This section has 4 verses.
Titus 3:12-15
12 When I shall send Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] unto thee, or Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus], be
diligent to come unto me to Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis]:
for I have determined there to winter.
13 Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their
journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto
them.
14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works
for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.
15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that
love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.
We will begin with the Barclay commentary.
FINAL GREETINGS
First, the paraphrase of verses 12-15:
When I send Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] or Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis],
for I have decided to spend the winter there.
Do your best to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on
their way. See to it that nothing is lacking to
them. And let our people too learn to practice fine
deeds, that they may be able to supply all necessary
needs, and that they may not live useless lives.
All who are with me send you their greetings. Greet
those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all. Amen.
AS usual, Paul ends his letter with personal
messages and greetings. Of Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs], we know nothing
at all. Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
was one of Paul’s most trusted messengers. He was
the bearer of the letters to the Colossian and the
Ephesian churches (Colossians 4:7; Ephesians 6:21).
Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis]
was in Epirus [ih-PI-ruhs]
and was the best centre for work in the Roman
province of Dalmatia. It is interesting to remember
that it was there that Epictetus [eh'pih-KYUR-uhs],
the great Stoic philosopher, later had his school.
Quoted verses:
Colossians 4:7
All my state shall Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] declare unto you, who is
a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and
fellowservant in the Lord:
Ephesians 6:21
But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do,
Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in
the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
Apollos was the well-known teacher (Acts 18:24). Of
Zenas [ZEE-nuhs],
we know nothing at all. He is here called a nomikos.
That could mean one of two things. Nomikos is the
regular word for a scribe, and Zenas may have been a
converted Jewish Rabbi. It is also the normal Greek
for a lawyer; and, if that is its meaning, Zenas has
the distinction of being the only lawyer mentioned
in the New Testament.
Quoted verse:
Acts 18:24
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria,
an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came
to Ephesus.
Paul’s last piece of advice is that the Christian
people should practice good deeds, so that they
themselves should be independent and also able to
help others who are in need. Christian workers work
not only to have enough for themselves but also to
have something to give away.
Next come the final greetings; and then, as in every
letter,
Paul’s last word is grace.
~Barclay Commentary
Now to the other commentaries. We will go from the
general to the specific. Let us begin with the
Matthew Henry main which, in this part, covers
verses 9-15. I will break in where it discusses
verses 12 and 13.
III. The apostle subjoins some further directions,
Titus 3:12-13. Here are two personal things
enjoined: -
1. That Titus should hold himself ready to come to
Paul at Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis]
(a city of Thrace, as is
reckoned, on the borders of Macedonia),
as soon as Artemas [AHR-tuh-muhs]
or Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
should be sent to Crete, to supply his place, and
take care of the churches there when he should leave
them. The apostle would not have them in their young
and weak state be without one or other of chief
sufficiency, to guide and help them. Titus, it
seems, was not their ordinary fixed bishop or
pastor, but an evangelist, otherwise Paul would not
have called him so much from his charge. Of Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs]
we read little, but Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
is mentioned on many occasions with respect. Paul
calls him a beloved brother, and faithful minister,
and fellow-servant in the Lord: one fit therefore
for the service intimated. When Paul says to Titus,
Be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis],
for I have determined there to winter, it is plain
that the epistle was not written from Nicopolis [nih-KOP-uh-lis],
as the postscript would have it, for then he would
have said, I determined here, not there, to winter.
~Matthew Henry Main.
Now the Matthew Henry concise. It covers verses
12-15.
Christianity is not a fruitless profession; and its
professors must be filled with the fruits of
righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the
glory and praise of God. They must be doing good, as
well as keeping away from evil. Let “ours” follow
some honest labour and employment, to provide for
themselves and their families. Christianity obliges
all to seek some honest work and calling, and
therein to abide with God. The apostle concludes
with expressions of kind regard and fervent prayer.
Grace be with you all; the love and favour of God,
with the fruits and effects thereof, according to
need; and the increase and feeling of them more and
more in your souls. This is the apostle's wish and
prayer, showing his affection to them, and desire
for their good, and would be a means of obtaining
for them, and bringing down on them, the thing
requested. Grace is the chief thing to be wished and
prayed for, with respect to ourselves or others; it
is “all good.” ~Matthew
Henry concise
Look at the People's New Testament
When I shall send. - Titus was not stationed
permanently in Crete, as a bishop, but was left for
a certain work (Titus 1:5), and is now bidden to
leave as soon as another is sent to take his place.
Artemas [AHR-tuh-muhs]. - Otherwise unknown.
Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]. - Often named as one of Paul's
companions. See notes on Colossians 4:7 and
Ephesians 6:21.
Come unto me to Nicopolis. - A town on the west
coast of Greece in Epirus, so named because Augustus Cæsar gained the great battle of Actium there. It
means, "City of Victory." History seems to make it
probable that Paul did go there to winter, was again
arrested, and carried to Rome to die.
~People's New Testament.
Here is something from the F. B. Meyer commentary:
Paul, having been liberated from his first
imprisonment, was itinerating in Asia Minor and
Macedonia, accompanied by several friends. He was
intending to winter at Nicopolis in Epirus, and was
about to send Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] or Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
to relieve Titus in Crete, so that Titus might join
him in the winter sojourn. These plans were probably
canceled by his own sudden arrest at Nero’s
instigation. ~F. B. Meyer
commentary
You continue to see that the commentaries have
little on Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs]. We do have text on Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus].
Notice the Popular commentary:
Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus],
of the province of Asia (Acts 20:4), who carried
from Rome the letters to Colosse (Colossians 4:7-8),
and to Ephesus (see Ephesians 6:21-22). In his
second imprisonment, Paul again sent him to Ephesus
(2 Timothy 4:12). There were various cities called
Nicopolia. Paul is supposed to mean the town in
Epirus founded in memory of the battle of Actium on
the Spot where the army of Augustus halted. Though
only thirty years old at this time, it was the chief
town in Western Greece. Probably it was there,
during approaching winter, that Paul was arrested
and sent to Rome for the last time.
~Popular commentary
Quoted verses:
Acts 20:4
And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of
Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus [air'is-TAHR-kuhs]
and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and
of Asia, Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
and Trophimus.
Colossians 4:7-8
7 All my state shall Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a
faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord:
8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose,
that he might know your estate, and comfort your
hearts;
Ephesians 6:21-22
21 But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I
do, Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus],
a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord,
shall make known to you all things:
22 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose,
that ye might know our affairs, and that he might
comfort your hearts.
2 Timothy 4:12 [see
Lesson]
And Tychicus [Tych'i-cus]
have I sent to Ephesus.
Now to the Pulpit commentary:
Personal directions.
The connection of Titus with the Cretan Church was
to be but temporary; therefore the apostle gives him
two commands.
I. A COMMAND FOR TITUS TO JOIN THE APOSTLE AT
NICOPOLIS.
1. The apostle needed his services, either at this
city in Epirus, where he determined to spend the
winter—no doubt in apostolic labors—or to ascertain
from him the exact condition of the Church at Crete,
or to send him forth on an errand to some of the
other Churches.
2. But the place of Titus was not to be left
unsupplied. Two brethren, Artemas [AHR-tuh-muhs]
and Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus],
were to go to Crete—one altogether unknown by us,
but, as he is first mentioned, probably a minister
of high distinction and zeal; the other, Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus],
one of the most esteemed of the apostle’s friends
(Acts 20:4; Colossians 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:12...all
quoted above).
II. A COMMAND FOR TITUS TO HASTEN THE DEPARTURE OF
ZENAS AND APOLLOS FROM CRETE. These brethren had
been laboring in the Church there, probably, before
Titus was left behind by the apostle. Zenas, the
lawyer, was probably a Jewish scribe converted to
Christianity, who had been acting as an evangelist
in Crete. Apollos was the eloquent preacher of
Alexandria, and now as always in perfect sympathy
with the apostle, though there seemed a rivalry
between them at Corinth. The apostle implies that
the Cretan Christians were to provide the necessary
help for such a journey.
~Pulpit commentary
I found this in the John Wesley Notes on verse 12:
When I shall send Artemas [AHR-tuh-muhs]
or Tychicus [TIK-uh-kus]
- To succeed thee in thy office. Titus was properly
an evangelist, who, according to the nature of that
office, had no fixed residence; but presided over
other elders, wherever he travelled from place to
place, assisting each of the apostles according to
the measure of his abilities. Come to me to
Nicopolis - Very probably not the Nicopolis in
Macedonia, as the vulgar subscription asserts: (indeed,
none of those subscriptions at the end of Paul's
epistles are of any authority:) rather it
was a town of the same name which lay upon the sea -
coast of Epirus. For I have determined to winter
there - Hence it appears, he was not there yet; if
so, he would have said, to winter here.
Consequently, this letter was not written from
thence. ~John Wesley
Explanatory Notes
Now to the specific commentaries. These breakout the
verse in different ways so we will go through these
commentaries one at a time.
