(PDF) How Old Were Jesus And His Disciples | Laurence J Cox

Log InSign Up

• Log In
• Sign Up
• more
• • About
  • Press
  • Papers
  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • We're Hiring!
  • Help Center
  • less

Outline

keyboard_arrow_downTitleAbstractKey TakeawaysFiguresIntroductionConclusionsReferencesFAQsAll TopicsTheologyChristian Studiesdownload

Download Free PDF

Download Free PDFHow old were Jesus and his disciplesLaurence J Coxvisibility

…

description

35 pages

descriptionSee full PDFdownloadDownload PDF bookmarkSave to LibraryshareShareclose

Sign up for access to the world's latest research

Sign up for freearrow_forwardcheckGet notified about relevant paperscheckSave papers to use in your researchcheckJoin the discussion with peerscheckTrack your impact

Abstract

Submitted as a dissertation as part of a Graduate Diploma in Theology and Religious Studies at King's College, London. The age of Jesus' disciples during his ministry is a topic that is rarely considered, but there is a range of circumstantial evidence both from Biblical and non-Biblical sources to suggest that they were 'young men', that is probably between 18 and 22 and unmarried at the time that they were Jesus' disciples.

... Read more

Key takeaways

AI

1. Jesus likely began his ministry around age 30, born between 4 BCE and 6 BCE.
2. Disciples were probably aged 18 to 22, predominantly unmarried.
3. Limited academic discourse exists on the ages of Jesus' disciples.
4. Jesus' silent years likely involved supporting his family after Joseph's death.
5. The absence of marriage references for most disciples supports their young age at calling.

Figures (6)arrow_back_ios

arrow_forward_ios

Related papers

John Mark: "Certain Youth" and Beloved Disciple?Randall Gray

In the search for the identity of the Beloved Disciple, a.k.a. the unnamed “other disciple, the one Jesus loved” (Jn 20:2), simple logistics on the night that Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane lead us to consider the “certain youth” (Mark 14:51-52), a mysteriously unidentified person being the only other “follower” or disciple of Jesus in the vicinity of Gethsemane who might have later been “the other disciple” who knew the high priest Annas in John 18:15-16.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightThe Discipleship of Women—From Jesus' Birth to the Empty TombCBE International (Publisher)

Priscilla Papers, 2007

Author: J. Lyle Story Publisher: CBE International In recent years, much discussion has centered upon the role of women disciples as they encounter the person of Jesus. The word “disciple” (mathētēs), related to the verb “learn, study, practice” (manthanō), means “the one who directs his mind to something,” often in the sense of a learner, apprentice, or pupil. In the Greek philosophical world, the term designated a devotee of a philosopher, one who would continue the intellectual link with the teacher (adherent). While many argue for exclusively male disciples due to the fact that Jesus’ twelve disciples were all male, we can respond that all disciples were also Jewish. This, then, leads to the important question of implication: Does this mean that all Gentile disciples through the ages, male and female, are to be excluded from participatory discipleship? Certainly not!

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightJesus - the pre-teen years v2Adrian C Grant

The paper on this site discussing whether Jesus and John the Baptist knew each other, opened a can of worms I intended to come to only at some stage in the future. But watching people arguing at cross purposes and failing to see the wood for the trees has been too frustrating. This paper, following up my discussion of Levantine politics is a first attempt to deal with a small part of the problem-pulling the baby from the bathwater: instead of rubbishing claims in the Bible which can be refuted if taken at face value, my view is that many at least can be reassembled into an intelligent and coherent narrative. This version 2 benefits from comments made by participants in the discussion of the Jesus/John paper noted above and from the further analysis this has prompted (see acknowledgements below).

