The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth: Images of Christ’s Threefold Office in The Lord of the Rings (Hansen Lectureship Series)

by Philip Graham Ryken

Publisher:

IVP USA

, 2017

Overview

How can we grasp the significance of what Jesus Christ did for us? Might literature help us as we seek to understand the Christian faith?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has generated much discussion about the relationship between Christianity and literature. It is well known that Tolkien disliked allegory. Yet he acknowledged that his work is imbued with Christian symbolism and meaning.

Based on the inaugural Hansen Lectureship series delivered by Philip Ryken, this volume mines the riches of Tolkien’s theological imagination. In the characters of Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn, Ryken hears echoes of the threefold office of Christ—his prophetic, priestly, and royal roles. Guided by Ryken, readers will discover that they can learn much about the one who is the true prophet, priest, and king through Tolkien’s imaginative storytelling.

Based on the annual lecture series hosted at Wheaton College’s Marion E. Wade Center, volumes in the Hansen Lectureship Series reflect on the imaginative work and lasting influence of seven British authors: Owen Barfield, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.

Key Features

• Mines the riches of Tolkien’s theological imagination
• Helps readers discover that they can learn much about Jesus through Tolkien’s imaginative storytelling
• Hears echoes of the threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest and king in the roles of Gandalf, Frodo and Aragorn

Contents

• The Prophetic Ministry of Gandalf the Grey
• Response: Sandra Richter
• Frodo, Sam, and the Priesthood of All Believers
• Response: Jennifer Powell McNutt
• The Coronation of Aragorn Son of Arathorn
• Response: William Struthers

Praise for

J. R. R. Tolkien wrote that what he called the ‘story-germ,’ the shape of a fictional narrative, grows from an author’s experience in unpredictable ways. Tolkien was a deeply devout Christian who knew the Bible well. He insisted that he did not write in order to ‘make a point,’ and certainly not to express doctrine in allegorical dress. Yet Phil Ryken shows how profoundly Tolkien’s imagination was shaped by Jesus Christ himself, revealing the rich theological insights we can receive from the great tales if we are attentive to them. This book is a treat, filled with surprises

—Tim Keller, pastor emeritus, Redeemer Presbyterian Churches of New York City

In The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth, Philip Ryken develops the notion that the presence of Christ in The Lord of the Rings follows a traditional tripartite form: prophet, priest, and king. Showing particularly how Tolkien develops this form through Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn, Ryken adeptly demonstrates that a knowledge of theology and Middle-Earth mutually illuminate Tolkien’s texts. The plausibility of the book’s thesis is also enhanced through responses from other notable scholars, including Sandra Richter, Jennifer Powell McNutt, and William Struthers. This book is recommended for all who wish to enhance their understanding of the Christian theology that undergirds the entertaining fantasy of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth.

—Gregory Maillet, professor of English, Crandall University

Ryken draws from biblical studies, theology, and literature in a wonderfully integrated way: the result is abundant insight into Tolkien’s Christian imagination. Erudite and still approachable, thoughtful and yet fun to read, far-ranging and deeply edifying. I am thrilled to recommend it.

—Diana Pavlac Glyer, professor of English at Azusa Pacific University and author of Bandersnatch and The Company They Keep

Product Details

• Title: The Messiah Comes to Middle-Earth (Hansen Lectureship Series | HLS)
• Author: Philip Graham Ryken
• Series: Hansen Lectureship Series
• Publisher: IVP USA
• Print Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 164
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• ISBNs: 9780830888863, 9780830853724, 0830888861, 0830853723
• Resource ID: LLS:MSSHCMSMDSRSHLS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-03-29T01:03:12Z

About Philip Graham Ryken

Dr. Philip G. Ryken (1966–) has served as the president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, since 2010. He earned degrees from Wheaton College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Ryken was the senior minister of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church (where and served previously) for about 15 years before he became the president of Wheaton College. He has been ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Ryken has authored over 30 books, including several volumes in the Reformed Expository Commentary, the Crossway Spiritual Growth Collection, and Saved for God's Glory.