The Jesus Games (How weird does this post title sound?)

You've probably heard of a movie, based on a book, called The Hunger Games which came out recently. If not, I'll sum the plot up: so every year in this future country, twelve kids are chosen from each area (called districts) to fight for their lives in something called the Hunger Games. They have to do this to pay for rebellion against the government (called the capitol).

So I saw this movie last Sunday and throughout the movie, I really saw Jesus in it. Many times I could relate a scene in the movie to what Christ did for us. Here's the first one: these children/teenagers had to fight to death due to a rebellion they had caused. We have to face the wages of sin which are death (Romans 3:23) because we have sinned, and rebelled against God. In the movie, only one person comes out alive. But in reality, none of us will survive the wages of sin. None of us.

The more main and prominent example is one that reflects Christ offering to take our punishment. So the contestants of the Hunger Games are chosen by a drawing. In the beginning of the movie, the drawing takes place. When her sister gets chosen to participate in this contest that could bring about her death, Katniss, the main character, steps up and volunteers to take her place. When we had to go face the punishment for our sin, Jesus said that He would pay our ransom.

So Katniss (who represents Jesus) goes off to fight. She's basically an underdog; kind of like Christ. I mean, when the Lord lived on earth He was homeless, broke, and an outcast. When Katniss is placed in the Hunger Games, she wins. The Hunger Games represents death. Katniss is like Jesus. So Jesus offered to be a substitute for us and He goes off to face death. Not only does He face death, but He beats it. He overcame Satan and the grave.

I was glad to see how a secular movie showed the gospel in disguise. I knew that these examples and metaphors would be an interesting subject to blog about (that's why I'm writing this post). And as you all know, this movie is extremely popular. So next time you think about or talk about the Hunger Games, be sure to associate God with it also.