JESUS’ DISCIPLES WERE MOST LIKELY UNDER THE AGE OF 18

-
Jesus’ twelve disciples were probably young, almost all under the age of eighteen and some as young as 15. All were most likely bachelors, but for one.

There is no indicator in Scripture of a specific age for any disciple. So we look through the lens of historical context as well as clues derived from Scripture.

In the time of Jesus, a Jewish man received a wife after the age of 18. Peter was the only one known to have been married. In Matthew 8:14-15, we learn that Peter had a wife when Jesus healed his mother-in-law. Again, Scripturally, no other disciples’ wives are mentioned.

Education Of That Time
Why are we to assume Jesus’ disciples were so young? The tradition of education of that time indicates it.

Education for the Jewish child concluded at the age of 15.
For those bright (or wealthy) enough, higher education consisted of studying under a local rabbi. If they didn’t find a rabbi that accepted them as a student (much like a college entrance application), then they entered the workforce by their mid teens. In most cases, they apprenticed under their fathers and worked for the prosperity of the family.

Most of the disciples were already apprenticing at their trades as in the case of disciples, James and John.

A Rabbi At The Age of 30
Historically, a rabbi of that time would begin to take on students at the age of 30. It was at the age of 30 that Jesus, we believe, began his public ministry. This also fits in with the rabbinical traditions of the time.

Why was Jesus considered outlandish by the status quo? He was not a rabbi who taught in the synagogue. He taught by the seashore and from the mountaintop. He was anti-religious. His message was radical. Jesus’ idea of loving everyone, occurred to no one. Culture was about hate and aggression. Also, Jesus stated that He was the Son of God. He claimed that the only way to God was through him. (John 14:6)

The Way
Of course, this posse of young Jewish guys were not known as “Christians”. Most probably, they were simply students of the Rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth. As far as we can ascertain from the book of Acts, the early Jesus movement was known as “The Way” (Acts 9:2; Acts 24:14) .The name “Christianity” did not occur until Antioch, several years after Jesus’ resurrection. (Acts 11:27).

Unlike the cinematic portrayals of the past and even in the latest TV miniseries, The Bible airing now, the disciples were probably not middle-aged men. Not only is it against the historical times but flies in the face of Scripture. The only one who might have been older, other than Peter, was Matthew. He had a profession as a tax collector.

Here are a few youth indicators from Scripture”:

The use of the term “little ones”

In Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21, and John 13:33, Jesus calls his disciples little children, “little ones”. This would be a bit insulting if they were men, no matter how radical or gentle the rabbi!

James and John
These guys were brothers. They had a pushy mom named Salome who wanted to arrange where they would sit with Jesus at the table. Salome’s pushiness wouldn’t make sense if the brothers were grown men.(Matthew 20:20-24). Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder”as they were probably either loud or bold, characteristics in youth.

Only Peter Is Known to Have been Paid the Temple Tax
In Exodus 30:14-15, Jewish law states that every male over the age of 20 is to pay a half-shekel as a census offering when they visit the temple of God. In Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus instructs Peter to “fish up” this tax. And to find a four-drachma in the mouth of the fish he catches; enough to pay the tax for two men, himself and Jesus. Jesus requests this only for Peter and for Jesus. You could conclude that the others were underage and did not need to pay.

A youthful discipleship doesn’t change the Truth of the Gospel. It simply adds a different tonality to its music.


SOURCE: David Paul Kirkpatrick's Living In The Metaverse

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

GOD MADE ADAM BOTH MALE AND FEMALE.

-
Image
This should be obvious but it seems a lot of people are having problem with it. God made Adam male and female. In other words, when Adam was first created he was both male and female. For people that are finding it hard to accept this is what the bible says: (Genesis 1:27 KJV) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 5:2 KJV) Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam , in the day when they were created. The first scripture in using the term "them" still seem to suggest that it was talking about both Adam and Eve and not only Adam at first. However the accounts in Matthew chapter 19 and Mark chapter 10 will give more insight. (Matthew 19:3 KJV) The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? (Matthew 19:4 KJV) And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read
Read more

JACOB DID NOT WAIT FOR 7 OR 14 YEARS BEFORE LEAH/ RACHEL WERE GIVEN TO HIM. HE TOOK BOTH WIVES IMMEDIATELY.

-
Many Christians thought that Jacob worked seven years for Laban, realized that Laban deceived him to marry Leah, and then worked seven more years before finally getting married to Rachel. However the bible shows that he took both Leah and Rachel immediately before he began serving Laban. For clarity, I advise you to read this Jacob's story in other translations of the Bible aside King James Version (KJV). Meanwhile lets look at look at some of the facts from the Bible: (Genesis 29:21 KJV) And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. Please note that the 7 years of service required of Jacob were the total dowry and not the customary waiting period before a wife was given to the groom. In other words, Jacob took Leah after the customary waiting period which was a couple of days just like we read in vs 21. Notice that he said, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled" implying a certain number of d
Read more

IN ISAIAH 59:19, IT IS NOT THE ENEMY THAT COMES IN LIKE A FLOOD.