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightTwo Types of Discipleship in Early ChristianityBrian CapperdownloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_right(2020) How Old Was Jesus at the Start of His Mission? The Papyrological Evidence and Impacts for the Calculation of Jesus' Year of BirthPeter Arzt-Grabner

2020

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://dnb.de abrufbar.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightOLD TESTAMENT APPROACH TO YOUTH DISCIPLESHIP AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON CHURCH GROWTHKareem Kayode

Christian Education and Church Growth in Nigeria , 2020

Old Testament is practically relevant to the church age. The practicality and the contextual concepts in the Old Testament, among other things, make it relevant from ages past. One of the dominant concepts in the Old Testament that has practical bearing on the church today is youth discipleship. Although the word "discipleship" does not occur in the Old Testament, its ideological underpinning is pervasive. Some institutions were established in Judaism to enhance discipleship and that is why this paper approaches the necessity of youth discipleship from Old Testament perspective. Discipleship is cardinal to church growth. There is no church that can grow and be successful in the task of the Great Commission without discipleship generally and youth discipleship particularly. There have been scholarly effort on Christian discipleship and its implications on church growth but much attention has not been paid to discipleship in the Old Testament and those who have partially echoed youth discipleship in the Old Testament has not paid enough attention to 'generation gap' that hampers such effort and this is the lacuna to be filled. This paper pays keen attention to the significant of youth discipleship from Old Testament perspective and how that understanding can help to promote church growth today. The task of making disciples that Jesus gives to the church must not be downplayed if the church wants to fulfill her task and maintain her relevance. This paper adopts analytical method and uses David Blomgren theory of Team Ministry to guide it through.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightJesus Call on Women as DisciplesJoanne G Hagemeyer

The Gospel of John stands in dialogical relationship with the Synoptic Gospels, and more pointedly with Mark’s Gospel in confronting growing male dominance over and against the early memory of Jesus’s intent for women. John’s Gospel advocates for equal partnership between women and men, Jew and on-Jew, in every aspect of Jesus’s mission, message, and ministry by depicting twelve calling elements, beginning with the Greek verb zeteō. These calling elements appear in the Johannine calling narrative of five men in the first chapter, and with at least two women in later chapters. John’s inclusion of women’s stories could be incidental but are more likely in response to the relative absence of women disciples and women in apostolic ministry as depicted in Mark’s and Matthew’s Gospels. The high view of Christ and of the scriptures will lead modern Christians to hearken to John’s portrayal of both women and men in Jesus’s apostolic mission, and thereby support Christ’s work in calling both men and women to every level of mission and leadership in the church today.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightAN EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE OF THE 12 DISCIPLES PAUL ENCOUNTERED IN EPHESUS by Dr. Jeff C. BargerTimothy E Carter, Jeff Barger

AN EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE OF THE 12 DISCIPLES PAUL ENCOUNTERED IN EPHESUS by Dr. JEFF C. BARGER, 2025

Acts 19 provides details of the Apostle Paul’s ministry in the city of Ephesus. This was not only the longest he ever stayed in one field of ministry — at least 2 years and 3 months — but also, Ephesus turned out to be the most fruitful ministry of his lifetime. In addition to a church being established in Ephesus, a most remarkable result of Paul’s 2-year ministry of teaching disciples is stated in 19:10: “...so all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” This word was not only His in the sense it was from Him, but also it was the word of, or about, His position as the crucified and risen Lord to be worshiped and served.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightJESUS' BROTHERS and APOSTLES in RENEWED PERSPECTIVEChris Albert Wells

JESUS' BROTHERS and APOSTLES in RENEWED PERSPECTIVE, 2019

We all accept, at least by definition, the apostles as fervent disciples. I will nevertheless defend that the ones called to follow initially represented the local Nazarene community antagonists to the Jesus pressure group. Just as Jesus’ brothers who wanted to restrict the Messiah. The apostle label came much later.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightScripture, Time, and Authority among Early Disciples of ChristGul Fraz

Church History, 2016

This article explores the relationship between the idealization of the Bible and the material characteristics of printed bibles among the Disciples of Christ in the early nineteenth century. The Disciples were founded on the principles of biblical primitivism: they revered the “pure” Bible as the sole source for proper faith and practice. The tenacity with which Disciples emphasized their allegiance to an idealized, timeless Bible has obscured their attention to its physical manifestations and use as printed scripture. The timeless authority of the Bible was entangled with the historical contingencies of mere bibles, and the ways in which they dealt with these tensions offer important perspective on nineteenth-century bible culture. Scholars have treated primitivism as an ahistorical impulse—the idealization of the New Testament church as a mythical sacred era outside of time that could be perpetually inhabited. By contrast, through an examination of the New Testaments edited and pu...

