Read with Me
Titus 3:12-15 (HCSB)
When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey, so that they will lack nothing.
And our people must also learn to devote themselves to good works for cases of urgent need, so that they will not be unfruitful. All those who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.
Listen with Me
As was usual in Paul’s letters, he closed with a few final instructions and passed on a few greetings. Paul had decided to spend the winter in Nicopolis on the west coast of Greece/Achaia. This was close enough to Crete for Titus to come and join him for a few weeks. But Paul would not leave the Church in Crete without strong leadership. He would send either Tychicus, a faithful co-worker who is often mentioned in Paul’s letters, or Artemas, who is only mentioned here. As soon as his relief arrived, Titus was to join Paul.
Next Paul encouraged Titus to support the unit of the ministry of Zenas the lawyer and of Apollos in any way possible. They, too, were faithful ministers of the gospel and, like most if not all the evangelists, were dependent on the support of others to supply their needs on the mission field.
As a part of that plea for support, Paul notes that all in the Church should be diligent and self-supporting. This would also enable them to give generously to support the work of growing God’s kingdom in places that they themselves were unable to go.
Paul ends this letter with a short sentence passing on greetings from everyone who is with him at the time. He adds to this his own personal greeting, and a prayer for God’s grace to be poured out on all.
Pray with Me
Father, one thing that really strikes me about these closing paragraphs is how closely-knit the Christian community was in those early days. Some might claim that it was so closely-knit because it was so small. It was likely tens or hundreds of thousands of people by that time, and it was very far-flung. But it had not yet divided itself into denominations and sects. The leaders in the Church were the leaders of everyone in the Church. Missionaries, though usually sent from a single congregation where they were serving at the time the call came, were seen as missionaries of the whole Church, and thus worthy of the support and encouragement of all Christians, especially when they were in the area. Lord, the numbers of Your people are larger now, in the billions, and we are spread over the whole globe. But even in local communities there is a painful disunity among those who call on Your name that blunts our effectiveness. Lord, Jesus prayed for unity among Your people, that we would all be one as a witness to the world that Your kingdom is a here-and-now reality (John 17:20-23). Help us to really be unified, not around a creed or a “founder”, but around Jesus and around who He is and what He has done, so that we can be more powerful, more effective in doing the work You have commanded us to do. Amen.