Let not a presbyter be ordained before he is thirty years of age, even though he be in all respects a worthy man, but let him be made to wait. For our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized and began to teach in his thirtieth year.
Scripture does not give a specific age for elders to be recognized. Those around within the Christian community should be able to discern who has sufficient wisdom and experience to be heeded. Had I a voice into this council, my plea would have been to make the minimum age higher. Elders are by definition older than those they lead. I realize there are small groups of "20-somethings" meeting together for worship and mutual edification trying to be led by someone not much older than they. Regardless of his Bible knowledge, he simply does not have the life experience of faithful application of scripture. Take this advice from one who in his mid-20s knew everything and over the next three decades discovered he didn't.
Why did this council pick 30? More than one thing is acting on the decision. First is the reason given: Jesus began his ministry about age 30. That is insufficient reason for ordination in and of itself. Behind this mention of Jesus' age is God's wisdom in timing. The Levites were not allowed to begin service in the tabernacle until age 30 (Numbers 4). For the Lord Jesus to be, in the eyes of the people, a viable rabbi and minister in all things pertaining to God, he needed to meet this basic qualification.
Second is the desire to maintain the formal hierarchical structure that had been implemented some time before. Elders were considered junior overseers. With enough time and preparation, a future promotion came as reward. Some delineation of age and experience requirement needed to be established in order to make a separation from the common people. This Levitical age requirement suffices.
Third, or possibly as an extension of the first two, was the shift toward the Law as a basis for church life. As one follows church history, the rites of the declining Jerusalem church with its distinct Jewish culture were taken up by the Gentile churches. Gradually, the types, pictures, and shadows of the Moses were solidified within the Church. Grace gave way to Law so that the outward expression became the goal rather than the outflow of individual and corporate life.
Scripture does not give a specific age for elders to be recognized. Those around within the Christian community should be able to discern who has sufficient wisdom and experience to be heeded. Had I a voice into this council, my plea would have been to make the minimum age higher. Elders are by definition older than those they lead. I realize there are small groups of "20-somethings" meeting together for worship and mutual edification trying to be led by someone not much older than they. Regardless of his Bible knowledge, he simply does not have the life experience of faithful application of scripture. Take this advice from one who in his mid-20s knew everything and over the next three decades discovered he didn't.
Why did this council pick 30? More than one thing is acting on the decision. First is the reason given: Jesus began his ministry about age 30. That is insufficient reason for ordination in and of itself. Behind this mention of Jesus' age is God's wisdom in timing. The Levites were not allowed to begin service in the tabernacle until age 30 (Numbers 4). For the Lord Jesus to be, in the eyes of the people, a viable rabbi and minister in all things pertaining to God, he needed to meet this basic qualification.
Second is the desire to maintain the formal hierarchical structure that had been implemented some time before. Elders were considered junior overseers. With enough time and preparation, a future promotion came as reward. Some delineation of age and experience requirement needed to be established in order to make a separation from the common people. This Levitical age requirement suffices.
Third, or possibly as an extension of the first two, was the shift toward the Law as a basis for church life. As one follows church history, the rites of the declining Jerusalem church with its distinct Jewish culture were taken up by the Gentile churches. Gradually, the types, pictures, and shadows of the Moses were solidified within the Church. Grace gave way to Law so that the outward expression became the goal rather than the outflow of individual and corporate life.
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