Shepherd of Hermas 69

First Testament

Second Testament

Shepherd of Hermas

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114

Kirsopp Lake ▾

1I said to him: “Sir, tell me what this tree is. For I am perplexed about it, that although so many branches have been cut off, the tree is healthy, and nothing seems to have been cut from it; I am perplexed at this.” 2“Listen,” said he, “this great tree, which covers plains and mountains and all the earth, is God’s law which was given to all the world. And this law is God’s son preached to the ends of the earth. And those who are under its shade are nations which have heard the preaching and have believed in it. 3And the great and glorious angel is Michael, who has power over this people and governs them; for this is he who put the law into the hearts of those who believe. Therefore he looks after those to whom he gave it, to see if they have really kept it.^a 4But you see the sticks of each one, for the sticks are the law. Therefore, you see that many sticks have been made useless, and you will understand, that they are all the men who have not observed the law; and you will see the dwelling of each one of them.” 5I said to him: “Sir, why did he send some into the tower, and left some to you?” “All those who have transgressed against the law, which they received from him, he left to my authority for repentance. But as many as were already well-pleased with the law, and have observed it, he keeps them under his own authority.” 6“Who then, Sir,” said I, “are they who were crowned and went into the tower?” “All those,” said he, “who wrestled with the devil and conquered him, have been crowned. These are they who suffered for the law. 7And the others whoalso gave up their sticks green and having buds, but without fruit, are they who were persecuted for the law, but did not suffer, and did not deny their law. 8And those who gave them up green, as they received them, are holy and righteous and have walked far with a pure heart, and have kept the commandments of the Lord. And the rest you will know, when I look at these sticks which have been planted and watered.”^b

Footnotes

a3 glorious angel — But in Sim. ix. he is the Son of God. This together with the identification of the Son with the Spirit in Sim. ix. 1 (cf. Sim. v. 5) makes it very hard to reconstruct the Christology of Hermas. On the question of Michael see W. Lueken’s Michael, Gottingen, 1898.

b8 did not suffer — ‘Suffer’ means ‘suffer a death of martyrdom,’ and the law means the Christian rule of life, not (as in the N.T.) the Jewish Law.