I rarely read [social media comments] now because, well, let’s be honest, if you really wanna know what it’s like playing Jesus, just read some of the comments on my pages. It’s like, I’ve got a skull ring. I’m a demon dweller. [I’m Masonic], I’m evil incarnate, I’m the antichrist, I’m all sorts of stuff. So Jesus (apparently) doesn’t approve rather of the skull that’s in your own head. People don’t know much about Memento Mori. So I try to just educate them on the value of understanding that life is fleeting and temporary. And [the skull] just reminds me that all of this could be gone tomorrow. So why not focus on a holier life today?

Instead of giving you my own personal reactions to what it’s like to play Christ, I’d like to tell you a brief story about somebody else’s reaction, which happened a couple of weeks ago, which simply reinforces all of the profound blessings and graces that God has already bestowed upon me on this journey. So a couple of producers and I were at breakfast in Utah a few weeks back, when all of a sudden this woman just approached the table, I didn’t even see her walk up. She asked me very tentatively, “excuse me, are you Jonathan Roumie?” Which is still very strange that people know my name and I don’t know them. Nobody gives you a handbook on celebrity, it just kind of happens and it’s very bizarre, just so you know.

When I acknowledged that I was, she literally fell down on her knees next to me, and with both hands clutched my arm and squeezed while on the verge of tears, mystified that I was actually sitting there. I myself was in a slight state of shock because that was the first time something so intense took place with a personal encounter. She kept saying to me, as she squeezed my arm, “It’s really you, you’re really real, you’re here.” And for a moment, I couldn’t quite be sure of the situation (or even her state of mind) because of the intensity of this. Looking at her, it also became clear to me that life had not really been easy for this woman or her husband who stood just a few feet away, just kind of keeping his distance and kind of in a state of shock and just smiling.

So I was truly at a loss for words, and I asked her her name and for the sake of the story, I’ll call her Jennifer. So I stretched out my hand and I said, “Hi, Jennifer, I’m Jonathan.” So that she’d be sure to hear me make the distinction between the character I play, and me personally. And as I said her name, she just closed her eyes and buried her head in my shoulder, and began to weep. So I embraced her and she clung to me, as I imagined she would if Jesus himself were holding her, while I did my best to keep it together.

For a few moments all time seemed to stop. God was present in the room, making it clear to me, that all I needed to do, was to be present for her in that moment. Knowing that, He Himself, could use the opportunity to give this woman some kind of refreshment or hope or healing for whatever it was that she was dealing with. Never, thinking for a moment, that I was responsible for any of this, but that I was merely a lowly stand-in for the Holy Spirit—a meager messenger, as it were. So she composed herself and looking at me, she said, “I know you’re a person. I know you’re an actor. I know you’re Jonathan, but you see, I’ve been praying for a sign today. My two children have been taken into custody by the courts, and I have an appointment, we have an appointment at 11:00 AM to try to get them back. So seeing you sitting here as the embodiment of Christ is a sign for me that God is listening and that He’s here, and you are here. So thank you. Thank you.”

A few more moments went by. One of my producer friends (who has a gift for spontaneous spirit-led prayer,) asked Jennifer if she could pray for her. And so we did, the three of us, our new friend Jennifer, and her husband, circled up and allowed God’s Spirit to preside and fill this woman up, if only for a brief moment, to give her enough courage, to go on her way through the next step of her mission and trial on this earth. So armed with some new-found peace and a few pieces of Chosen merch I just happened to have handy, she and her husband left looking several layers lighter.

And I, was once again, given the deeply profound reassurance that this is what God has called me to do on this earth, at least for now—(Jonathan receives clapping and responds). And those things are: to do my part, representing His image through my work in ‘The Chosen’, as well as being a witness in my personal life to His grace and providence, bringing the fullness of the gospels made manifest in the Spirit of our Savior, Jesus Christ, into my depiction. To encapsulate and serve that Spirit as best and humbly as I can, using the gifts God has lovingly bestowed upon me, none of which I deserve, not a single one. And to help (as He calls all of us) those who are suffering and in pain in whatever way the opportunities present themselves, to provide a glimpse of hope and respite for those simply seeking encouragement or a word of affirmation. And to remind all with ears willing to listen, that each one of us, every one of you seated here, has the ability to be a vessel for the Spirit, to each other. And indeed is Christ’s mandate. As we remember his words in Matthew 25 verse 40, “The King will reply, Truly I tell you whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you did for me.”

Our God is the God of mercy. Our God is the God of compassion. Our God is the God of truth and forgiveness, the God of life. No matter what [your] gifts may be, let us use those gifts for the betterment of society. Much in the same way. Doctor and Mrs. Hahn have, along with the St. Paul’s Center, having served the community of Catholic faithful, as well as the spiritual truth seekers for the past 20 years. May you all here, continue to be a gift to us for generations to come. God bless you all. It’s been an honor to be here. Thank you.

This speech came from a YouTube video titled “Jonathan Roumie on The Chosen, Jim Caviezel, Scott Hahn, and His Most Profound Fan Encounter” (Dec. 3, 2021).

Watch it directly on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfXSvc_MAVI