Paul unfolds the assignment of Titus in Crete, the ordering of churches with a non-hierarchical leadership, each one having its own elders. Here are their qualifications, some relating to the preaching of the Word, and some intended also for all believers.
Full-service recording:
Who was Titus? He was a Gentile from Syrian Antioch, and was likely converted during the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. Paul calls him ‘my own son after the common faith’. So in all probability he came to the Lord under the preaching of Paul, and then he became a prototype pastor.
Titus was in Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, a place with (in those days) a very poor reputation. The Apostle Paul himself quotes one of their own poets here to describe them in very unfavourable terms. The place was noted for its dishonesty and its laziness, but the gospel had gone to Crete. We remember back in Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, that there were those from Crete who heard the Word of God. Perhaps some of them were converted even then, and the gospel went back to Crete, but also Paul himself had been there on his missionary journeys.
And it was Paul who sent Titus to Crete. He was one of the first great Gentile pastors of the Bible, yet he’s not mentioned at all in Acts – and there’s a message even there. Luke, when he wrote (under inspiration) the Acts of the Apostles was moved not to mention Titus. Because that’s exactly how Titus would have wanted it. Titus was a discreet worker, a tremendous pastor and preacher, a settler of difficulties, and one who could be trusted. He wasn’t a showman, or anxious to leave a legacy, and wasn’t for himself in any sense. What a prototype pastor, and what an example to the Church of Christ to posterity!
The letter opens with the words ‘Paul, a servant of God.’ In other words, an owned one. Purchased by Christ, a slave, a devoted servant. Do we see ourselves like that? Titus undoubtedly did. At the beginning of every day, we say ‘I am not my own. I am purchased. I am bought by the Lord and glad to be so. I am owned by him. I am 100% at his disposal. I am all for him.’ Is that how we start each day? This lesson is just three words into the epistle – the first of many lessons and challenges for us.