The Mighty Hercules

Before you continue, watch this clip.



I had a sort of interesting revelation when I was watching this the other night. Hercules is kind of like Jesus. At the beginning of the movie, Hercules is taken from Mount Olympus and Pain and Panic (the minions of Hades) attempt to turn him mortal. However, he doesn’t drink the entire potion and he still retains a little bit of his god-like self. In the same way, Jesus came down from Heaven and made Himself mortal so He could be with us.

We’re gonna skip ahead a little to after he beats the hydra and everyone is basically worshiping him…to when he falls in love with Meg, and eventually makes a deal with Satan in order to save her. Jesus did the same thing for us on the cross. I’m not going to say that He made a deal with Satan, because I don’t think He did. But He did choose to give up His power and all of the worship and holiness and purity of Heaven in order to save us. Why? Because He loved us so much!

Just earlier in the day, He had been worshiped by all of Thebes. Kind of like how Jesus was worshiped when he entered the town on a donkey. But then Hades took his strength, and Pain and Panic were dumping Herc-ade on him and throwing him around…Like when the Roman soliders beat Jesus and mocked Him. Meg stood and watched, knowing what she had done was wrong, but seeing no way out of the situation. Hades unleashed the Titans on Thebes and the situation looked hopeless. But Hercules saw that he was obviously the only one who could save the city. Jesus did the same thing for us on the cross. Only it was much more than saving a city…it was saving our souls. Even though it looked like he didn’t stand a chance against all the persecution, He had prophesied that He would be dead for three days and then rise again.

Anyway, Hercules beats the Cyclops because Hades breaks his deal – Meg got hurt. So He gained all of his strength back and goes to the Underworld and saves Meg from the pit of souls. It’s what Jesus did for us. He took us from death and gave us new life. After he saved Meg, he took her up to Mount Olympus. After we get saved, Jesus presents us to His Father as new creatures.

Now I know the story doesn’t totally match up, but the important thing to remember is that Jesus’ love is not just a story. His life wasn’t a Disney movie. He is very real and He loves each one of us enough that He gave up His life and His God-like strength for a little while to prove it. And after Meg accepted that Hercules was the only one who could save her – he stayed with her forever! Jesus doesn’t ever leave you once you admit that He’s the only one who can save you. He’s there to stay, yours for keeps.