Book of Titus Context Notes

    Before any further study into the actual book of Titus should really be done, I decided it might be wise to write a few words concerning the actual context and setting of the letter of Titus, Crete, and exactly what happened to be going on at the time. 

    In this letter, Paul is writing to his helper, and who he describes as "his true child in the faith." Titus is some manner of pupil or servant under Paul in the work of ministry, and specifically, he was assigned to Crete to help strengthen and put into order the churches there. 

   A good deal is vague and uncertain about Paul's actual journeys to Crete. We are not told by the book of Acts that Paul actually went to Crete at any point to evangelize, or that he went at all to Crete before he was traveling on his last, fateful journey to Rome, to appeal before Caesar, the Roman Emperor Nero. Paul began that journey by leaving Judea by ship, and sailed under the island of Crete as they passed it by en route to Rome. We are told in Acts 27:7-9 that Paul did spend much time in a Crete city named Lasea, but beyond that, we know little. After leaving that city, they sailed and did not stop again until they reached Malta, an island just south of Sicily. (http://www.bible.ca/maps/maps-pauls-rome-journey.jpg)

   Little is said also about Lasea. We can guess that Paul was allowed to largely go as he pleased in Lasea while the ship harbored there, as Acts 27:3 indicates that the centurion in charge of Paul was gracious to him, and allowed him a great deal of freedom in the situation. So it is extremely likely that Paul did witness in Lasea during his stay there. Beyond that, little is known.

    Titus himself is a rather difficult figure to place in the New Testament. He is not mentioned at all in the book of Acts, but is mentioned several times in 2nd Corinthians with great affection. He is referred to as "brother" once by Paul (2nd Cor. 2:13). In Galatians, Paul states that Titus was one of the few who accompanied him to Jerusalem after being in Syria for fourteen years (Gal. 2:1-3), so we know Titus was not Jewish, or originally from Crete. In fact it is stated that he is a Greek, maybe originally from Damascus or some of the outlying regions of Syria. All speculation, however. 

   Regardless, we only know for sure that Paul sent Titus at least once to Corinth for the collection of the persecuted in Jerusalem (2nd Cor 7-8), and eventually at one point, sent him as far as Dalmatia (Yugoslavia). But at this point in time, we can obviously assume that for now, Titus is stationed on Crete to organize the growing church of Christ Jesus. 

  Crete itself is an large island to the south of Greece, an island that had a bad reputation for being somewhat immoral and violent during this time in history. While Cretans were apparently present at the Pentecost (Acts 2:11), little else is said of them in the New Testament. It is probable the Gospel had already reached Crete before Paul even came, as a result. 

    

    Very interestingly, Paul actually quotes a Cretan poet and writer, Epimenides, in Titus 1:12, the infamous passage, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." (For more information see here: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epimenides) 

   As such, Cretans had a bad, and somewhat laughable, reputation as thieves, liars, and lazy folk. Not that it isn't true that most of the Roman empire in general was in high moral decay everywhere, but a great deal of cultural snubbing was done to the inhabitants of this island. It was into this that the Gospel was proclaimed, and once it began to grow to a large extent, to prevent chaos, Titus was dispatched to organize order, justice, truth, sound doctrine, and wise practice. For the glory of God. 

Also a helpful site for more information on Crete itself: http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/C/CRETE/

God bless,

~Alex

Phil. 4:13