From Barnes Notes:
When I shall send Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] unto thee
- This person is not elsewhere mentioned in
the New Testament, and nothing more is known of him.
Or Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] -
Notes, Acts 20:4 [mentioned
above].
Be diligent - Notes, 2
Timothy 4:9. “To come unto me to Nicopolis.” It was
at this place, probably, that this epistle was
written.
For I have determined there to
winter - Why Paul designed to spend the
winter there, or what he purposed to do there, are
questions on which no light can now be thrown. There
is no evidence that he organized a church there,
though it may be presumed that he preached the
gospel, and that he did not do it without success.
His requesting Titus to leave his important post and
to come to him, looks as if his aid were needed in
the work of the ministry there, and as if Paul
supposed there was a promising field of labor there.
~Barnes Notes
Now the Adam Clarke:
When I shall send Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] - or
Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] - These were either deacons or
presbyters, which the apostle intended to send to
Crete, to supply the place of Titus. Who Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] was we know not; he is not
mentioned in any other place in the New Testament.
Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus]
was a native of Asia, as we learn
from Acts 20:4 (mentioned
above).
Be diligent to come unto me to
Nicopolis - Nicopolis was a city of Epirus,
on the gulf of Ambracia, near to Actium, which
Augustus built in commemoration of his victory over
Mark Antony. There was another Nicopolis in Thrace,
at the entrance of Macedonia, on the river Nessus;
but the former is supposed to be the place here
intended.
For I have determined there to
winter - Hence the apostle was at liberty,
seeing his spending the winter at this or at any
other practicable place depended on his own
determination. It was probably now pretty late in
the autumn, and the apostle was now drawing near to
Nicopolis; for he certainly was not yet arrived,
else he would not have said, I have determined,
There, to winter. ~Adam
Clarke
Let us go to the John Gill:
When I shall send Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] unto thee,
or Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] - These were both of them
ministers of the Gospel; there is no mention of
Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] anywhere else; some say he was
one of the seventy disciples, and that he was
afterwards bishop of Lystra; but these are uncertain
things; the name is a contraction of Artemidorus.
Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] is often spoken of; and a very
great character is given of him by the apostle, in
Ephesians 6:21[mentioned
above].
Be diligent to come unto me to
Nicopolis - which was a city, not in Epirus,
but in Thrace, situated by the river Nessus, and had
its name from a victory obtained there: hither the
apostle would have Titus come to him, after one or
other of the above ministers were come to Crete; for
as the apostle had the care of all the churches upon
him, he would not remove a minister from one place
to another, without making a provision in their
room: his reasons for having Titus come to him,
might be either to know the state of the churches in
Crete; or because he stood in need of his
assistance; or to send him elsewhere:
For I have determined there to
winter - that is, to continue there all the
winter; not without labour, but to preach the
Gospel, and administer the ordinances to the saints
there: and whereas he says "there"; this shows that
this epistle was not written from thence, as the
subscription asserts; for then he would have said
"here", and not "there".
~John Gill
Finally, the Jamieson, Fausset, Brown:
When I shall send —
have sent.
Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] or
Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] — to supply thy place in Crete.
Artemas
[AHR-tuh-muhs] is said to have been
subsequently bishop of Lystra. Tychicus
[TIK-uh-kus] was sent twice by Paul from Rome
to Lesser Asia in his first imprisonment (which
shows how well qualified he was to become Titus’
successor in Crete); Ephesians 6:21; and
in his second, 2 Timothy 4:12. Tradition makes him
subsequently bishop of Chalcedon, in Bithynia.
Nicopolis — “the city
of victory,” called so from the battle of Actium, in
Epirus. This Epistle was probably written from
Corinth in the autumn. Paul purposed a journey
through Aetolia and Acarnania, into Epirus, and
there “to winter.” See my Introduction to the
Pastoral Epistles.
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
Normally, we would end the Bible study here but I
would like to say something about what Paul says to
Titus in this verse. He says, "be diligent to
come unto me." The word, "diligence" is word
G4704. It means to use speed, that is, to make
effort, be prompt or earnest. It is rendered
as "do (give)
diligence, be diligent (forward),
endeavour, labour, study." Paul must have
known that his time remaining on this planet was
short. There was now urgency in the air.
Everyone had to be diligent in those days in the
Work. Notice how the word is rendered.
It speaks of diligence, endurance, labor and study.
It is interesting that God inspired him to use this
word in this letter. We will see the same word
in the next verse. It was a word for Titus
then and surely a word for us now. God was
speaking to Titus then and is now speaking to us in
all urgency. Be diligent, for this is the
lesson of verse 12.
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