Titus 3:12
- Although the Bible is a “religious scripture”, it is still very personal and the personal greetings and thoughts of the various Bible individuals shine through.
- Titus was never intended to stay in Crete forever, but had an apostolic function; to found and organize the church and then move on to the next place (Titus 1:5). It is quite possible that it is Artemas and Tychicus who will succeed Titus as the leader of the church.
- Artemas is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, but Tychicus is mentioned in 2 Tim 4:12, Eph 6:21 and Col 4:7, where we see, among other things, that Paul sent him to various churches to do some kind of church work.
Titus 3:13
- It was important for Paul that the church learn to care for its leaders and workers (1 Tim 5:18).
- Apollos was probably one of John the Baptist’s disciples who became a passionate preacher who taught about Jesus (Acts 18:24-28).
Titus 3:14
- God wants all Christians to “bear fruit”, i.e. that the faith in Jesus in one’s heart does not stay in the heart but shows itself in good deeds that become a blessing for other people.
- Doing “good deeds” and helping those in need is something that Paul says needs to be “learned”. For some it comes naturally, but for most of us it requires effort and learning to do what is good.
- There seems to have been a danger that Titus might have thought that he himself would see to it that these workers were fed and housed etc., but Paul instructs Titus that this is the responsibility of the whole church. Paul wants more people than just Titus to have the opportunity to share in the blessing of helping a fellow human being.