 2026—potentially September or October—before the March 12, 2027, cinematic bow for the crucifixion climax. This hybrid model, a first for the series, capitalizes on The Chosen‘s theatrical track record: Seasons 3-5 raked in $140 million globally via Fathom Events, outpacing many indies. Season 7, focusing on the resurrection, follows suit with a premiere film on March 31, 2028, ensuring the franchise gallops toward a 2029 finale.
Jenkins’ vision for Season 6 isn’t isolated; it’s the crescendo of a seven-season arc that began as a $10,000 Kickstarter dream. The show’s 5&2 Studios banner—named for the loaves-and-fishes miracle—has spawned spin-offs like the animated The Chosen Adventures (premiering October 17, 2025, on Prime, voiced by Roumie and Paul Walter Hauser) and a live-action Joseph epic with Bear Grylls. Financially, it’s a juggernaut: Crowdfunding alone hit $40 million by 2024, supplemented by merch (over $20 million in sales) and global tours. But the real metric is cultural: A 2023 Barna study found 70% of non-churchgoing viewers reported deepened faith post-binge, while Reddit’s r/TheChosenSeries subreddit swelled to 150,000 members, buzzing with theories on Judas’ arc.
Critically, The Chosen has evolved from niche darling to mainstream force. Season 5’s Last Supper trilogy earned a 99% Rotten Tomatoes score, with The Hollywood Reporter lauding its “theatrical intimacy.” Episode 1’s reveal—via a June 22, 2025, YouTube BTS clip showing crew weeping as crosses are erected—has amplified the hype, amassing 5 million views in days. Social media echoes the fervor: X (formerly Twitter) users like @PurpleMidneight speculated in June, “I’m very curious to see how they handle the crucifixion,” while @TrinchiniDebra shared a teaser link last week, warning it’ll “leave you in tears.” Yet, amid the anticipation, Jenkins tempers expectations in his book What Does It Mean to Be Chosen? (2024 update): “We’re stewards, not showmen—the cross isn’t entertainment; it’s invitation.”
As The Chosen hurtles toward its Passion pinnacle, Episode 1 stands as a testament to the series’ alchemy: Turning ancient text into visceral empathy. In an age of fleeting scrolls, it beckons viewers to linger at the foot of the cross, where grief meets glory. Stream Seasons 1-5 on Prime Video or The Chosen app now; the wait for 2026 feels eternal, but for a story this eternal, it’s worth every agonizing second. Will this crucifixion redefine faith on screen? Early signs—from tearful sets to fervent forums—say yes.
