Let No One Despise You for Your Youth
Let No One Despise You for Your Youth 1 Timothy 4:12
Whenever I’ve asked young pastors in their twenties and thirties how long have they been in the ministry, they’d say; “I know that I’m young; so was Timothy.” I’ve also listened to conference speakers who were older pastors encouraging younger pastors to “Stay strong! Because Timothy was a young man just like you!”
A church that my wife and I were long-time members of was looking for a youth pastor. The associate pastor’s daughter was good friends with this young man’s fiancé so she asked him if he would want to be a youth pastor in California. He said, “Yes.” This young man came to our church to give his “sales pitch” as to how he was biblically qualified to be a pastor according to Titus and Timothy. He closed his pitch by saying, “Timothy was a young man also!” This complete stranger was hired, basically because, he was a Cornell University graduate.
You may be thinking, “So? What’s the big deal? Almost all churches pick complete strangers to run their churches.”
One problem is that some pastors wrongly use Scripture for personal gain. It is biblically irresponsible to allow and encourage young Christian men to seek church pastoral positions in churches because Timothy was supposedly a young twenty-year-old.
So, just how old was Timothy, and does it really matter? It must matter to those young men who want to be or already are, pastors. They’re the ones reminding people that Timothy was a young man like them.
Before moving further, let me tell you about a typical conversation that I would have with some inmates when I was a correctional officer. At times, the subject of Christianity would come up between an inmate and me. Quite a few of them claimed to be Christians for years even before coming to prison. I would ask them, “If you’re a Christian, why are you in prison?” Their response was, “Christians can go to prison. Look at the Apostles! They went to prison!” I would then say, “So, you’re in prison for the same reasons as the Apostles?”
There was always a long pause after this question. I could see the wheels turning in their heads as they thought to themselves, “Why did the Apostles go to prison?”
After a moment of silence, I’d break into their thoughts and answer the question by saying, “So, you’re in prison for preaching the Gospel?” Without hesitation, they would say, “No! I’m in prison for dealing drugs,” or “No, I’m in here for murder.” Or they would list some other crime.
I would then ask, “How then can you compare yourself with the Apostles?” They would say, “I never thought about it that way. I guess I can’t compare myself to them.”
I’ve had this conversation many times over the years with inmates. Each time was the same reaction, “I never thought about it that way. I guess I can’t compare myself to them.”
How Old Was Timothy?
Young pastors seem to think that comparing themselves to Timothy by his age, validates them to be pastors/elders.
Let’s say that Timothy was 22 years old when Paul told him, “Let no one despise you for your youth.” Paul wrote this in the epistle of 1 Timothy around the years A.D. 62–64. Which would place Timothy’s birth between A.D. 40-42. Timothy teamed up with Paul in A.D. 50 which would have made Timothy 8 or 10 years of age. Therefore, Timothy’s ministry training would have started at around age 9. If that is the case, an 8 to 10-year-old should be able to enter today’s seminary. Deduction: If Timothy’s age of 9 was good enough for the Apostle Paul and others, then that should be good enough for seminaries today.
Since there is no record of Timothy’s birth, we must work backward, starting with the date of his death. Catholic tradition records Timothy’s martyrdom in the city of Ephesus in 97 A.D, being around the age of 80 years old. On a feast day of the goddess Diana, Timothy told the idol worshippers to renounce their vain worship and embrace Christianity. The angry pagans beat him, dragged him through the streets, and stoned him to death.
According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe, Timothy died in Ephesus in 97 A.D. for preaching the Gospel to the pagan worshippers. Foxe also states that Timothy was murdered when he told the crowd of pagans that their idolatrous celebrations were ridiculous.
One account speaks of Timothy’s age. Both accounts agree upon when, how, and where he died, and the reason why Timothy was killed. Based on these records we can safely assume that Timothy was around 80 years old in 97 A.D., placing his birth around 17 A.D.
If 1 Timothy was written around the years A.D. 62–64, Timothy would have been around 45-47 years old when Paul told him, “Let no one despise you for your youth.” That’s a huge 25-year gap from the time Timothy was prepared to begin his ministry compared to the young pastor of today starting in his early twenties!
In the early Greek and Roman cultures, a man in his 40’s was considered young according to the article, “The Greek Concept of the ‘Seven Stages of Life’ and Its New Testament Significance”. Historians believe that the Apostle Paul was born in 5 A.D. That would have made Paul between 57-59 years old when he told Timothy, “Let no one despise you for your youth,” making Paul 10-15 years older than Timothy.
A 10 to 15-year age gap doesn’t sound like much, but consider this: Before adding Timothy to his ministerial team, Paul:
- approved the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58). The result of this was that the church at Antioch developed from persecution (Acts 11:19).
- participated in the persecution of the Jerusalem church (Acts 8:1-4; Acts 9:1-2).
- was confronted by Jesus on the Damascus Road and converted (Acts 9:3-8; 22:5-11; 26:12-18).
- had an attempt on his life by the Jews (Acts 9:23-25; 2Cor. 11:32-33).
- had another attempt on his life by the Hellenistic Jews (Acts 9:29).
- was called by The Holy Spirit with Barnabas to do a special work (Acts 13:2).
- with Barnabas were driven out of Antioch by the Jews after several weeks of ministry (Acts 13:14-50).
- with Barnabas were nearly stoned in Iconium (Acts 13:51−14:5).
- was severely stoned at Lystra (Acts 14:6-20a).
