5 “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—” (Titus 1:5 (ESV)
Paul visited Crete on his way to Rome (Acts 27:1-8). Later on, the apostle left Titus on the Island of Crete. Why did he do so? The answer Paul gave was so Titus “might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—.”
The phase you might put (ἐπιδιορθώσῃ; epidiorthose) is an aorist, middle, subjunctive verb. It means to set right and to put in order. Titus was to do this action particularly, personally and proactively. Paul then referred to what remained (λείποντα; leiponta). This a present active participle. It refers to what presently falls short of what is necessary. What need was Paul concerned about on Crete?
Titus was to fill the need for elders in every town. This need was not pertaining to civic or municipal elders to govern the cities. Rather, Paul referred to godly elders to govern and lead the churches located in the various cities on the island.
To appoint (καταστήσῃς; katasteses) means to put in charge. Elders (πρεσβυτέρους; presbyterous) was a person of responsibility and authority in matters of socio-religious concerns, both in Jewish and Christian societies.”[1] The Apostle’s statement was not a request but rather a command.
“Elders were persons who, by virtue of position in the family, clan, or tribe; or by reason of personality, prowess, stature, or influence; or through a process of appointment and ordination, exercised leadership and judicial functions in both religious and secular spheres in the ancient world, both among biblical and nonbiblical peoples. The roots of the development of the presbytery (group of elders) in the NT and postapostolic church originate in Judaism and the OT, though the figure of the elder or groups of elders can also be found in the world surrounding ancient Israel and in the Greco-Roman world of the NT period.”[2]
“Since the primitive church eventually regarded itself as the new Israel (Mt 21:43; Gal 6:16), it is easy to see why it should gradually adopt the institution of elders. Though it is difficult to make out the order that prevailed in the first Christian communities, because it apparently varied according to place and time in both form and extent, the presence and functioning of elders was part of the reality of early church life.”[3]
“In Luke’s account of the origin and spread of Christianity, the elders are already present in the church at Jerusalem. In Acts we see Christians at Antioch sending famine relief “to the elders [of the Judean churches] by Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:30). On their first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas “appointed elders in every church” (14:23). Later, Paul and Barnabas were sent from Antioch to Jerusalem “to the apostles and elders” about the question of circumcision of gentile Christians (15:2), and were “welcomed by the church, and the apostles, and the elders” (v 4), who gathered to hear the case and resolve the issue (vv 6–23).”[4]
“Who these elders were, and how they were chosen, we are not told. It seems possible to argue, on the basis of Jewish precedent, that age and prominence gave them the privilege of rendering special service within the community. Veneration for age was a deeply rooted sentiment among Jews, and the name “presbyter” (elder) was derived from Jewish usage. It is also possible that, like the appointment of “the seven” for special service by the laying on of hands (Acts 6:1–6), the first elders in the Jerusalem church were appointed by the apostles. Apparently, they functioned in the Christian community in ways comparable to the elders in the Jewish communities and the Sanhedrin (Acts 11:30; 15:2–6, 22–23; 16:4; 21:18).”[5]
“Paul apparently continued the practice among the gentile churches, though elders are not mentioned in the earliest Pauline writings. They are mentioned only in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tm 5:17, 19; Ti 1:5). On his last journey to Jerusalem, Paul summoned the elders of the church at Ephesus to Miletus (Acts 20:17) to bid them farewell, and to instruct them to be faithful in their task of overseeing and caring for the Christian flock, the church of God (20:28).”[6]
“In Crete the business of organizing the various churches was far from finished, and undue haste in appointing men to office was contrary to Paul’s principles (1 Tim. 3:6; 5:22). The solution was: Paul must be on his way, and Titus must be left behind (cf. 2 Tim. 4:13, 20) in the island to straighten out the things that remained to be done, namely (κατά here used in that sense), to establish presbyteries. The apostle, who likes to stress the fact that God does not leave his work of grace unfinished (Phil. 1:6; 1 Thess. 5:23), is a true imitator of God also in this respect; for Paul, too, abhors unfinished business (see 1 Tim. 1:3 and 1 Thess. 3:10 for different applications of this same principle). And with respect to Titus, one could almost say that for him no task was too difficult to be attempted and no challenge too formidable to be met, in dependence on divine strength and wisdom.” [7]
The qualifications of church elders will be our concern when next we meet. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.
Soli deo Gloria!
.
[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 541.
[2] Walter A. Elwell and Philip Wesley Comfort, Tyndale Bible Dictionary, Tyndale Reference Library (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), 414.
[3] Ibis., 415.
[4] Ibid., 415.
[5] Ibid., 415.
[6] Ibid., 415.
[7] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 344–345.
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