What I Have Been Reading….Michael Card and The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth

Matthew: The Gospel of Identify by Michael Card

Michael Card is probably best known as a musician with nearly 40 albums to his name. His music focuses on exploring scripture with a song or album written covering nearly every part of the Bible. He has also written close to 30 books which have allowed him to explore the themes he sings about more deeply. I have read several of Michael Card’s books over the last few years and I have found them all to be scholarly, accessible, and thought provoking. Recently I have finished reading Card’s book “Matthew: The Gospel of Identity”, a part of the Biblical Imagination Series covering the four gospels. It turned out to be quite a bit different than I expected, and should be thought of more as a commentary to be used as resource for Bible Study, rather a book you would read on it’s own. Card explores the entire book of Matthew, taking it one chapter at a time and dividing each chapter into chunks (much like the divisions found in a modern Bible). After quoting a section of scripture, Card than proceeds to add his own scholarly commentary to each section. As the title suggests, Card’s research has lead him to believe that Matthew is best understood as being written to Jewish followers of Jesus who were struggling to maintain both their Jewish identity and staying true to Jesus teachings. Card argues that these early Jews were coming to a crossroads where they increasing feelingly hostility in their Synagogue yet did not yet see themselves as ‘Christians’ in the sense we know today. Matthew, Card believes, was written to provide these first converts of Jesus teaching with an identity anchored more deeply with Jesus and his teachings, and thereby giving them the understanding they needed to navigate their inevitable transition from Jesus following Jews into a distinct religious group that eventually would be known as Christians.

I enjoyed reading Matthew: The Gospel of Identity, but as I said above it needs to be viewed for what it is, which is a well researched commentary. I was expecting a more essay/research style book exploring how Matthew helped form the identity of the early believers, not a verse by verse commentary. This structure does not lend itself to developing ideas, and even Card’s central assertion that Matthew is written to early Jewish Jesus followers trying to sort out a new identity in light of the life and teachings of Jesus only surfaces periodically, and really doesn’t shape the book the way I expected it would. Card does add a lot of insight, a good deal of which was new to me, but he also tends at times to simply restate what the verses discussed already said without adding any additional insight into the verses. I would recommend this book for those looking for an insightful study help for the Gospel of Matthew.

The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth by Philip Ryken

In this inaugural installment of Wheaton College’s Hanson Lectureship Series, Wheaton College President Philip Ryken examines the thesis that various characters in J. R. R. Tolkein’s famous fantasy trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’ represent different aspects of the nature of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The aspects that Ryken examines are based on the main Old Testament ‘offices’ of ancient Jewish culture, that of prophet, priest and king. Each of these offices or ministries has a certain emphasis- the prophet is one who communicates God’s message of truth, the king is the administrative ruler or authority, and priest is the one who mediates between God and man via the sacrificial system. While in ancient Israeli society these three offices were distinctly separate, Christian theologians have described the offices of prophet, priest, and king as being united in the person of Jesus.

Ryken notes that this concept seems to first have appeared in the writings of one of the early church fathers, Eusebius, the fourth century bishop of Caesarea. He observed that Hebrew term Messiah (which is Christ in Greek) meant ‘the anointed one’. Eusebius then studied the Old Testament discovering that being an ‘anointed one’ often referred to the king (such as the prophet Samuel anointing David with olive oil to identify him as the next king), but also applied to prophets and priests. Thus Eusebius concluded that Jesus being ‘the anointed one’ meant that Jesus took on the aspects of each of these three roles, combining them in one figure. Over time Christian theologians came to see this concept of Jesus being prophet, priest, and king as an important way to try to grasp the full magnitude of who Jesus was. In ‘The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth’ Ryken wishes to “explore these connections more deeply by surveying the history of Christian thought on the threefold office of Christ and by considering how reading Tolkein can help us live out the prophetical, sacerdotal, and regal dimensions of our own calling as Christians.” Building on the thoughts of Peter Kreeft, Ryken identifies the wizard Gandalf as a prophetic figure, Frodo the Ring-Bearer as a priestly figure, and the wandering heir to the throne of Gondor, Aragorn, as a kingly example.

Within the world of Middle Earth, Gandalf the Grey takes on many qualities reminiscent of Old Testament Biblical prophets. Gandalf and the other wizards (called Istari by the elves), sent from across the Sundering Seas to Middle Earth, were given the mission of helping the free races counter the power of the evil Sauron. Of these, Gandalf became the chief mover behind the scenes to organize the resistance against Sauron. Deep in wisdom, willing to confront those in power with unpleasant truth, as well as offering words of encourage in the darkest of times, it is not too hard to compare him to Biblical prophetic figures such as Elijah, Samuel or Nathan.

