Tolkien Tuesday: The Gospel and Our Hobbit-Like Peril

Galatians 1:4 Who [referring to Jesus] gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us [that he might rescue us] from this present evil world

There is a great scene toward the beginning of the extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring. A table of hobbits are sitting together enjoying each others company when one of them says, “There’s been some strange folk crossing the shire I heard. Dwarves and others of a less than savory nature. War is brewing. The mountains are fair teeming with Goblins.” One of the other hobbits not pleased with what was just said replies, “Far-off tales and childrens stories, that’s all that is. Your beginning to sound like that old Bilbo Baggins. Cracked, he was.” Then a negative comment is made about Frodo being cracked as well to which Frodo responds, “And proud of it!” And then the hobbit that originally called Bilbo cracked makes a very significant statement as it relates to the soon coming struggle of Middle-Earth. “Well its none of our concern what goes on beyond our borders. Keep your nose out of trouble and no trouble will come to you.”

That is in my mind one of the most significant statements in giving us insight into the people of the Shire. They are a peace-loving, comfort-enjoying people who care very little at all about the outside world. They enjoy their simple life and see no reason to be concerned with what happens in the land of the “big folk.” What they didn’t realize was that Trouble with a capital “T” was coming to them and the Shire and their happy culture would perish unless there was decisive intervention. What they failed to see was that they were in dire need of decisive rescue from the growing evil shadow of the East. The hobbits were completely ignorant of their impending doom and their desperate need for rescue.

Christianity is the only religion that recognizes our hobbit-like peril. Founders of other religions came primarily to teach. They came with a set of doctrines and an example to be followed. Though Jesus was a great teacher (the greatest teacher mankind has ever known) Paul makes no mention of this when he gives us this nutshell version of the Gospel in Galatians 1:4. What we see here is what is at the very heart of the Gospel, namely, that mankind was in desperate need of rescue. Jesus came to rescue first and then to be an example second.

The uniqueness of Christianity is that it comes to us and informs us of our absolutely helpless and perilous state. The Gospel does not first reveal Christ to us as a guide and example. No, it first reveals Christ as our Deliverer, our Rescuer, the one who came to rescue us from our sins. Christ came to earth and before most people knew what was really happening He had already accomplished the very thing needed for the deliverance of his hobbit-like people. He accomplished our redemption before we even knew we were perishing and unable to recover ourselves. This is Good News.

*First posted November 5, 2005