Keanu Reeves’s character Neo has been the biggest target of religious association throughout the Matrix Trilogy.  His portrayal of the Christian Messiah has lead to many academic articles, debates and insights, which have been intertwined with religious beliefs of the movie’s message. 

First, the death and resurrection of Neo at the end of the first movie is analogous to Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection.  Neo is killed by the authorities of the Matrix realm, which can be seen as the equivalents of the ruling power who killed Christ two thousand years ago.  Also, Luke 24: 4-7 says "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee. Saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified and the third day rise again."³.  Jesus was resurrected three days later, on what is now known as Easter Sunday.  This three day period, although not present in the movie, is linked by the appearance of the number three during and after Neo’s death.  The room in which he is killed is room 303.  He awakens in exactly 72 seconds, which can be seen as the 72 hours before the resurrection.  Also, interestingly enough, the first Matrix movie was released on Good Friday / Easter weekend 1999, again relating to the importance of this date.

Neo had a ‘virgin birth’ in the sense that he was torn from the ‘Matrix prison’, and thrust into reality.  This metaphor is very similar to Christ’s entrance into the world, born from abnormal means and without physical interaction from a (human) man. He wakes up in a womb-like pod, with 'umbilical' cables in his body. Neo is hairless and weak, like a baby. Covered in 'afterbirth' slime, he is 'delivered' down a watery tube. To parallel, Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary, who was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit of God to miraculously cause her pregnancy with the Messiah⁶

At the end of the third movie, Matrix Revolutions, Neo sacrifices himself to save humanity.  After centuries of fighting between man and machine, it was explained to Neo that as long as Agent Smith was alive, there would never be peace.  Neo sacrifices his life to help destroy Smith, allowing the rest of mankind to live peace.  Again, the similarities between this ultimate sacrifice and the one undertaken by Christ are explicit.  He had to give up his own life for the sins of man and save humanity.  This concept is also prevalent in the first Matrix movie, as Neo makes the decision to go "in" to rescue Morpheus. Neo goes with the full knowledge that he will die as predicted by the Oracle but The Zion mainframe codes must be protected at any cost, or humanity is lost. With this act, Neo is, in effect, knowingly sacrificing himself to save the rest of humanity.⁷

While in the Matrix program, Neo possesses superhuman powers and can manipulate the laws inherent to physics and science. “Like Christ, he manifests superhuman powers as he realizes his own true nature in both the Matrix and the Real World (spiritual reality).”⁸ Although the powers differ greatly, Neo can stop bullets and fly while Jesus can turn water to wine and heal, both have unnatural abilities which can be seen as another connection linking Neo to Christ.

The Trilogy begins with Morpheus and Trinity searching for the chosen One (an anagram for Neo), destined to fulfill the prophecy.  This fated individual would save the human race and their last remaining city, Zion, from the invading machines.  Isaiah 7:14 said "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."  Compare this to Morpheus’s words “the Oracle prophesied his return and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix and the war, bring freedom to our people."³ 

Lastly, other religious symbols link the life and surroundings of Jesus to the character in this movie.  For example, the crew of the ship, consisting of 12 people, can be seen as a portrayal of the 12 disciples, who are willing to believe that he is the One and will fulfill the prophecy.  This includes Cypher in the role of Judas and Trinity in the role of Magdolin (She can also be analyzed as The Holy Spirit or Eve or Mary as academics have linked her to almost every female religious figure).  The cup in which Neo drinks from during his first night on the ship is then passed to Cypher, who proceeds to drink from the same cup.  This was mentioned in the Old Testament as the betrayer will drink from the same cup as Jesus.  Many other symbols are also prevalent and can be found here (other religious symbols)