By examining Gandalf’s prophetic example, Ryken points out several lessons on how we can better influence our respective societies. Both Gandalf and Old Testament prophets were called on to speak the truth to those around them regardless of the consequences, a role Ryken notes is needed even more today “At a time of declining biblical and theological literacy, the church, the academy, and the wider society all need leaders who are able to communicate biblical truth.” Other lessons ring even louder in our hyper-partisan political environment. Gandalf shows tremendous wisdom by turning down multiple opportunities to try to achieve his goals through using dangerous or evil forms of power -turning down the ring when Frodo offers, rebuffing Saruman’s offer of joint rulership of Middle Earth. Gandalf knows even he is not incorruptible or immune to misuse of power. Ryken notes that Gandalf takes this reluctance to use power even further by refusing to coerce anyone to do his bidding. Gandalf will offer counsel, wisdom, hope and encouragement but he will not override anyone’s free will to make their own choice, regardless of the outcome. These last points I wish were understood by those who seek to use political systems to change society- be careful how you do it. Power and domination will only take you so far and ultimately will fail. The slow, patient process of planting hope and encouragement coupled with the courage to pointing them towards truth will make more a difference in the end than controlling political institutions and or using any means necessary to win elections.

The priestly office is seen in Lord of the Rings in the character of Frodo Baggins, the hobbit who is willing to sacrifice himself to be the Ring-bearer, taking the ring into the heart of enemy territory, Mordor. Ryken takes the concept of the priestly office in an interesting direction, looking not just at how Frodo himself exemplifies the role of priest, but broadening his view to include Sam, Merry, and Pippen to demonstrate that together they represent the concept of ‘the priesthood of all believers’. Ryken points out how the hobbits “nobly bear one another’s burdens, even unto death, and accomplish far more for the kingdom together than they ever would alone.” Examples of such burden bearing include Pippen, Merry, and Sam refusing to let Frodo leave the Shire alone, Sam providing constant encouragement to Frodo as they journey through Mordor, and finally Sam carrying Frodo up Mount Doom on the finally leg of the journey. Without these moments of burden bearing friendship, the quest to save Middle Earth from Sauron would have failed.

While I appreciate and agree with nearly everything Ryken wrote in this chapter, I do feel he should have pressed the point even further by including the rest of the Fellowship as his exemplar of Christian community. Doing this would have allowed him to address more fully the struggle of finding community in a more diverse setting. The hobbits can bear each others burdens in way others cannot precisely because they are, comparatively speaking, very much alike. They share a common background and outlook on life, so they handle things in very similar ways. A wizard, no matter how wise, cannot understand a hobbit like a fellow hobbit can. The same can be said of all the other races in Middle Earth. The Fellowship, however, forced dwarves, men, elves, hobbits and Wizards to work together. They may understand others of their race, but often deeply misunderstood other members of the Fellowship.

While most of us crave the almost frictionless harmony of the hobbit friendships, the entire Fellowship is a better model of a real church. Take the leaders of the Fellowship as an example. Aragorn and Gandalf have a deep friendship built from a shared understanding of what is is like to walk the dark roads of loneliness; each bearing a burden of responsibility that precious few on Middle Earth have any understanding of, and even less are able to help carry those burdens. The hobbits look at both of them with a deep awe, and only occasionally get glimpses that show the true weight that Gandalf and Aragon carry on their shoulders. They can never fully appreciate, much less carry Gandalf or Aragorn’s burdens in the way that Gandalf and Aragorn can help each other. We could look at each of the members of the Fellowship in the same way and realize that each one will be misunderstood by some members of the Fellowship, while being more deeply understood by other members (or perhaps by those outside the fellowship altogether). Yet together they work together to achieve a goal for the benefit of all people (and one that seems to have divine leadership in achieving). This seems to me to be a much more realistic vision of ‘the priesthood of all believers’ as it plays out in church life, yet I have never heard it taught in this way. Churches (as I have experienced them) seem to expect that everyone in the church should be able to equally carry the burdens of everyone else simply because we are all Christ followers. This leads to unrealistic expectations being placed on the entire congregation, leading to disappointment and disillusionment by those who feel the church let them down during their time of need. While this may be partly true, I think it is often the case that we expect everyone in the church to understand what we are going through because like us, they were hobbits; while many are actually elves, dwarfs, or ancient wizards; people whom we will never fully understand but are essential to the body of Christ fulfilling it’s mission on earth.

The last section of ‘The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth’ focuses Aragorn son of Arathorn, the last in a long line of exiled kings of Gondor, whom Ryken looks to as an exemplar of the kingly office of Jesus. And there certainly are some similarities; both are kings who are fulfilling ancient prophecies that speak of the return of the rightful king who will usher in a new area of peace and goodwill. Aragorn, like Jesus, must wait for his time and then embark on final journey that has been destined; Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead; Jesus on his final journey to Jerusalem. Ryken then explores what it means to live out this kingly calling in his own life as university president. He notes that providing a vision for the campus, staffing positions with wise leaders, and protecting the integrity of campus institutions are examples of his fulfilling the royal office. The result, Ryken states, is felt by the whole campus, “When presidential leadership is carried out wisely, graciously, and effectively, it brings shalom to a campus community.” Ryken concludes this final essay by encouraging his readers to develop all three offices in their own lives, and in doing so become more like the perfect exemplar of faith found in Jesus Christ.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth’. Philip Ryken’s three essays were illuminating, challenging, and informative. I have read it twice through and will no doubt return to it in the future. While anyone could benefit from Ryken’s insights, those with a deeper knowledge and appreciation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle Earth will certainly get far more out of this book.

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