AS SOON AS I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
15Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
PAUL’S FINAL REMARKS in verses 12–15 include personal requests (vv. 12–13), a reprise of the latter part of 3:8 (which repeats the emphasis on doing good, v. 14), and finally greetings and a benediction (v. 15). The Pastoral Letters are full of personal instructions, but the closing allows for the kind of specific instructions contained in Ephesians 6:21–22 and Colossians 4:7–9.
In comparing the conclusions of the three Pastoral Letters, Fee sees 1 Timothy and Titus more “all business,” with 2 Timothy “more personal in every way.”1 This is certainly true and reflects the nature of each of these letters. Paul intends to send either Artemas or Tychicus to substitute for Titus (Titus 3:12), whom the apostle wants to meet him at Nicopolis. This was a good place for Paul to go for the winter. It was on the western edge of Greece on the Adriatic Sea, a little over fifty miles south of the present border of Albania and Greece.
Nothing more is known about Artemas, though Tychicus is well known (Acts 20:4; Eph. 6:21; Col. 4:7). Since we know from 2 Timothy 4:12 that Tychicus had gone to Ephesus (and by that time Titus had gone to Dalmatia, 4:10), we can assume that Artemas was the one who continued the necessary work on Crete. At this time Paul was apparently still ministering in Macedonia (1 Tim. 1:3).
In 3:13 Titus is instructed to do all he can to help Zenas and Apollos on their way. There is some difference of opinion as to whether “Zenas the lawyer” was an expert in Jewish law or Roman law. It is unlikely that Paul would have cited him as an expert in the former, and given the importance of Roman law, to be an expert in that field would have been a distinction. Apollos is well known in the New Testament (Acts 18:24–19:1; 1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4–22; 16:12).
Regarding the verb propempo (“to send someone on one’s way”), in ancient times wandering preachers were supported in various ways, frequently begging or in other ways trying to raise money. Paul was determined not to do this, but preferred to work with his own hands to support himself (1 Thess. 2:5–9). Early Christian evangelists depended on those in churches already established to provide for their needs rather than on those to whom they were preaching. When a servant of the Lord went from one place to another, Christians in the location of origin would provide something for their journey. The word propempo originally meant to go partway along with someone as they started out their journey. It later came to signify providing for someone’s needs (without actually starting out with them). This is especially important in 3 John 6, where it shows the contrast between Christian and non-Christian itinerant preachers.2 This meaning of propempo is supported by the words “and see that they have everything they need.”
Verse 14 picks up the latter part of verse 8, repeating the same words in the same order: “to devote themselves to doing what is good.” This means believers not only providing for themselves in order to avoid being a burden to others, but, it may be assumed, also being fruitful in providing for others.
The closing greetings of verse 15 are warm and all-inclusive as both senders and recipients. The simple words “grace be with you all” conclude the letter—one final reminder of the saving grace of God.
EVERYBODY LIKES STORIES about people. Readers Digest discovered this fact many years ago. The popular books in Christian bookstores often are those that are full of illustrations about people. The Gospels contain narratives and parables about people. Thus, one almost has a feeling of relief when, after the heavy instruction in this letter to Titus, Paul also talks about people.
This closing section stirs the imagination. We like to think about the busy apostle preparing for where he will spend the winter. Did he plan to take any time for vacation? We wonder what Zenas the lawyer was like and why he and Apollos were the special objects of Paul’s loving care. It is in this paragraph that we find Paul spelling out what it means to do good, that is, to “provide for daily necessities” (or “urgent needs,” NRSV). We always like to read his greetings to friends (v. 15).
Every instruction about doctrine, every warning about heresy, and every encouragement to holiness and good works is effective only as it is realized in the lives of real people. Surely one of the joys of heaven will be to meet first-century slaves and their masters, medieval peasants and their lords, pilgrims, business people from India, school teachers from the Czech Republic, and computer scientists from Asia—all testifying to the grace of the Lord in their lives. The Christian’s joy in any age is to bring the love of Christ to people.
MOST MISSIONARY LETTERS and magazines today contain vivid pictures or descriptions of the people whom that particular mission or missionary is reaching for Christ. Christian agencies make pictorial appeals to provide Bibles for the Chinese, to send missionaries to the remaining unreached people groups, and to support orphans. All this is good and can be facilitated by contemporary means of production and communication. Charitable organizations, such as those caring for children in deprived areas, must be sure to channel all the money possible from the donations received to those in need.
The conclusion to Titus also reminds us of the people right around us, people like Zenas and Apollos, who need encouragement along the way. It serves as a reminder to make that phone call or send e-mail to brighten someone’s day. All this may sound folksy and trite in a commentary but it was not trite to the great apostle Paul.
1. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 213.
2. See also Acts 15:3; 20:38; 21:5; Rom. 15:24; 1 Cor. 16:6, 11; 2 Cor. 1:16.