I’m a fan of manga, but only a few of them. I never got into it like a lot of other anime fans do. To be honest, I watched anime for several years and had no idea that manga even existed. Remember, I live in the USA, where you never see a manga anywhere, especially about 10 years ago! One day I had found out about this wonderful book called “Manga Messiah”, which I had never heard of. Picking it up from Barnes & Nobles, I was shocked that the art was so well done. The reason I say that is many times Christians have a tendency to say they are doing something for God’s glory, yet it looks very bad. Not here!
The story is based on the book of Matthew from the bible. We have it starting with the birth of Christ, all the way to His resurrection. It’s a lot of ground to cover in a manga, but they do a really good job! It’s not rushed, and covers the most important parts. Again, the art shines when you see the face of Christ and His disciples. You’ve never seen a cooler Jesus drawn than this one.
His first miracle, as you can see above, is when Jesus turned water into wine. I love the reactions of the people, and the emphasis put on the miracle when it happens. The words of Christ are detailed and exact, keeping the original text intact. Your favorite miracles come to life in Manga Messiah!
There is some artistic license taken, but you can see the bible verses where the images were drawn from. If you’ve never read the book of Matthew before, or maybe your bible has some dust on it, you need to pick this one up. As you read the book, page by page, the bible will come to life in ways you’ve only imagined!
Above you can see all 12 of Christ’s disciples. I don’t honestly like that they are all pretty young, because I’m sure they were older. Of course, I’m no theologian but that’s just my opinion. Isn’t it nice how they made Judas look a little shady, like he’s up to something? If you’ve never been able to remember all their names, that’s a great way to memorize them.
In this scene, Jesus tells His disciples that He’s going to be crucified. His disciples refuse to believe it, and one even tells Him not to, which makes Jesus turn around and tell Peter “satan, get behind me!”. Jesus wasn’t talking to Peter, but the demon trying to convince Him through Peter to stop fulfilling His purpose, and what He came to do.
Christ is laying on the wooden cross, looking up to Heaven, screaming to God because He abandoned Him. He’s taken the sins of the world, which made God the Father turn away from Him so that He would take our punishment instead of us. We will suffer in this world, but because of Christ’s crucifixion, we don’t have to suffer for all eternity. Eternal life is forever, and without accepting His forgiveness of your sins, you won’t enter that forever called Heaven.
The final words to His disciples was a command and a mission. To make disciples of all nations. Now that they themselves are disciples, they are to bring His Kingdom to every corner of the Earth, to every tribe, people and tongue. This mission is still in effect to this day. I’m here to challenge believers to a deeper place in God, and to those who don’t know Christ as their savior, I want you to know that He paid the ultimate price for your sin. Trust in His forgiveness before it’s too late. Nobody is promised tomorrow, so I want you, my reader, to ask Christ into your heart right now. Tell Him that you need Him in your life, that you need a savior and that you want to have eternal life, and a life with purpose here on Earth.
Let me know what you thought of my article. Have you ever read this manga, or another one like it? Are you a fan of manga, and if so, which ones? I would like to know, so looking forward to your comments! I reply to every single one.