-
Image
Most of us are familiar with this portion of the scripture:  (Isaiah 59:19 KJV)   “…… When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him . The King James Version (KJV) of the Bible seems to suggest that it is the enemy that will come in like a flood. Well the enemy is not the one that will come in like a flood rather it is the Lord that comes in like a flood (a rushing stream). The translators of King James Version of the Bible departed from the ancient versions which resulted in the misconception. The Amplified Version of the Bible puts it better: Isaiah 59:19 (AMP): So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west and His glory from the rising of the sun. For He will come in like a narrow, rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives [overwhelming the enemy] In other words, He (Jehovah) shall come like a rushing stream which the breath of Jehovah (i.e., a strong and mighty wind) drives. It will mean that God will
Read more

WHY DID GOD REFER TO ISAAC AS ABRAHAM’S ONLY SON? WHAT HAPPENED TO ISHMAEL?

-
Image
Abraham had two sons, the one by Sarah (a freewoman) and the other by Hagar (a bondwoman). However, we see in Genesis chapter 22 that in three different occasions, God referred to Isaac as the only son of Abraham, in total disregard of Ishmael as a son. So, in what sense is Isaac the only Son of Abraham? (Genesis 22:2 KJV) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (Genesis 22:12 KJV) And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. (Genesis 22:16 KJV) And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son , thine only son. First notice that the second time the word ‘ son ’ is used in all the above verses, it is in italics, indica
Read more

DID JESUS RISE AS THE WEEKLY SABBATH WAS ENDING OR AT SUNRISE ON SUNDAY?

-
Image
You'll notice through a comparison of the four gospels that Mary Magdalene and the disciples went to the tomb a number of times. In some it was still dark, and in some it was already light. It wasn't until it was light on Sunday that they actually discovered that He had risen, in the first visits the tomb was empty. John 20:1-2 Now in the first of the week, Miryam Magdalitha (Mary Magdalene) came to the tomb in the very early morning while it was still dark. And she saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. And she ran and she came to Shimon Kaypha (Simon Peter) and to that other disciple whom Yeshua (Jesus) had loved, and she said to them, "They have taken away our Lord from the tomb, and I don't know where they have laid Him." The above text in John 20, tells us of the first visit by Mary Magdalene when it was dark, the tomb was empty, and she had not been told that Jesus was risen, and only saw the stone rolled away. I will leave it to the reader to co
Read more

DID JESUS ASCEND TO HEAVEN TWICE?

-
Image
The question of Jesus ascending twice to heaven is not often asked because there is this general acceptance of only one ascension of Jesus which occurred in Acts 1:9, Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:51 (Acts 1:9 KJV) And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Mark 16:19 KJV) So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. (Luke 24:51 KJV) And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. However, there is an evidence in the Bible that He had earlier ascended to His Father in Heaven prior to this final ascension in the above verses.  Before His death, Jesus specifically told His disciples in the book of John chapter 16 that He would be going to His Father (which is in Heaven). (John 16:16-17 KJV) A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Read more

THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD IS NOT THE SAME AS THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF GOD.

-
Image
Someone asked, "Since Jesus sits at "the right hand of God" in heaven, who sits on God's left hand?  Many people are asking similar question because they have had this erroneous picture in their mind that when the bible says that Jesus sits at the right hand of God it was taking about the right-hand side of God. Notice that the bible never said the "right-hand side of God".  The Right Hand of God is not the same as the Right-Hand Side of God.  The bible was not talking about the sitting arrangements of their chairs or being in a certain location. That is probable the reason why  there's no such place mentioned in the bible as the "left hand side of God". The Right Hand Is Symbolic Biblically, the right hand symbolizes authority, power, and strength (Genesis 48:14 - 19, Exodus 15:6, Isaiah 23:11, 41:10, 45:1, Revelation 1:16 - 17 etc).  Like other figurative language, the “right hand” and “arm” are often symbolic, as we can see
Read more

SHOULD YOU GIVE YOUR WHOLE FIRST MONTH’S SALARY TO YOUR CHURCH AS ‘FIRST-FRUIT’?

-
Image
(Prob 3:9-10)  Give honour to the Lord with your wealth, and with the first-fruits of all your increase: So your store-houses will be full of grain, and your vessels overflowing with new wine.   Should I give my whole first month’s salary to my church as ‘first-fruit’? Usually when I am asked this question, my answer is straightforward. “It is your money and you can do anything you like with it.” I mean that simply! Now, if the question is “did the Lord command that Christians should surrender their whole January salary (income) to their church as first-fruits?” Then I give another unequivocal answer:  No, He never did . There is no such thing in the whole Bible, not even under the Law of Moses. Yes, many churches ask their members to do it, but it is a decision of the elders of the church and is not the commandment of God or the Lord Jesus to Christians. God doesn’t have any special blessings attached to it, and so I hope the elders can pray a special blessing for the peop
Read more

PASTOR PAUL ADEFARASIN'S RECENT QUOTES ON TITHING.

-
In his sermon on November 1, 2017 titled ‘Abraham’s Blessings Are Already Upon My Life’, Pastor Paul said that, “Tithe is a way to show that God is the supplier of your resources. God blesses and I respond with my 10%. It is an honour system, it means the money is not your God. You won’t be cursed if you don’t tithe but when you tithe you are saying you recognize Him and it keeps the cycle moving.”  He equally explained why it is important to pay tithe to ordained Men of God and that this payment is not compulsory, as it will not stop anyone from enjoying God’s blessings.  Other quotes in the sermon are highlighted below:  “He (God) did not make everyone a preacher, Don’t let anyone tell you to take your tithe to charities, elsewhere.”  “A guy can not just show up and say he is an overseer. He can’t. Overseer from where? Who is your father? Who ordained you? Where are you coming from? John Doe can not get up and say he is a pastor, there must be evidence of righteousness in his life
Read more