Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible · Titus Kabanata 1

Titus 1:1. Paul, a servant of God,— This is the only epistle of St. Paul, wherein he begins with calling himself a servant, or slave, devoted for ever to the service of God. According to the flesh, would be rendered more properly, for the faith; that is to say, for promoting the faith of Christians; who, under the Messiah, are the elect people of God, as the Jews were under the Mosaic dispensation. Dr. Heylin well expresses the meaning of the passage,—To preach the faith of God's elect, and make known the truth, as it promotes piety.

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Titus 1:2. Before the world began— Προ χρονων αιωνιων, before the secular ages; or before the giving of the law of Moses. God had promised the gospel, in an obscure manner, to the patriarchs before Abraham; but to him it was promised more explicitly. Now that promise to Abraham, was before the secular times—the jubilees under the law, and, consequently, before the distinction of the world into Jews and Gentiles. But what the God, who cannot lie or break his word, had promised so long before to Abraham, the law of Moses, which intervened, could not disannul. See Romans 16:25.Galatians 3:17; Galatians 3:17.

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Titus 1:3. In due times— In his own proper times. See 1 Timothy 2:6. Galatians 4:4.Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 2:7. In this the apostle might probably allude to the prophesies, and particularly to the celebrated prophesy of Daniel concerning the seventy weeks; Daniel 9:24. Instead of commandment, some read appointment. Dr. Benson upon the 4th verse, observing that the words mercy and the Lord are omitted in some manuscripts, makes this remark, which deserves much attention: "It is not very material," says he, "as to the sense, whether these words be left out or retained; and indeed, I have found this observation to hold good concerning most of the various readings: that is, it is of little or no moment, as to the sense and connection, whether you receive or reject them."

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Titus 1:5.— Before he proceeds to the principal design of this epistle, the apostle briefly reminds Titus of his leaving him in Crete, to settle the churches which he had planted there, and to ordain elders in every city, to be bishops over the several churches. After this he describes the characters of such as he was to ordain; namely, that they should be men of integrity, and of an unspotted reputation; and particularly such as understood the liberty of the Gentile Christians; and that would oppose the Judaizers; who were bad men, and very industrious in making proselytes, Titus 1:5-16. It is well known that the word πολις, rendered city, frequently signifies a country town only, and sometimes a village. Crete had formerly been famous for having a hundred cities; but Pliny, who wrote not long after the sending of this epistle to Titus, found only forty cities there, and the bare memory of sixty more; and most of these forty called cities, were little better than villages. Strabo says, that Crete had many cities, but only three of any great note.

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Titus 1:6. Having faithful children— Having believing children. This is mentioned with great propriety; for if a man were not careful to instruct his children in the principles of Christianity, there would be great reason to doubt whether he were heartyinthebeliefof it himself; and if a man had only unbelieving children in his house, that is to say, such as were so obstinate that they could not be brought to embrace Christianity, byany of the arguments which could be laid before them, in that age of miracles, it would be a great discouragement, and in some circumstances a great hindrance to him, from pursuing the duties of a Christian elder, or bishop; and those evils into which such obstinate infidel children might fall, would very probably bring a reproach upon the family, which might in a degree hurt the character of him who presided in it. See 2 Timothy 2:24; 2Ti 2:26 and 1Ti 3:1; 1 Timothy 3:16.

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Titus 1:7. Not self-willed— 'Αυθαδη : pleased with himself, and despising others; supercilious, haughty, insolent,surly. This vice, in our ordinary conversation, is directly opposed to affability or courtesy.

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Titus 1:8. Sober— Prudent, as the word may be rendered. The following word temperate includes all sobriety.

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Titus 1:10. For there are many unruly, &c.— St. Paul had his eye from the beginning of the epistle all along, upon the persons whom he describes in this and the following verses. This close and excellent writer never loses sight of his subject; but he proceeds so gradually to speak plainly, that we may lose sight of it, if we do not attend very carefully. See 1 Timothy 1:6-7.

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Titus 1:12. One of themselves—a prophet of their own— Epimenides, whose words St. Paul here quotes, is said by Diogenes Laertius to have been a great favourite of the gods; but Aristotle says, he never foretold any future event: which is a plain argument, that the word prophet is sometimes used in a very large sense. Indeed, the words poet and prophet were often used promiscuously by the Greeks and Romans; perhaps, because their poets pretended to be inspired, and were by some believed to be so: see Acts 17:28. From this, as well as other places, it appears, that St. Paul had been well read in the Greek poets; probably in his younger days he was brought up in the schools of Tarsus, before he went to Jerusalem, to sit at the feet of Gamaliel: and even after he was an inspired apostle, he did not think that he acted out of character, when, as apostle of the Gentiles, he quoted their poets. Perhaps it might have been, in some points of view, more proper to have translated the Greek verse before us in such a manner, that it might have read as a verse in English:

"False Cretans! savage beasts, with bellies slow." The poet here seems to suggest a remarkable contrast, to shew what a mixture there was of fierceness and luxury in the character of the Cretans. Savage beasts are generallyactive and nimble; but these men, while they had the fury of lions and tygers, indulged themselves so much in the most sordid idleness and intemperance, that they grew all belly as it were, and like to a breed of swine common in the Eastern countries, which were oftenso burdened with fat, that they could hardly move. As for their proneness to falsehood, it is well known, that the word Κρητιζειν, "to talk like a Cretan," was a proverb for lying; as the word Κορινθιαζειν, "to live like a Corinthian," was for a luxurious and debauched life; and it is remarkable, that Polybius scarcely ever mentions the Cretans without some severe censure. Bishop Warburton accounts for the origin of this character of the Cretans in the following manner: "I supposed the view was enlarged, and the Cretans were called liars upon more accounts in St. Paul's time; but the rise of this proverb seems to have been this: while the other Greeks, in their lesser mysteries, concealed the origin of the gods, who were dead mortals raised to divine honour, for public benefits done to their country, or to mankind; the Cretans proclaimed this to all the world, by shewing the tomb of

Jupiter himself, and boasting that 'the father of gods and men' was a native of that country. This so exasperated all Greece against them, that they called them eternal liars. Thus Lucan, lib. 8 and so Callimachus, with a variety of other authors. The reason why they wereso exasperated at the Cretans for publishing this, seems to have been the affront it gave to the worshippers of idols, or the publishing what the politic protectors of the mysteries would have kept secret."

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Titus 1:13. Sharply— 'Αποτομως ;—with a cutting severity. The word is an allusion to a surgeon's cutting away the dead flesh, and that even to the quick. We are to observe, that the apostle speaks here of reproving vice, not error. Timothy is exhorted to rebuke with all long-suffering; 2Ti 4:2 and we may remark, that there is a degree of long-suffering and gentleness, very consistent with all that severity which faithfulness requires: which is not that of boisterous passion, ill-nature, and scurrility, but of meek, though resolute zeal for God, and friendship to the offender; which yet will not be silenced by trifling excuses, nor fail seriously to represent the fatal consequences which may attend the evil reproved.

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Titus 1:15. Unto the pure all things are pure— "I know these Judaizing teachers value themselves highly upon the distinctions of food, which they inculcate as of so great importance to purity: but they are much mistaken. Unto Christians who are pure and upright; all sorts of meat are clean and pure; but unto those who are polluted with vice, and who, though they understand the liberty of Christians, are unfaithful,— απιστοις,— and would impose upon Christians the rituals of the Jewish law;—unto such, I say, nothing is clean and pure; but even their understanding and conscience are defiled, which ought to be their guide and director."

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