- was persecuted by the Judaizers who tried to discredit his apostleship and pervert the Gospel (Gal. 1:10–15).
- Just to list a few.
Paul’s first 13 years after his conversion was his formative years. After this time, the Apostle Paul started on his first missionary journey, the first of three that the Lord would send him on. Before taking Timothy under his wing, Paul had approximately 15 years of ministry experience and 1,581 miles of travel under his belt! And, this was just in the two years of his first missionary trip! Paul was indeed the senior man of the two.
Comparing Your Ministry Qualifications to “9-year-old” Timothy’s.
Now, let’s look at Timothy’s experience by the time Paul told him, “Let no one despise you for your youth.”
In 51 AD:
- Paul picks Timothy (9 years old?) as a traveling companion because of his good reputation and character with his family, church, and two cities.
- He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium (Acts 16:2). He wasn’t a stranger or newcomer to his church. He had a good reputation known in two cities. The brethren would have known Timothy for quite some time to vouch for his character.
- Paul wanted Timothy (Acts 16:2). Timothy did not choose the ministry; Paul chose it for him.
- Timothy was circumcised upon Paul’s request before they started Paul’s second missionary journey.
- He listened to Paul as he preached the Gospel to Lydia (Acts 16:11-15).
- Timothy witnessed Paul casting out a demon from a woman (Acts 16:16-18).
In 52 AD:
- Paul sent Timothy to the church of Thessalonica to establish and exhort their faith (1 Thess. 3:2-4).
- Timothy was also sent to the Thessalonica church to check on their spiritual welfare (1 Thess. 3:6-7).
In 54 AD:
- Timothy witnessed through Paul’s experiences, that when doing the Lord’s work that there was a good possibility that he would be attacked, have his clothes torn off, be beaten with rods, inflicted by many blows, and even be thrown into prison where his feet would be shackled (Acts 19:22-24).
- Paul taught Timothy and his other disciples daily in the hall of Tyrannus for two years (Acts 19:9-10).
- Paul sent Timothy to the Corinthian church to remind them of Paul’s ways in Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16).
In 62 AD:
- Timothy’s spiritual father and mentor, the Apostle Paul, was put under house arrest for two years (Acts 28:30).
In 63 AD:
- The council of elders laid their hands on Timothy (1 Tim. 4:14).
Not Dated:
- Timothy went to prison with Paul for the Gospel (Hebrews 13:23).
- Timothy traveled extensively with Paul to Berea, Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia, Troas, Neapolis, Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, and Berea.
Timothy had over 12 years of ministry training and experience before Paul told him “Let no one despise you for your youth.” Much of that time was spent with the great Apostle Paul who personally mentored him. Timothy wasn’t given charge of a church after only a few years of classroom training.
Timothy was no stranger to the church in Ephesus. The church had known Timothy for at least nine years as Paul’s traveling companion. The Ephesian church was already established with Elders (Acts 20:17-38) and was being taught by Paul.
The reason Paul said to Timothy, “Let no one despise you for your youth,” was because the church was used to Paul’s authority, teaching, and experience. Having been used to Paul’s leadership, the Christians in the Ephesian church may not have readily accepted Timothy’s authority. The late Evangelical Lutheran German theologian, Heinrich Meyer (1800–1873), comments on this passage,
Paul had to prepare both the Ephesians and Timothy. The Ephesus church most likely felt that Timothy, being in his 40s, might have been too young and inexperienced to be their shepherd.
By this time, Paul had been mentoring his spiritual son for the past 12-14 years and knew that Timothy was ready to officially enter the ministry. He told Timothy, “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing; you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:13-16).
“Timothy was a young man too!”
When some young man is trying to validate his calling to ministry by using the “Timothy was a young man” verse, ask him this: “You’re telling me that when Paul wrote ‘Let no one despise you for your youth,’ you’ve had the same types of experiences at the age of 22 (or 25, or 27…) as Timothy, Paul’s apprentice?” “You’ve been trained and lived with a pastor for over 12 years like Paul discipled Timothy?”(Sadly, today you’re not going to find a pastor mentoring anyone for the ministry). “Have you ever been sent by your church leaders to check up on people’s spiritual welfare?” “Have you been thrown into prison for the Gospel?” In America, including many parts of this world, how could young men of today who aspire to be pastors ever compare themselves to Timothy’s experience? Especially if Timothy would have started at the age of 9.
What about the church leaders or seminary trying to encourage young men who are already in the ministry, to stay strong? How well do these organizations know these men? Have any spent extensive time with them? Do they really know that these men are truly biblically qualified according to Titus 1:5-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-10, and 1 Peter 5:1-4? How well do they know if their character has ever been tested? Paul knew of Timothy’s good reputation and character extensively before he chose Timothy to be his disciple! (Acts 16:3)
Just because a man of any age aspires to the office of overseer doesn’t mean he has the right or should do so. Scripture only states, “it’s a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). Contrary to modern church protocol, choosing church leadership is not based on one’s alma mater, degree(s), career experience, income, intellect, popularity, status in the church or community, personality, their contacts, or how nice or good looking they are.
God’s Word gives us clear direction in identifying those who biblically qualify for present and future church leadership. God’s Word also gives us clear direction and guidance in training up the next generation. It is time to set aside ignorance of God’s Word, and our personal preferences, bias, and feelings to truly focus on how God wants His leadership to be selected and trained.
By Rob & Laura Robbins, April 2020, churchfm316.com
Editing and Proofreading by Laura Robbins