The third instalment of the immensely successful movie and book franchise The Lord of the Rings is titled The Return of the King, and it focuses on the character of Aragorn – the legitimate heir to the throne of Gondor – as he attempts to save the people of Middle Earth from destruction at the hands of the evil Dark Lord Sauron.
Aragorn is introduced in the first instalment of the franchise as a shadowy and mysterious figure known only as a Ranger of the North, before coming to be known by the name Strider. Ultimately we learn that Strider is actually Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, the ancient King of Gondor who had vanquished Sauron in an epic battle centuries before.
Since then, the selfishness, envy, arrogance and greed of mankind, has seen Middle Earth descend into a time of darkness where division, fear and mistrust abounds, which sounds very similar to the world we find ourselves living in today! As the legitimate heir of Isildur, Aragorn is seen by some such as the wizard Gandalf and the half-elven Elrond as the only person capable of uniting Middle Earth to fight against Sauron. But Aragorn considers himself unworthy of such responsibility and honour, and so initially he is reluctant to accept this role. However through a series of events and challenges Aragorn finds himself growing in maturity and confidence until he eventually accepts that this is his calling or destiny.
There is somewhat of a parallel between the story of Aragorn and the story of Jesus. Just as Aragorn is the legitimate heir of Isildur, the gospels tell us that Jesus is the legitimate heir of King David of Israel. The people of Israel have been waiting for centuries for the coming of the Messiah, a descendant of King David who will rescue Israel from captivity and oppression under a foreign power and restore it to its former glory under David. Jesus, like Aragorn, is a humble figure, but unlike Aragorn, Jesus embraces his calling or destiny from the very beginning.
In the week preceding his death, we hear that Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a colt, calling to mind the prophecy of Zechariah who foretold of the coming of the Messiah, who would ride into Jerusalem on a colt, just as King David himself had ridden on a colt during his exile from Jerusalem. Therefore the people of Jerusalem welcome Jesus as a king in the same way that the Hebrew Scriptures paid homage to kings.
In The Return of the King, Aragorn returns to Gondor triumphantly as King, having defeated the armies of Sauron with the help of Frodo (the Hobbit) and Gandalf among others. The entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem sparks images of King David returning triumphantly having vanquished his enemies but, as we know, Jesus is to die in the manner of a common criminal, crucified on a cross. This is hardly the stuff expected of the Messiah! But again, as we know, the victory of Jesus will come from his death; and from his resurrection from the dead. His resurrection is of course his victory over death, a victory that he has won for all people.
The people of Israel expected the Messiah to free them from captivity and oppression under a foreign power. Jesus has freed them (and all people) from captivity under the power of sin and death. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, all people are freed from their sins, and are given the promise of eternal life.
