This week, the Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 beat Star Wars: The Force Awakens to become the fifth highest-grossing movie ever, making $2.08 billion in the international box office. The milestone comes a month after it gained the title of highest-grossing animated film of all time.
The film, which is based on traditional Chinese folklore and has Buddhist and Daoist influences, follows the rebellious demon-child Ne Zha as he overcomes his fate to emerge as a hero who defeats evil celestial authorities. Released in January in China and a month later in North America, the film engrossed viewers with its flashy, fast-paced action, stunning visuals, and slapstick (sometimes crude) humor. The sequel quickly surpassed the original Ne Zha film, which was released in 2019.
The story features the theme of sacrifice in the character of Ao Bing, Ne Zha’s enemy-turned-friend. Christians may notice the relationship is a shadow of the greater sacrifice found in Christ, which is even more awe-inspiring than what is portrayed in Ne Zha 2. At the same time, we may find the results of our own sacrifices less satisfactory than the victory that Ao Bing and Ne Zha achieve by the time credits roll. (Warning: spoilers ahead.)
In the film, Ao Bing and Ne Zha are destined to be rivals from before their births. Ao Bing’s father, the Dragon King, stole the Spirit Pearl, formed from the positive celestial energy of the universe, and placed it inside his own son although it was meant to be given to a reincarnated Ne Zha. Ao Bing is then charged with a mission to defeat Ne Zha and prove himself as the true bearer of this celestial power.
As he grows up, Ne Zha is shunned by his town for his brute strength and demonic nature. Ao Bing spends most of his time isolated under the water. The two become friends after an unexpected encounter by the sea when they unite forces to defeat a monster.
Yet when ferocious, fire-breathing dragons from Ao Bing’s clan attack Ne Zha, Ao Bing turns against his people to protect his friend from harm, even giving up his life.
“I took your place as the Spirit Pearl,” Ao Bing tells Ne Zha. “I deserve this. If my sacrifice can bring you back to life, then it’s a fair price to pay.”
“Who asked you to?” Ne Zha responded. “Don’t you dare die!” But his pleas are in vain as Ao Bing takes his final breath, asking his father to spare Ne Zha and his hometown.
Ao Bing’s sacrifice is reminiscent of what Jesus says in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Yet Ne Zha 2 doesn’t end there. Ao Bing comes back to life as Ne Zha helps him rebuild his flesh and live again with a new body. After a misunderstanding drives them apart, the friends finally reconcile and unite in battle.
As in all the best stories, good wins in the end. Justice reigns. Oppressors are brought down. A hopeful future awaits.
But would Ao Bing still choose to die for Ne Zha if they had remained enemies?
Ao Bing’s sacrifice is commendable, but it also seems like an effort to rectify a wrong. Ao Bing sees his death as a way to make up for his father’s theft of the Spirit Pearl at his birth. He decides to give up his life because he sees something good in Ne Zha—something he thinks is worth dying for.
Scripture, however, demonstrates the kind of sacrifice that goes beyond what mythical characters like Ao Bing can possibly offer: a sacrifice freely given for people who are undeserving.
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die,” the apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:7–8. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I remember how mind-boggling these verses felt when I first heard them as a college student in China. How could God die for us, want to reconcile with us, and befriend us while we were still his enemies? We are people who fall short of his glory, unable to reach the holiness he requires.
What Jesus did sounded unsettling to me when I realized that he hung on bloodied nails for people who mocked and ridiculed him. Soldiers beat and flogged him. They pressed a crown of thorns onto his head. They crucified him. Yet despite all this, he said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Unlike what happens in Ne Zha 2, the reason for sacrificing your life for another doesn’t always make sense. The sacrificial love Jesus displayed on the cross ought to leave us stunned and amazed, as Jesus chose to give his life for people who were once against him, including you and me.
Sacrifice is also a means by which the characters in Ne Zha 2 prevent injustice from spreading. Deceitful, manipulative, and hypocritical characters in the film exploit others for their own gain, yet Ne Zha, Ao Bing, and their allies risk their powers and their lives to defeat the evil Wu Liang Xian Weng, monarch of the celestial realm, and his cronies.
Victory over wickedness occurs by the end of the film, but in the real world, sacrificing our time or energy to fight for justice might seem futile and even foolish. We clench our fists and grit our teeth when we see how despots and tyrants bulldoze over others, using their power to reap ill-gotten gains for themselves. We feel small and powerless to prevent any of this from happening.
Like Asaph in Psalm 82:3–4, we cry out to God: “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
At times, we cannot help but wonder: Is sacrificing our lives for the greater good really worth it if evil simply triumphs again and again?
Ne Zha 2 answers this question in an idealistic way. It gives us the resolution to the problem of injustice that we hope and wish for, and it reveals a natural yearning within us to see justice prevail. The film does not talk about what happens when reality fails to meet our expectations. But Scripture provides sound wisdom on talking to God when injustice, whether in our personal lives or in our neighborhoods, cities, and churches, inevitably arises.
In Scripture, the prophet Habakkuk wrestles with these questions when it seems God is allowing bad deeds to go unpunished: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?” (1:13).
Habakkuk asks God all his tough questions and deep sorrows because he knows and trusts that God cares. He believes that God sees the terrors and struggles of the vulnerable and the brokenhearted. He knows that God does not ignore injustice. God is a just God, and one day, he will set things right.
Like Habakkuk, Christians are all involved in the slow and painful work of rectifying injustice in the world today. No matter how burdensome and tiring it can be to fight against wrongdoing, God assures us that our souls can find rest. “Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away,” David declares in Psalm 37:1–2.
As the Book of Revelation depicts, the Lamb of God who gave his life for us will one day usher in perfect justice, a future for his people, and the ultimate victory of good over evil. Until then, we work and wait in expectation and hope.
Yixiao Ren is a freelance journalist based in New York City.
