Two things before I dive in with Titus. First, this is issue number 100. And some of you have been reading these letters from the beginning! You must be crazy! Does anyone remember Zechariah 9-14: Does It Make Any Sense?, published May 2014? One hundred learning letters in the field of biblical studies, and I don’t feel anywhere near being done or running out of subjects (I must be crazy too). So, let’s keep learning!
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Second, after writing on the meaning of the word holy last month, I ran into this quote by Frederick Buechner (1993: 45):
Only God is holy, just as only people are human. God’s holiness is his Godness. To speak of anything else as holy is to say that it has something of God’s mark upon it.
That says it so well. I needed about 1800 words to say something close to this, but Buechner needed only 34…
A Mandate
Anyway, Titus. Obviously, it is a letter. A short one, especially for Paul, and at first sight not particularly well-structured. One may also come away thinking that Paul’s tone is a bit terse. There is not even a prayer of thanksgiving.
But in fact, the letter is exceptionally well-crafted; more on this in a moment. And as for the tone, Paul knew he could count on Titus. There was no need to first win him over and establish goodwill, something Paul did have to do with churches that did not know him (for instance, Romans) or that had a conflict with him (as in the Corinthian correspondence).
In addition, Paul’s terseness fits the specific type of letter this is.
Paul is not telling Titus much that is new. Titus knew that he had remained on Crete to appoint elders – “as I directed you” (Tit. 1:5). Paul does provide clear guidelines. Most of these were probably not new to Titus either, but to have them in writing may well have been useful. And it clearly establishes the mandate of Titus for his mission. In other words, it provides him with authorisation.
There is even a technical term for such a letter: mandatum principiis (Witherington 2006: 90). Notice that this term includes the words mandate and principles. It is the kind of letter a ruler or official might write for his agent (for, more than to): a representative, governor etc., defining his task or mission, and perhaps adding more detailed instruction, principles and guidelines, and words of advice and encouragement.
By defining the type of literature this way, we are also answering the question why Paul wrote this letter. Paul’s purpose is not to inform Titus but to strengthen and empower him for his task.
How did Paul structure this mandate?
Interchange
When we observe carefully, we notice quite a few contrasts. There are good people and troublesome, even worthless people. There is good and desirable behaviour that is to be promoted and there is bad and harmful behaviour that is to be discouraged and put on hold. Paul goes back and forth between these categories. This is called interchange, and interchange is really what makes the structure and organization of Titus.
Interchange is especially visible in this way: Paul goes back and forth between directives (what Titus is to do and how people in the church are to behave) and reasons for his directives, or in other words, the ‘why’ of what Titus is to do. This interchange runs through the whole body of the letter:
1:1-4 1:5-9
1:10-16 2:1-10
2:11-14 2:15-3:2
3:3-7 3:8-11
The column on the left gives the reasons for the directives in the verses listed in the right-hand column. The first explicit reason why Titus is to do what he is to do is the character and culture of his audience, 1:10-16. The other reasons given, in 2:11-14 and 3:3-7, are theological. These passages contain doctrine or teaching. The reason is who God is and what God has done.
The opening of the letter fits into the category of theological foundation as well. It also contains doctrine, truth about God, and as such, even if implicitly, is part of the reason why Titus (and Paul!) do what they do.
This makes for small units, smaller than I would normally like, since most of them are only one paragraph. I would prefer units that are more the size of a chapter and include several paragraphs. But by all appearances, this is the structure that Paul has given to his letter.
What do the doctrinal passages teach us?
The Theological Foundation
Each of the three theological paragraphs establishes a strong link between what we believe and how we live, between our faith and practice.
Each of these passages includes an explicit reference to our hope, which includes eternal life (Tit. 1:2, 3:7) and the second coming (Christ’s “appearing” in Tit. 2:13).
The first passage, Titus 1:1-3, puts the focus on God and spans an arc from eternity past to eternity future (in verse 2).
The second passage, Titus 2:11-14, puts the focus on Jesus and the salvation he accomplished, which is very much meant to lead to a radical change in lifestyle, now characterized by godliness, self-control, and good works, all key terms in this letter.
The third passage, Titus 3:3-7, adds to this the Holy Spirit and thus explicitly refers to each person of the Trinity. Paul also points out that in the past, Titus and Paul themselves were at least as bad as the Cretans. But God had saved them. They were both changed.
If God could do it with them, he could save the Cretans as well. Which takes us to another key term in the letter: saviour.
Saviour
In and around the three doctrinal passages, Paul speaks of the saviour. Surprisingly, it is a rare word in Paul’s letters; he only uses it 12 times. 10 of these are in the pastorals and six in Titus – half of the total. There are two occurrences for each doctrinal passage, and the pattern is as follows:
Titus 1:3 “God our Saviour”
Titus 1:4 “Christ Jesus our Saviour”
Titus 2:10 “God our Saviour”
Titus 2:13 “our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ”
Titus 3:4 “God our Saviour”
Titus 3:6 “Jesus Christ our Saviour”
The pattern is clear: interchange yet again!
According to the OT, there is only one saviour: “I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no saviour” (Is. 43:11). And yet, Jesus is as much our saviour as God is. The two are one.
There is much more that could be said about Titus. I did not mention anything about Crete or the specific circumstances Titus is facing. Neither did I address other unusual vocabulary or the pastoral letters as a special group.
There is really one point I wanted to make: this letter is well-crafted. Therefore, Titus is worth careful and attentive reading; don’t overlook it!
Attribution
Tookapic, 2014 <https://pixabay.com/photos/light-paint-night-light-experiment-933160/> CC0
Geralt, 2017 <https://pixabay.com/illustrations/arrow-signpost-waypoint-direction-2085195/> CC0
RoAll, 2017 <https://pixabay.com/photos/jesus-christ-saviour-jesus-christ-2437571/> CC0
References
Unless indicated differently, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Buechner, Frederick. 1993. Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC, revised and expanded ed. (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco)
Witherington, Ben. 2006. Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic)
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