Titus — Introduction

Titus was a Gentile (Galatians 2:3), introduced to Jesus Christ by the apostle Paul.

His name is mentioned 12 times in the New Testament, all in Paul’s writings (never in Acts).

Paul’s letter to Titus was probably written at about the same time as his first letter to Timothy, and certainly before his second letter to Timothy.

Titus was appointed to undertake tasks requiring a great degree of responsibility and tact …:

1. He accompanied Paul as as the Gentile representative to the great Council at Jerusalem, when Paul had been sent to defend Gentile liberty from circumcision and the Law (Galatians 2:1-3).

2. He was sent by Paul to deal with serious irregularities in the church at Corinth, and particularly with their delinquency as stewards of the material wealth God had entrusted to them (2 Corinthians 8:6, 16 and 7:15).

3. He was commissioned to “set in order” the things that were wanting among the believers on the island of Crete (whose inhabitants were widely known for their moral irresponsibility), and to “ordain elders in every city” whose moral and spiritual standards were compatible with Christian leadership (Titus 1:12-13). — Stam, page 231

It is not clear what Paul is referring to in 2 Timothy 4:10 — did Titus desert the apostle, or was he simply off ministering somewhere, or both?

The resources I am using for this study are:

Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles of Paul the Apostle, by Cornelius R. Stam (1983) Berean Bible Society, Germantown, Wisconsin

1 Timothy, by W.E. Vine, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee

Complete Bible Commentary, by George Williams

The Pastoral Epistles in the Greek New Testament for the English Reader, by Kenneth S. Wuest (1952) Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan.

King James Bible Commentary (1983) Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee