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The Matrix – Morpheus = John the Baptist

Morpheus is an obvious John the Baptist type, in that the Oracle reveals that he would find “the One,” he taught many others about “the truth,” and he gives his life for the sake of the One. At least, he thinks he is giving his life. In the end, the One shows his preeminence by saving Morpheus.

Morpheus is a man of faith, and he teaches faith to Neo, the disciple. This faith believes in another world, that which is outside the Matrix. After being freed from this world of the matrix and when revisiting this world, one must realize that the rules governing it no longer constrain the one freed. Such is the life of the Christian, who must live by faith, believing that they have been freed from the world, sin , the flesh, & the devil.

But death is still possible for the people freed from the matrix, and so is suffering. Morpheus’ disciples know the dangers of the Matrix and from those still bound by it, so they are severe with Neo when they first contact him. And their words, while having completely comprehensible meaning for those who have been freed, are cryptic gobbledy-gook, even evil to those unfreed. Like a Christian newly learning about the world from God’s perspective, Neo must learn a new way of looking at the world & talking about it.

Morpheus, like John the Baptist, has a moment of unbelief himself, when he sees Neo die. John the Baptist, in jail & facing almost certain death, sends messengers to Jesus asking Him if he was truly the One who was to come. He asked this even though John himself was Jesus’ forerunner, telling others to believe in Him. Morpheus, even though freed and full of faith and believing that the prophecy about the One would come true, did not know exactly how it would turn out. For example, during training he told Neo that when he was ready, Neo would not even need to dodge bullets. Yet, when Neo is struck by bullets and dies, Morpheus was dumbstruck and couldn’t believe what had happened.

In the same way, the disciples of Jesus, though they believed in Him and His messiahship, did not understand that He would have to die. For them, death was victor at the cross, along with many other things in life – suffering, loss, disappointment, difficulty – all these things mean God is either not in control or has forsaken them. Christ always rose above those things. Think of the time in the boat with the disciples, when they thought they were sinking, but Christ simply said, “Where is your faith?” Think about Lazarus and his sister, Martha, when Jesus asked, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of god.” Therefore, Christ was perfectly content with the difficulties His Father allowed into His life and believed always that only the best would result.

Unlike John the Baptist, Morpheus did not die in jail but was freed by Neo.  Like John the Baptist, he was a forerunner for “the One.”  And like John, who taught people freedom by preaching repentance from sin, Morpheus sought to free people from their chains by preaching to them the choice of facing up to reality (the red pill) & to follow Morpheus in finding the One.