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Shepherd of Hermas

About this book
Chapter 97

1 “And from the third mountain, which had thorns and briars, those who believed are like this: some of them are wealthy, and others are tangled in many business dealings. The briars represent the wealthy, and the thorns those who are caught up in various business matters.⁠ 2 These, then, who are involved in many and varied affairs, do not cling to God’s servants but go astray, choked by their affairs; and the wealthy are reluctant to associate with God’s servants, for fear that they will ask them for something. Such people will have difficulty entering the kingdom of God. 3 For just as it is difficult to walk barefoot over briars, so also it is difficult for these people to enter God’s kingdom.⁠ 4 But for all these, repentance is possible, though it must be quick, so that in the days that remain they may now make up for what they neglected to do in the past, and do some good. If they repent and do some good, they will live for God; but if they remain in their practices, they will be given over to those women who will put them to death.

Texts in conversation

Compare Mark 4:19 and Shepherd of Hermas 97:1

New Testament · Early Christian

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Summary

In the parable of the sower in Mark, thorns represent people whose cares and wealth choke the divine word. Similarly, in the Shepherd of Hermas, a mountain of thorns and briars represents the wealthy and busy, whose priorities choke their faith.

Passages

Mark 4:19

New Testament
13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then how will you understand any parable? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan comes and snatches the word that was sown in them. 16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root in themselves and do not endure. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, 19 but worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it produces nothing. 20 But these are the ones sown on good soil: They hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty times as much, one sixty, and one a hundred.”
60–75 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Mark

Shepherd of Hermas 97:1

Early Christian
1 “And from the third mountain, which had thorns and briars, those who believed are like this: some of them are wealthy, and others are tangled in many business dealings. The briars represent the wealthy, and the thorns those who are caught up in various business matters. 2 These, then, who are involved in many and varied affairs, do not cling to God’s servants but go astray, choked by their affairs; and the wealthy are reluctant to associate with God’s servants, for fear that they will ask them for something. Such people will have difficulty entering the kingdom of God. 3 For just as it is difficult to walk barefoot over briars, so also it is difficult for these people to enter God’s kingdom. 4 But for all these, repentance is possible, though it must be quick, so that in the days that remain they may now make up for what they neglected to do in the past, and do some good. If they repent and do some good, they will live for God; but if they remain in their practices, they will be given over to those women who will put them to death.
90–140 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Shepherd of Hermas

References

“... The seed sown among the thorns is another image that in Judaism makes possible many associations about evil. The connection with wealth and business may even be rooted in catechetical tradition. The readers of the Gospel of Matthew are immediately reminded of 6:19-34 that dealt first with riches and then with worrying. [...] Cf. Herm. Sim. 9.1.1 = 78.1; 9.19.1 = 97.1: thorns and thistles = rich people and business people. ...”
Ulrich Luz, Matthew 8–20: A Commentary, ed. Helmut Koester (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 249.
“... This chapter and all subsequent chapters through 29 speak of one group only, in this case from the third, thorny mountain full of thistles, those whose business and wealth get in the way of their living according to their faith [...]. By what can only be a careless slip or a manuscript problem in v. 1, not the distractions of wealth, etc., but the people are the thistles and thorns. This analogy does not continue in the rest of the explanation. Lying behind the whole imagery may be Mark 4:19 and its surrounding parable, or another version of the same allegory. ...”
Carolyn Osiek, The Shepherd of Hermas: A Commentary, Herm (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1999), 246.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Mark 4:19 and Shepherd of Hermas 97:1

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