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The
Matrix - A Cyberpunk Parable?
B. THE PARABLE
2.
TRANSFORMATION: Conversion, Conception, and Construction
2d. Rejection
| KEY: |
| M = The Matrix Story |
| S = Spiritual Parallels |
| M. Neo is flushed from the 'womb pod', and out a long
tube. He falls into water and nearly drowns because he has no muscles to swim. Morpheus
and crew raise the drowning Neo from the water. |
| S. This might represent baptism, where a believer is
immersed in water, then lifted up from it. But baptism is a voluntary act, whereas Neo
certainly did not choose to flush himself! However, Neo did choose to accept everything
that might happen in his future by taking the red pill. So in that sense, we could say he
chose his 'baptism' as well. |
| For the curious, here is a short paragraph to explain
baptism: Baptism is a voluntary event for a new Christian, to publicly identify himself
with Christ. It also vividly depicts that the weak 'old man' – the sinner – dies
as he is figuratively crucified with Christ and buried under the water (just as weak Neo
figuratively drowns). The water reminds us of the flood judgment of the Old Testament,
which Noah survived in an ark. Similarly, the Christian is placed spiritually "in
Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:30), the pure Ark that forever shelters the believer from
God's wrath. The person is raised from the water, signifying the washing away of the
wicked old self and the resurrection/birth of the new person in Christ. |
| |
| M. Now let's look at Neo's expulsion from the pod in a
darker sense. Like a steel vulture, a 'doctor-bot' descends and brutally examines Neo.
Finding him defective, the doc-bot disconnects him from the Matrix pod cables and
hatefully flushes Neo like sewage. Morpheus and crew catch the drowning Neo, lifting him
into light and care. |
| S. When a person is saved by faith in Christ, the
fallen world system – and the people in it – now consider that Christian
'defective'. A lost person is oriented toward self and sin. But God puts a new nature into
a Christian, a nature oriented toward God and righteousness (Romans 6 and 7). "They
[the lost people] think it is strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood
of dissipation (selfish pursuits and sin) and they heap abuse on you (I Peter 4:4).
"What?" said the lemmings, "You aren't going to run over this cliff with us
and drown?" |
| Like the 'doc-bot' severing connections with Neo and
flushing him, the world adamantly hates a true Christian. Jesus said, "you will be
hated by all on account of my name." (Matthew 10:22) This is a fascinating truth
– when it comes to the undiluted Jesus as presented in scripture (versus a
'tolerable' Jesus constructed by man to not offend himself), people either will love Him
or despise Him. Jesus said, "The world has hated them [believers in Christ], because
they are not of the world…"(John 17:14), and "if you were of the world
[like the billions of oblivious human ‘batteries’ in the Matrix] then the would
love its own; but because I [Jesus] chose you out of the world, therefore the world
hates you…" (John 15:19). Many who trust in Christ and live obediently are
surprised when their former ‘friends’ suddenly turn hostile toward them. But God
warns, "whoever makes himself a friend of the world [like the Matrix] makes himself
an enemy of God." (James. 4:4). Like Morpheus basically told Neo at the Metacortex
building, "There are only two ways to go…with us, or with them." There is
no neutral ground. |
| Because the world hates a true Christian, Christians
should strive to love one another as God loved them, instead of engaging in petty
bickering and selfish hypocrisy. Christians should concentrate on: |
* lifting each other into
the truth and light of God (like Morpheus hoisting Neo up into light) |
* building each other up
in maturity (like Morpheus reconstructing Neo's muscles) |
* feeding each other
spiritually, emotionally, physically (like Trinity bringing dinner to Neo) |
* equipping one another
for spiritual warfare and Godly living (like Tank cybertraining Neo) |
* encouraging one another
in the truth (like Morpheus in the training simulator: "You're faster than this!
Don't think you are; know you are." etc. ) |
* praying for each other
(like Tank 'praying' over Morpheus while the Agents had him.) |
* and again, loving one
another, which is greatest of all (like Morpheus, Neo, and Trinity being willing to
sacrifice their lives for one another) |
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2e. Rescue
| M. When Morpheus lifts Neo out of the water, there is
some gold material on his chest, like a sort of heart. |
| S. Perhaps this could represent God giving a sinner a
'new heart' (a 'heart of gold', to use the cliché) when he trusts in Christ. |
| |
| M. Neo has gone through quite an ordeal! With a weak
voice, he asks Morpheus, "Am I dead?" "Far from it," reassures
Morpheus confidently. |
| S. Becoming a Christian is often (but not always)
accompanied by immediate external trials. Although the purification of sin and presence of
God is immediate for the Christian, the sudden breaks with old habits and hostility from a
fallen world is often traumatic. A new Christian can recoil from such impact; the
transition from "death to life" (John 5:24) is intense. But the Christian must
realize that he has indeed taken the right path and is alive, recognizing the sobering
truth that "all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12). Morpheus plays an important role by encouraging Neo in
the truth. |
| |
| M. Neo's muscles have atrophied and need to be rebuilt. |
| S. Again, the similarities to a newborn baby, as in
'born again'. It is lethal for a Christian to remain a spiritual infant. With the help of
God, he must mature, for he is in a war. |
| |
| M. Neo asks, "Why do my eyes hurt?" Morpheus
replies, "Because you've never used them." In a memorable touch, we see
Morpheus' eyes for the first time without mirrored sunglasses. |
| S. A sinner is spiritually blind; he only perceives
according to the distorted wisdom of man in a fallen world. A person can only truly see
when faith in Christ makes him a new creature. "Unless a man be born again, he cannot
see…(John 3:3)." God gives the Christian revelation and insight, as
Christ "becomes wisdom" to him (I Corinthians 1:30). As Morpheus' eyes are now
visible to Neo, a Spirit-sensitive Christian can perceive things correctly. "He who
is spiritual appraises all things..." (1 Corinthians 2:4). |
| |
| M. Morpheus breaks Neo's chain of questions by saying,
"Rest, Neo. The answers are coming." |
| S. Some of the most difficult things a Christian must
learn are patience and rest. Maturity in God does not happen overnight. A Christian must
cease (rest) from his own fleshly efforts and allow God's mighty power to work through him
and teach him. (Colossians 1:29, Hebrews 4:10) |
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