# How old were the Disciples (of Jesus)?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-the-disciples-of-jesus/352015>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 10, 2006, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-the-disciples-of-jesus/352015 "2006-04-10T00:43:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2006, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-old-were-the-disciples-of-jesus/352015/21 "2006-04-12T13:38:12Z")

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> [@sugrnspce](#):
>
> Looking in the books of the bible relating to the conception of Jesus, we know that John was born to Elizabeth while Mary was yet still pregnant with Jesus. I believe she had just been visited by the angel Gabriel.
> 
> Jesus was 33 years old when he was crucified.
> 
> It stands to reason that John was 33 or 34 at the time.
> 
> For reference see the gospels (Matthew Mark Luke John)

Except that that’s about equivalent to confusing George Washington and King George III in a book about the American Revolution. Jesus’s cousin was John **the Baptist** , who was executed by one of the Herods about the time that Jesus began his actual ministry. The John who is probably “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and the author or source of the Fourth Gospel is John son of Zebedee, brother of James the Greater, and a completely different individual.

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