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Within the past year, I have become a huge fan of the Matrix trilogy.
Spiritual parallels abound
within the trilogy. The title of this article
was inspired by a book titled "The Gospel Reloaded: Exploring Faith
and
Spirituality in the Matrix". That book was actually a gift from me to my
good friend and apologetics mentor,
Nick, for his birthday. Nick, our
friend John, Nick's father, and I went to see the Matrix Revolutions the
night
it came out. John had seen it earlier in the day, so I was rather
anxious to find out some of the spoilers.
But, I was surprised by the
movie, as well as the rest of our group who hadn't seen it until that night.
While
there are those that are critical of the Matrix trilogy (i.e. the
2nd and 3rd in the trilogy), I have enjoyed all three,
and I shall share
some of the parallels in the Matrix Revolutions.
First, I shall start off with Neo wanting to
go to the machine world. He
was needing a ship to get there. One of the captains said that he was out
of
his mind, so Captain Niobe (Jada Pinkett-Smith)allowed Neo to take her
ship, the Logos. So, he takes the ship, and
none other than Trinity herself
(Carrie-Anne Moss) decides to go with him. The sentinels detect the ship
upon
arrival and start to attack. Neo uses his power to destroy many of the
oncoming sentinels, but the balance of power
was far too great for Neo to
overcome. Neo asks Trinity to go up above the clouds so the sentinels
cannot follow
the ship. Eventually, the ship crashes. Both survive the
crash, but some of the extentions of the sentinels
go through Trinity and
eventually dies. Neo loses the one person he loved most in his effort to
end the war.
In
the Greek language, "logos" means "word". John 1:1 refers to Jesus as
the Word (logos). Obviously, the Logos
was used in the effort to end the
war. God, in the effort to win over Satan's power, he had to lose (albeit
for
a short time) the One He loved most, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus
Christ.
Next, a little later in the movie, Neo
stands on the edge of the ship bay,
and a numerous amount of sentinels come together to form a large head. The
head
asks Neo what it is he seeks. Neo says, "Peace". Neo was the mediator
between Zion and the machine world.
In
1 Timothy 2:5, the NASB reads, "For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus".
Jesus is our mediator between
God and men because He has the characteristics of both God and man. On a
side
note, that's why Jesus is called both "Son of God" and "Son of Man" in
Scripture. "Son of", in the Hebrew mindset,
meant "having the
characteristics of". Thus, the names fit Jesus Christ...fully God and fully
man. Jesus
Christ was used in order to bring peace between man and God.
To fast forward to the end of the last fight scene.
Neo realized it was
inevitable for Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) to copy himself onto Neo. Neo
allows Agent Smith
to copy himself onto him, which he does successfully.
Agent Smith asks the newest copy, "Is it over?" The
new copy nods. Agent
Smith breathes a sigh of relief...however, the tables turn. Agent Smith
sees light
coming from behind the sunglasses and sees the copy destroyed.
All of the Agent Smith copies standing high above
the crater in the street
are destroyed, and last, but not least, the Agent Smith copy that fought Neo
is destroyed.
Just
as Neo became Agent Smith to destroy him, Jesus Christ became sin for
us in order to destroy its power. 2 Corinthians
5:21 (NASB), reads, "He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousness
of God in Him".
In the next scene, Neo is dead at this point. The cost of the destruction
of the most powerful
enemy was his life. The sentinal head proclaims, "It
is done". Neo's dead body is drug away, with arms outstretched
like he was
on a cross. Neo's work was completed.
John 19:30 (NASB) says, "Therefore when Jesus had received
the sour wine, He
said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit".
Jesus' redemptive
work was complete.
Neo's life and work is now done. The most powerful enemy has been
destroyed, and then...the
restoration of the matrix occurs. Everything
looks brand new...like nothing was even touched. The darkness
is shattered;
the light takes over. Peace rules over the matrix. Peace rules between
Zion and the machine
world.
Revelation 21:5 (NASB) reads, "And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold,
I am making all things new."
And He said, "Write, for these words are
faithful and true." Imagine...evil is destroyed...light now exists...no
darkness of any kind. The war is over. The cosmos are restored. There is
only light. We will
have all eternity to explore the cosmos. Even greater
than that...GREATEST I say...we will finally have perfect
relationship with
the One who will make all things new...God! To know God in ways we've never
known before...to
spend a few billion years just learning about the
Trinity...to explore everything within the cosmos...to see "a world
without
rules and controls, without borders or boundaries...a world where ANYTHING
is possible" (as per the first
Matrix).
Finally, while in the embrace of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Captain
Niobe utters these words..."Neo,
wherever you are, thank you." Thus, that
ends the movie...and the trilogy.
After everything that Jesus went through,
the wonder comes back, especially
when the Gospel is shown through different mediums. For everything that
Jesus
has done for us, may our lives reflect these words..."Jesus,
EVERYWHERE You are, thank you."
Since I began my study
of apologetics, I view movies with a different set of
eyes. I watch movies through the eyes of the Gospel.
I find myself
searching for deep spiritual parallels and truths wherever I can find them.
If you look hard enough,
you will find them. If I ever wanted to show
someone the Gospel, I'd seriously consider showing them any movie in
the
Matrix trilogy. The way I see it...the Gospel still revolutionizes lives,
and that is still worth sharing.
Let us continue to be...revolutionized.
In love from God above,
Rodney
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