"Ears to Hear" is the seventh episode of season 3 of The Chosen.
Andrew and Philip return from their trip with desperate news: they need Jesus' help to solve a huge crisis in the Decapolis. Jesus leads them on a trip to the dangerous region, where they face opposition from all sides. Literally. Meanwhile, John is assigned to bring an angry Simon to Jesus.
This episode provides examples of:
- The Bus Came Back: We again see one of the shepherds who was visited by angels at Christ's birth during the pilot episode.
- Call-Back: Mary Magdalene tells Matthew about the dove that led her away from the cliff in the first episode of season 1.
- Cape Swish: Atticus wears a cape to help blend in, but he dramatically flings it back to reveal his sword and rank to the uncooperative Jewish leaders at the temple.
- Crisis of Faith: Simon reveals that's been suffering from this, as the loss of his child has wracked him with immense guilt. He also feels incredible anger and resentment at Jesus, who, in Simon's words, heals total strangers, but lets things like Eden's miscarriage happen. It's left him very bitter and questioning of the mission.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: When Andrew and Philip return from the Decapolis and explain the violent reactions there to the Parable of the Banquet, Judas quickly realizes that every group that heard it would have had a different reason to take offense.
- Face Death with Dignity: The elderly debtor shows no fear or regret at the process of being worked to death in slavery. He even smiles at the tax collector (Matthew) who makes this happen.
- Flashback: When Matthew tells Mary Magdalene the origin of the prayer tassels she discovered in his home, we see the events as a flashback.
- Fully-Clothed Nudity: Matthew has Thaddeus turn around while he removes his outer tunic, so he can attach the prayer tassels to his inner tunic. While Thaddeus looks away and tells Matthew how to properly attach the prayer tassels, Nathaniel opens the door. Matthew is embarrassed to be seen wearing only his inner tunic, and hastily grabs his outer tunic and covers himself with it.
- Gilligan Cut: As Andrew and Philip return to Capernaum, Philip lags behind. Andrew tells him to walk faster, but Philip is focused on the situation with the Gentiles in the Decapolis. Andrew admits that the situation is difficult, but states that walking doesn't have to be. Cut to a closeup of Philips feet as he trips and falls, injuring himself.
- Hates Being Touched: Matthew doesn't want Thaddeus to tie the prayer tassels on because he hates being touched.
- Heroic Sacrifice: The elderly debtor exploited a loophole in the Roman tax system to take on all his relatives' debts, condemning himself to be enslaved and worked to death. He fully knows this, and considers it a small price to pay for securing his children's financial future.
- I'm Standing Right Here: First from Philip, when Andrew and Nathaniel are discussing how often he gets in a funk, and then from Tamar (a Gentile follower) when Big John expresses surprise that Andrew and Philip want Jesus to intervene in the Decapolis, on behalf of Gentiles.
- Interrogation by Vandalism: When Atticus can't get an answer from the Jewish leaders at the temple, he simply starts to clear his throat as if preparing to spit. The religious consequences of a Gentile actually spitting are severe enough that they immediately give him the information he asked for.
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: As Andrew and Philip tell Judas what happened in the Decapolis, they describe telling the parable of the banquet. Judas quickly figures out how the different factions would interpret the parable in a negative way. They acknowledge they too understand now, in hindsight.Judas: You said this to a mixed crowd?
Andrew: We did not know the extent to which the crowd was mixed. - Mood Whiplash: The episode opens with various households joyfully celebrating Purim. A father celebrating on the roof with his family sees his smiling child wave his fists in the air and lift a pottery jar over his head. Then he sees his neighbor Simon on a nearby roof, and realizes that his son is imitating Simon. Simon throws a large pottery jar to the street below, then clenches his fists and screams in anger.
- The Movie: The last two episodes of season 3 ("Ears to Hear" and "Sustenance") were originally shown in theaters as a "theatrical event".
- My God, What Have I Done?: Gaius reveals that he cheated on his wife with a slave in his household, and that he only came to regret it after hearing the sermon on the mount.
- Never Learned to Read: Tamar tells Matthew that she never learned to read.
- Old Shame: Gaius admits to Simon that the servant boy Ivo is his illegitimate son. Downplayed in that Roman society doesn't have nearly as much a problem with it as Jewish society, and Gaius acknowledges that he didn't think it was wrong at the time.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted: The elderly debtor and his tax collector shares the same given name: Matthew.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The seriousness of the situation in the Decapolis is hammered in for Judas when he sees how worried and angry the usually calm and cheerful Phillip is.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Matthew adds the prayer tassels to his tunic.
- Throwing Off the Disability: Jesus heals the deaf man in the Decapolis.
- Tragic Keepsake: In "Ears to Hear", Matthew reveals that he has prayer tassels gifted to him from an old debtor he had arrested. He kept them locked away out of shame at being a tax collector.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Andrew and Philip returned to the Decapolis, but their preaching just made the riots worse.
- Urban Segregation: Simon wanders into the Roman quarter, and a Roman soldier stops him and asks him how he got past the guard. Gaius ends up rescuing Simon under the guise of interrogating him himself.Gaius: What possessed you to cross into our Quarter?
- While You Were in Diapers: Zebedee offers a variant when Simon finally returns from wandering around the city and gets snippy with him.Zebedee: Don't play games with me, kid. Salome and I were at your bris.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Just before being arrested for his debt, the elderly debtor gifts his prayer tassels to Matthew and expresses the hope that the tax collector will someday have use for them.
- You Keep Using That Word: Matthew corrects a Syrophoenician man's use of the word "drove" to describe Jesus and his followers, because a drove is a flock or herd of animals. It turns out that the man is perfectly aware of the meaning (and implications) of the word.
