Interesting read! I wonder, would a tax collector have such a role at/in their early twenties? Also, Mattehw was a well educated man. I’ve always thought of John as being maybe fifteen, maybe even as young as thirteen while the Lord walked among them. His young age would have been an asset since the ‘adults’ arrayed against Jesus would have considered him too young to be a threat to their plotting.
I tend to agree with the take of the cary’s. They figure, as I do, that while most were in the mid teens, and maybe even as young as 13, Peter and Matthew were probably at a minimum 20.
It wasn’t unheard of for a 20 year old well educated Jew to have a position of important as a tax collector. Since most Jews would have stayed away from it because they would then be ostracized by the whole community,
But throughout history young men often times give up their respect for good money.
As far as the Jews were concerned, a Jewish tax collector was no better than a modern day drug dealer.