Titus had been “left behind” in Crete (Titus 1:5) – this might seem to indicate that Paul had been to Crete and left Titus in charge there when Paul departed. Actually, though, it probably refers to Paul sending Titus to Crete (possibly from Corinth) while Paul and the rest of the mission team took the offering from the churches of Greece and Macedonia on to Jerusalem to help those suffering from the famine there. It is likely that this letter was then sent to Crete from Miletus, the port of Ephesus, when Paul and his companions stopped there. Miletus to Crete would be a short, direct route for a sailing ship carrying the letter. Moreover, there are several significant parallels between the letter to Titus and Paul’s address to the Ephesian elders gathered to meet him at Miletus.

These include admonitions to leaders regarding the seriousness of their ministry as overseers of the flock (Acts 20:28, Titus 1:5-9), warnings against those who would attack the flock by distorting the truth (Acts 20:29-30, Titus 1:10-12), and stress on the importance of honest work (Acts 20:34, Titus 2:7, 3:8, 3:14). If Paul was mulling over these topics in preparation for his speech to the Ephesian elders, we would not be surprised to see that these topics were on his mind as he wrote to Titus. Titus’s assigned time in Crete was to be fairly short, just until Artemas or Tychicus was sent to replace him; this would be within about six months, as Paul was planning to spend that winter in Nicopolis on the west coast of Greece, and invited Titus to meet him there (Titus 3:12).

So within a period of about half a year, Titus needed to appoint elders in the various communities where small congregations had been formed (1:5); provide instructions for older men (2:2) and younger men (2:6), older women (2:3) and younger women (2:4-5); and teach sound doctrine (2:1) and holy living (2:12-14).

This sound doctrine shows a lot of detailed theological understanding. It includes the frequent juxtaposition of the phrase “God our Savior” with the phrase “Jesus our Savior” (1:3, 4; 2:9, 13; 3:4, 6), pointing us toward Paul’s recognition of the divinity of Jesus our Savior. It also includes yet another proto-trinitarian expression from Paul: the mercy of God our Savior, the renewal by the Holy Spirit, poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ (3:4-6). We also find a strong statement of God’s universal salvific will: “the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all” (2:11), and a clear declaration of the saving death of Jesus: “He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity” (2:14).

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O God our Savior! May our minds be open to sound doctrine, and may our lives show forth good works that demonstrate your transforming grace to cleanse us from all iniquity. Teach us to declare your gospel, eagerly and vibrantly, in the confidence of your salvific love for all the world. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Amen.