Titus 1:5 - Exposition

Were for are, A.V. ; appoint for ordain, A.V.; gave thee charge for had appointed thee, A.V. Left I thee in Crete. We have no account of St. Paul's visit to Crete, nor do we know how the gospel was first brought to Crete. It may have been by some of those "Cretes" who were at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, and heard the apostles speak in their tongue "the wonderful works of God" ( Acts 2:11 ), or by other Christian Jews visiting the Jewish community in Crete (note to Titus 1:1 ). If St. Paul was returning from Spain, and travelling by ship eastward, Crete would be on his way. The importance of the island, with which he made some acquaintance on his voyage from Caesarea to Rome ( Acts 27:7 , Acts 27:8 ), and the large Jewish colony there, may naturally have inclined him to visit it. How long he remained there we do not know, but he did not stay long enough to organize the Church there completely. There were still things "wanting" ( τὰ λείποντα ) , as it follows. This mention of Crete is an important chronological mark. The order of St. Paul's progress, as gathered from the three pastoral Epistles, is very distinct—Crete, Miletus, Troas, Macedonia, Corinth, Nicopolis, Rome. He dropped Titus at Crete, and left Timothy behind at Ephesus. The Epistle to Titus, therefore, is the first of the three pastoral Epistles, and this is borne out by another circumstance. When he wrote to Titus he had not made up his mind whether he should send Artemas or Tychicus to take his place in Crete when he rejoined the apostle ( Titus 3:12 ). But when he wrote 2 Timothy he had sent Tychicus to Ephesus to replace Timothy ( 2 Timothy 4:12 ), and Titus had already joined him, and been sent on by him to Dalmatia, presumably from Nicopolis. Set in order ( ἐπιδιορθώσῃ ); only here in the New Testament, and not found in the LXX . nor in classical Greek, except as a technical word in the art of rhetoric. But διορθόω is very common in classical Greek ( see ἐπανόρθωσις , 2 Timothy 3:16 ). The force of ἐπί in the compound here is "further," or "in addition." St. Paul had set the Church in order up to a certain point. But there were still certain things wanting, τὰ λείποντα (see Titus 3:13 ; Luke 18:22 ); and these Titus was to supply and give the finishing touch to. Appoint ( καταστήσῃς ) . This is a better rendering than the A.V. "ordain," because it is a general word for "to appoint, make." Probably the A.V. "ordain" was not intended to be taken in a strictly technical sense, but is used as in Hebrews 5:1 ; Hebrews 8:3 . The technical word was usually "to order." "The Ordering of Deacons," or "of Priests," is the title of the service in the Book of Common Prayer. "Meet to be ordered," "shall surcease from ordering," occur repeatedly in the rubrics, Elders ( πρεσβυτέρους ); i.e. presbyters, or priests (comp. Acts 14:23 ; and see Acts 11:30 , note). In every city ( κατὰ πόλιν ); city by city. The phrase has a peculiar significance in Crete, which used to be famous for its hundred cities. It shows, too, that Christianity was widely spread among the cities of the island. The germ of the episcopal office, one bishop and many presbyters, is here very conspicuous.