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightSee full PDFdownloadDownload PDF

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

References (24)

1. the New Revised Standard Version (1989)
2. Septuagint, https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/septuagint-lxx/read-the-bible-text/ [accessed 29 August 2016]
3. Eusebius, P., Church History, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf201 [accessed 6 May 2015] Irenaeus, Against Heresies, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01 [accessed 6 May 2015]
4. Josephus, F., Complete Works, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/complete [accessed 29 June 2016] Mishnah Shekalim, http://www.emishnah.com/moed2/shekalim/1.pdf [accessed 29 June 2016] Philo, On the Embassy to Gaius http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/yonge/book40.html [accessed 31 August 2016] Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf08 [accessed 19 August 2016] Vermes, G. 1997. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, London: Allen Lane Secondary sources
5. Allen, C. W. 1973. Astrophysical Quantities, 3 rd edition, London: Athlone Press Allison, D. C. 2005. Studies in Matthew: interpretation past and present, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Bauckham, R. 2006. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: the Gospels as eyewitness testimony, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Bond, H. K. 2012. The Historical Jesus, London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark Bonikowsky, K. 2008. https://kbonikowsky.wordpress.com/2008/08/20/jesus-disciples-a-teenage- posse/ Bonikowsky, K. 2011. https://kbonikowsky.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/the-age-of-the-disciples- ditto/ Cary, O. and Cary, F. 1917. 'How Old Were Christ's Disciples', The Biblical World, 50(1) 3-12, Chicago: University Press,. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3136128 [accessed 7 January 2016]
6. Chapman, D. W. 2003. 'Marriage and Family in Second Temple Judaism', in Marriage and Family in the Biblical World, ed. by K. M. Campbell, Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Academic Press 183-239
7. Crossan, J. D. and Read, J. L. 2001. Excavating Jesus, New York NY: Harper San Francisco Doyle, A. D. 1941. 'Pilate's career and the date of the crucifixion' Journal of Theological Studies, 42(167/168) Oxford: Oxford University Press 190-93. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23959035 [accessed 7 June 2016]
8. Driver, G. R. 1965. 'Two problems in the New Testament' Journal of Theological Studies, New Series, 16(2), Oxford: University Press, 227-237. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23959035 [accessed 7 June 2016]
9. Espenak, F. and Meeus, J. 2009. http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEcat5/LEcatalog.html [accessed 21 June 2016]
10. Espeniak, F. and O'Byrne C. [n.d.] http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/JLEX/JLEX-AS.html [accessed 21 June 2016]
11. Finegan, J. 1998. Handbook of Biblical Chronology, 2nd edition, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Inc.
12. Forbes, S. 2005. A Natural History of Families, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press Gruber, M. I. 1989. 'Breast-feeding practices in biblical Israel and in Old Babylonian Mesopotamia' Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society, 19, 61-83.
13. Hopkins, M. K. 1965. 'The Age of Roman Girls at Marriage', Population Studies, 18(3), 309-27
14. Hopkins, M. K. 1966. 'On the Probable Age Structure of the Roman Population', Population Studies, 20(2), 245-64
15. Hopkins, M. K. 1983. Death and Renewal: Sociological Studies in Roman History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
16. Humpreys, C. J., and Waddington, W. G. 1992. 'The Jewish calendar, a lunar eclipse and the date of Christ's crucifixion', Tyndale Bulletin, 43(2), 331-351
17. Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-06. New York: Funk and Wagnalls http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/ [accessed 5 August 2016]
18. Kittel, G. (ed.) 1964. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament [TDNT], Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Köstenburger, A. 2003, 'Marriage and Family in the New Testament', in Marriage and Family in the Biblical World, ed. by K. M. Campbell, Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Academic Press 240- 284 Luz, U. 2001. Matthew 8-20, Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press
19. McRay, J. 1991. Archaeology and the New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic Meier, J. P. 1991. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 1, The roots of the problem and the person, New York: Doubleday
20. Meier, J. P. 2001. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, Volume 3, Companions and Competitors, New York: Doubleday Quash, B. 2015. The Last Supper [conversation] with author, 3 Nov 2015
21. Safrai, S., Stern, M., Flussler, D., and Van Unnick, W. C. 1974. The Jewish People in the First Century, Assen: Van Gorcum
22. Satlow, M. 2001. Jewish Marriage in Antiquity, Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press Short, R. 1992. 'Breastfeeding, fertility and population growth' in UN Report on breastfeeding http://www.unsystem.org/scn/archives/npp11/ch08.htm#CHAPTER%204%20Breastfeeding,%20Fe rtility%20and%20Population%20Growth [accessed 13 July 2016]
23. Taylor, J. E. 2014. "'Two by two' The Ark-etypical language of Mark's Apostolic Pairings", in The Body in Biblical, Christian and Jewish texts, ed. by J. E. Taylor, Library of Second Temple Studies 85, London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark 58-82.
24. Witherington, B. 1984. Women in the Ministry of Jesus, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

