It doesn't matter your... (pt.1)

It doesn't matter your age.

The disciples of Jesus, the Christ were teenagers. Why do I say this you ask? Because it's true. The New Testament was written in Greek originally. The Greek language did and still does have many different words for a single word in the english language. Such as the word "you." The Greek language has seperate words to refer to "you women" or "you priests" or "you children." Having said that, let us look into my reasoning as to why the disciples were teenagers.

1. Their previous occupations.
In Jesus' time Jewish boys were sent to school at the age of 5. For five years, the boys would study the Penteteuch (the first 5 books of the Bible) until they knew it by heart. They would then go up to a Rabbi and be tested on their knowledge of those books. If they were good enough they went on to the next level. If they didn't make the cut they were sent home to work in their family trade. The second level of schooling lasted 10 years from the age of 10-20. That level involved the boys studying the remaining 34 books of the Old Testament (not to mention some books that are only in the Apochrypha and Pseudopygrypha). At the end of those 10 years the boys would again go before a Rabbi and test their knowledge of the books they had studied. If they were good enough they went on to the next (yep, one more) level. If they weren't good enough they were (once again) sent home to work in their family trade. The third level involved working under a Rabbi. Boys who reached this level would have to appeal to a Rabbi and do all sorts of works for him to allow the Rabbi to let them be their disciple. The Rabbi would then, after seeing what the disciple was willing to do for him, choose to let them work under them or send them home (to, yep, work in the family trade). The now 20 year old disciple would watch their Rabbi they followed and learned from them for 10 more years. If the Rabbi thought they had grown enough they could make their disciple a Rabbi to choose their own disciples. HAVING SAID THAT.

Look at all the disciples. They were all Rabbis, looking for their own disciples when Jesus came up to them and - no - . They were working. Many with their families... Therefore, they were working in their family trades. THEREFORE! They "didn't make the cut." They weren't good enough to be a Rabbi. They weren't knowledgable enough. They were subpar. etc.

Andrew, Peter, James and John were all still with their fathers while working. James SON of Alpheus was always known as his father's son. If they were older gentlemen they would have been working by themselves, and James would've been known by where he was from, or his occupation.

2. Called in the ship.

When Jesus is resurrected he goes to his disciples when their on a ship out on the sea and he called to them, "Have YOU caught any fish yet?" In the Greek, that YOU refers to the phrase "You Children." Jesus could be calling his disciples children because they are inexeperienced in their religous lives or because He was acting like their father all this time. Oooooor because they were young.

3. The Temple Tax/Coin in the Fish's Mouth

Jesus told Peter to go find a certain fish in a certain spot. That fish would have a 1 2-drachma coin in its mouth. That coin was to cover the temple tax of Jesus and Peter. Sure, Jesus may have been playing favorites and paying for Peter, but none of the other disciples... Buuuuut.

What is the temple tax you ask? The temple tax was kind of like a forced offering. Everyone over the age of 18 who was going to pray in the temple had to pay a 1-drachma coin for the tax. So, perhaps, Peter was the only one who was old enough to have to pay the temple tax: the only one of the disciples over 18.

Those are the reasons I think the disciples were teenagers.

Another well known youngster in the Bible: Timothy. A young pastor. TALK ABOUT PRESSURE! Timothy was a pastor in the city of Ephesus. Later in life, Mary, Jesus' mother and John, the beloved disciple (the disciple Jesus treated like a son or a brother) stayed to live in Ephesus. PRESSURE! Having to preach to Jesus' mom and best friend! Holy crow!

-more parts (shorter parts) to come-

~Isa ruhu'la alais'salat was'salam
~Awake and pray in peace for prayer is better than sleep