The novel The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, was declared by at least some surveys as “The Novel of the 20^th Century.”¹ The central story of the renunciation of power as the means of defeating evil has since been made familiar to millions through the very successful films.

            At the end of the novel, with a king crowned, an age passing and the departure of its hero from the realm of mortals to the Undying Lands, one of the main characters, the simple Samwise Gamgee, returns to his wife and, seating himself and taking his daughter into his arms, says simply, “Well, I’m back.”

            What most fans don’t know is that Tolkien wrote an epilogue to clear up loose ends and let readers know what finally happened to all the characters. While Tolkien never published it, it was a polished preliminary draft, which his son Christopher Tolkien later edited.² Set a decade and a half after the close of the novel, we find Samwise visiting with his family, especially his teenage daughter Elanor, revealing that the king and queen are making a special visit to the shire, and then answering their questions about what happened to everyone in the years since the story ended. While not necessarily earthshaking, the epilogue contains information that readers would love to know.

John: The epilogue

            That’s generally what an epilogue does — takes us a few months or a few years or a few decades past the events of the novel, history or biography to allow us to see things from the perspective of the future. And that’s exactly what the 21^st and last chapter of the Gospel of John provides us with — an epilogue, written many years later, to fill in a few gaps and answer a couple of questions about what happened to the main characters and what it all means.

            Do we even need the 21^st chapter of John? The 20^th chapter, after all, certainly tells us all the really crucial information about the resurrection — Mary of Magdala’s discovery of the empty tomb, the rush by Peter and the beloved disciple to confirm her discovery, Mary’s return to find two angels and then the risen Jesus in the garden, the appearance of Jesus in the upper room and his gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples, a second meeting with believing Thomas (“My Lord and my God!”) and the blessing of Jesus upon all of us who have not seen and yet believe!

...approximately 1,687 words remaining. You are not logged in. Please see options at the top of this page to view complete sermon.