View morearrow_downward

FAQs

AI

What age range is suggested for Jesus and his disciples during his ministry?add

The dissertation suggests Jesus was approximately 30 years old during his ministry, while disciples were likely teenagers, with Peter and Matthew possibly aged 20-25.

How does the portrayal of disciples in art compare to historical evidence?add

Artistic representations, such as Da Vinci's 'Last Supper', lack direct historical accuracy. The study finds historical evidence points to younger ages for most disciples than typically depicted.

What methodology was used to assess the ages of Jesus' disciples?add

The research integrates biblical texts with circumstantial evidence, aligning descriptions of 'young men' within the cultural context of first-century Palestine.

What implications does the age of the disciples have for understanding their roles?add

Younger ages imply a dynamic teacher-student relationship with Jesus, contrasting traditional expectations of mature followers, thus influencing interpretations of discipleship in early Christianity.

How do social customs influence the dating of disciples' ages?add

Historical marriage customs suggest men frequently married in their late twenties, supporting the argument that most disciples were likely younger and unmarried when called by Jesus.

Related papers

They Had Followed Him from Galilee: The Female DisciplesCBE International (Publisher)

Priscilla Papers, 2014

Author: Angela Ravin-Anderson Publisher: CBE International A popular question has been posed for a while now in contemporary American society: “What would Jesus do?” The theology behind the question suggests that, perhaps, in the absence of explicit teaching, or as further explanation thereof, if one were to discern how Jesus reacts or handles a situation, because of the utter consistency of Jesus’s character and mission, one might find instruction for how to do likewise in one’s own life. It is based on the simple call and invitation that Jesus gives to his disciples: “Follow me” (e.g., Matt 4:19; Mark 2:14; Luke 9:59; John 1:43). Jesus proclaims good news: the kingdom of God is at hand. And, with that, a new world order is established. Those who follow him are called to demonstrate and embody the values, tenets, and principles of the kingdom. His followers often represent those who, transformed by the healing and restorative ministry of Jesus, then choose to commit their own lives to faithful service of Jesus Christ. These followers are also known as disciples. They not only learn the teachings of Jesus, but also fully embrace his teachings by applying them in their daily walk.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightRethinking the Age of Jesus at His Death: A Reassessment of Biblical, Patristic, and Historical EvidenceLuke J . Wilson

2025

The traditional claim that Jesus died at the age of thirty-three after a three-year public ministry has been widely accepted in both scholarly and ecclesial circles. However, this study revisits that assumption by analysing biblical texts, early patristic writings, historical records, and astronomical data. Particular attention is paid to the testimony of Irenaeus of Lyons and John Chrysostom, the chronology of Roman prefects and high priests, and the timing of Passover. The evidence increasingly supports the view that Jesus may have been closer to forty years old at the time of His crucifixion, having conducted a significantly longer public ministry than commonly assumed.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightThe First Disciples of Jesus in GalileeSantiago Guijarro

