Today, the Church celebrates the feast of two second generation Christians. They were the disciples of an apostle of Jesus. From the history of the Church, we know that God's revelation ended with the death of the last surviving apostle, John. Second generation Christians had never met Jesus, witnessed his miracles and heard his teachings. Therefore, they had not received any extra revelation other than the gospel preached by the apostles. They relied on the proclamation of the apostles: the Twelve, Paul, Barnabas etc. I would like to start with Titus first.
St. Paul wrote Titus a personal letter. This was collected in the New Testament canon. We know of Titus in four of the epistles written by Paul: theSecond Epistle to the Corinthians, Epistle to the Galatians, the Second Epistle to Timothy and of course, the Epistle to Titus himself. For example, we know that Titus was a Greek and remained uncircumcised.
But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek (Galatians 2:3).
We have no record how Titus joined Paul. We only know that Paul treated him like a brother (2 Corinthians 2:13) as well as a partner in the preaching of the gospel.
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker in your service; and as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 8:23).
Titus was different from the other "brethren" who were only messengers. Paul treated him on equal footing. He was so dependable that Paul entrusted him the churches he started. For example,
To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:4-5).
Titus was appointed the bishop of Crete and Cretans were notorious liars.
But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek (Galatians 2:3).
We have no record how Titus joined Paul. We only know that Paul treated him like a brother (2 Corinthians 2:13) as well as a partner in the preaching of the gospel.
As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker in your service; and as for our brethren, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 8:23).
Titus was different from the other "brethren" who were only messengers. Paul treated him on equal footing. He was so dependable that Paul entrusted him the churches he started. For example,
To Titus, my true child in a common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:4-5).
Titus was appointed the bishop of Crete and Cretans were notorious liars.
We know of Timothy in the Acts of the Apostles. Timothy was a half Jew. His father was a Greek.
And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek(Acts 16:1).
It was after the Jerusalem Council which decided that Gentiles needed not be circumcised for the convenience of admitting them into the Church (Acts 15:28-29). This issue was brought up by Paul in his missionary journey earlier on. However, how should the case of Timothy be decided? Timothy was not fully Gentile. Should he be exempted from circumcision? In the end, Paul circumcised Timothy, not just for the convenience of preaching among the Jews, but also fully realized the Jewishness of Timothy.
Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek (Acts 16:3).
We cannot find fault with Paul, accusing him of being hypocritical. After all, hasn't Paul taught that out of charity, we should also refrain from eating meat offered to idols so as not to disturb the conscience of those weak in faith (1 Corinthians 10:23-33). Paul was prudent in circumcising Timothy.
We are able to collect two epistles Paul wrote Timothy. There, we find valuable advice on how to run a church at that time, what criteria a bishop and a deacon should meet etc. Timothy was appointed bishop of Ephesus.
And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek(Acts 16:1).
It was after the Jerusalem Council which decided that Gentiles needed not be circumcised for the convenience of admitting them into the Church (Acts 15:28-29). This issue was brought up by Paul in his missionary journey earlier on. However, how should the case of Timothy be decided? Timothy was not fully Gentile. Should he be exempted from circumcision? In the end, Paul circumcised Timothy, not just for the convenience of preaching among the Jews, but also fully realized the Jewishness of Timothy.
Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek (Acts 16:3).
We cannot find fault with Paul, accusing him of being hypocritical. After all, hasn't Paul taught that out of charity, we should also refrain from eating meat offered to idols so as not to disturb the conscience of those weak in faith (1 Corinthians 10:23-33). Paul was prudent in circumcising Timothy.
We are able to collect two epistles Paul wrote Timothy. There, we find valuable advice on how to run a church at that time, what criteria a bishop and a deacon should meet etc. Timothy was appointed bishop of Ephesus.
Dear Lord, we thank You for choosing among us Timothy and Titus to oversee Your churches. Let us fully exercise our rationality to understand the truth You reveal to us and live accordingly. Amen.
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