"Jesus The Youth Pastor: Redeeming Our View Of Young People"

Matthew 17:24-27

By Drew Zuverink

"After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, 'Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?' 'Yes, he does,' he replied. When Peter came into the house Jesus was the first to speak. 'What do you think Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect taxes - from their own children or from others?' 'From others,' Peter answered. 'Then the children are exempt,' Jesus said to him. 'But so we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.'" Matthew 17:24-27.

Ask a hundred adults to describe today's youth, and you will hear these five traits mentioned again and again:

• Entitled

• Addicted to screens

• Overly sensitive / "soft"

• Lazy

• Immature

I can attest to this because I recently attended a conference where I witnessed it firsthand. Interestingly, there were teenagers at the event, and they weren’t at all surprised by what was happening. Believe me, young people are very aware of how culture perceives them, and to their credit, they also understand that there's some truth to it. However, our view of young people is in desperate need of redemption. If only there were some sort of timeless, all-knowing manual that explained how God views young people... oh, wait! But before we open the Bible, let's be modern Americans and turn to television for guidance first.

Like many of you, I love The Chosen TV show. My favorite part about it is its accurate portrayal of ancient culture. They don't depict Jesus as white and Mary isn't repping Air Jordans. However, for whatever reason, they depict Jesus' disciples as much older than they probably were. This raises a few questions. Why did they choose to cast actors in their 30's? Was this a decision based off of accuracy or were they influenced by our culture's negative view of young people? Did they think depicting the disciples as teenagers would turn some viewers away? Is it too unbelievable to imagine God using twelve young people to change the world? Maybe that is hard to believe, but is it true?

Was Jesus an Ancient Youth Pastor?

Most scholars believe the disciples were somewhere between the ages of 13 and their early 20's. There are many good reasons to believe this, such as the fact that Jewish boys began following a rabbi in their mid-teens, and Jesus often refers to them as "little children." Perhaps a stronger piece of evidence is found in Matthew 17:24-27. Only Peter and Jesus pay the temple tax, which was required for males over the age of 20 (Exodus 30:13-14). This implies that the other disciples were younger than 20 years of age. This could also explain why Peter seems like the leader and is often the most vocal. It's worth asking then, if Jesus' closest friends were teenagers and very young adults, and if he trusted them enough to hand them the mission of spreading the gospel, how does that make you feel? How does it make you feel to know that it was because of the faithfulness of those young people that you now know God? Also, how should that impact your view of what young people are capable of today?

It's absolutely true that a lot of young people tend to be immature in many different ways (we've all been there! Shout out to those undeveloped brains out there). But is it possible that we aren't expecting enough out of our young people? Is it possible that we aren't asking enough from them? Is it then possible that young people start to view themselves as incapable? This would be terribly sad because that's not how God views them. God understands that young people are sometimes lazy, addicted to their screens, and immature, but he also knows that, with his help, they're capable of so much more than that. He also understands that young people have some amazing characteristics that he can use for his glory. Perhaps he even chose young disciples because they were less stuck in their ways and more willing to change and try new things. Sure, the disciples were often immature, and Jesus uses those as teaching moments, but they were also willing to follow him out of their comfort zones - which is where God's work is usually done. Perhaps today's young people could lead us out of our comfort zones so that God can use us as well.

So if you're a teenage Christian, understand that God expects things from you. For starters, he expects you to pursue spiritual growth. You don't get to blame spiritual complacency on being young any more than an old person gets to blame their character flaws on being old. But also, God sees your potential for his kingdom. He knows what you're capable of when you are connected to Jesus Christ. Will you step out in faith and allow God to use imperfect little ol' you?