2007

Early Christian writings provide little information about the Jesus movement in Galilee, but the study of the pre-Synoptic, and especially the pre-Markan collections, can shed some light on this important period of the beginnings of Christianity. This essay starts by reconstructing the pre-Markan collection of Galilean controversies (Mk 2:1-3:6) and argues that its composition could have taken place in Galilee. These controversies reflect a process of construction of group identity whose main traits can be identified with the aid of social identity and cultural memory studies. This process can also be placed in the historical context of the emergence of sectarian groups within Second Temple Judaism. The contention of this enquiry is that the pre-Markan collection of the Galilean controversies can provide valuable information about the first disciples of Jesus in Galilee.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightDiscipleship in the New TestamentAayush Pradhan

2024

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightDiscipleship in the Gospel of MatthewCharles N OnwuamadownloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightReview: Texts, Practices, and Groups: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the History of Jesus’ Followers in the First Two CenturiesMauro Pesce

2018

Adriana Destro and Mauro Pesce, eds., Texts, Practices, and Groups: Multidisciplinary Approaches to the History of Jesus’ Followers in the First Two Centuries (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2017). Print, 918 pp. €131.37, ISBN: 9782503569017.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightDISCIPLESHIP IN LUKE 19:28-40: A CHALLENGE TO CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANSChristopher Naseri

Other than presenting Jesus as the expected Messiah Luke uses his account of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to define the role of a disciple among his contemporaries as one on whom lays the responsibility of bearing testimony to what Jesus represents amidst rebuff, opposition and hostility. This work therefore examines the role Luke assigns to the disciples at the event of Jesus’ formal visit to Jerusalem and how this challenges his present-day Christian reader. This is done in the context of the general Lukan concept of discipleship.

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightDiscipleship in the Context of Judaism in Jesus' Time -Part IIErvin Budiselić

Kairos - Evangelical Journal of Theology, 2020

The usage of the terms "disciple" and "discipleship" are very common among Evangelical Christians and the meanings of these terms seem self-evident. However, although these circles adopted such language, it was already present in the Jewish culture of Jesus' time. The purpose and the goal of this article is to analyze the concept of discipleship in its original context and see how much the meaning of this term is removed from the meaning that this term has today. This topic we will address in two parts. In the first part, we studied the Old Testament (OT) roots of discipleship and the Jewish educational system in Jesus' time and analyzed whether Jesus himself, and in what measure, passed through that Jewish educational system and how and in what ways he used this model in the discipleship process of his disciples. In this part of the article, we will address the practice of discipleship in the first Church, and after that offer some guidelines on how to apply Jesus' concept of discipleship in the Church today. The key focus of this article is the problematic of applying principles of disci-pleship that were present in the context of Jewish culture, on the Church today , since our analysis reveals that understanding of discipleship today does not correspond entirely to the understanding of that concept in Jesus' time. Although discipleship then and now contained passing on information, it was

downloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_right"Parents Just Don't Understand: Ambiguity in Stories about the Childhood of Jesus." Harvard Theological Review 109 (January 2016): 33 - 55Chris FrilingosdownloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightInviting and initiating youth into a life of discipleshipMalan NeldownloadDownload free PDFView PDFchevron_rightkeyboard_arrow_downView more papers

Related topics

Historical JesusaddFollow

• Explore
• Papers
• Topics

• Features
• Mentions
• Analytics
• PDF Packages
• Advanced Search
• Search Alerts

• Journals
• Academia.edu Journals
• My submissions
• Reviewer Hub
• Why publish with us
• Testimonials

• Company
• About
• Careers
• Press
• Help Center
• Terms
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Content Policy

580 California St., Suite 400San Francisco, CA, 94104© 2026 Academia. All rights reserved