John 2:13-25 "THE NEW TEMPLE"

From a wedding in Cana of Galilee in the north of Israel, we find ourselves now   in the temple in Jerusalem at the time of Passover. Jesus, whom John has called “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” (1:29)  is now here.

The Passover was the greatest of all the Jewish feasts. It took place in the month of Nisan- our March-April, at the time of when the church celebrates Easter.   Jesus is here with countless worshipers who, on this occasion, remember the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage and in particular the deliverance from the from the angel of death (see Exodus 12  - the 10^th plague). By applying the blood of a lamb to their door lintels, the angel of death passing through Egypt that night would pass over the houses marked by the blood of the lamb. The Feast of Unleavened bread ( Ex 13) also happened at this time,  and so  the entire Passover celebration took a week.

Jewish law required that every adult male Jew who lived within a 25 km radius of Jerusalem was bound to attend the Passover.  However, many more Jews came from the diaspora – in fact it was the aspiration of every Jew, no matter how far they lived from Jerusalem, to celebrate at least one Passover in Jerusalem.  The main sources available estimate that the population of those living in Jerusalem during the time of Jesus was probably around 80,000 to 100,000 citizens. But during the Passover hundreds of thousands of Jews from the Diaspora would pour into Jerusalem. It is estimated that over 2 million Jews may have come to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. [1]

So here is Jesus. He looks around the temple and He is distressed by the fact that this place of worship is so abused. It smelled more like a farm than the place where one would seek God’s presence. What was more, the temple area was being used to fleece those who came from far to the Passover.  You see, at the heart of temple worship was the sacrificial  system.  Not being able to bring their own sheep or oxen, pilgrims would have to buy them in  Jerusalem. Conveniently, these were offered in the temple precincts, but ruthless  people  exploited  this  by  charging exorbitant prices. You know  that feeling  when  you go to the airport or to  a late night  convenience store  to get a  chocolate or something  and you pay three times the amount of  what it costs you at  your regular  supermarket.

But that was not all. There was also the  obligatory temple tax-  the ½  shekel - roughly two days wages. It could not be made with the common Roman currency,  because it  bore the image of the  Roman emperor. This is where the money-changers in our story come in.  Being what they are, they were making money out of this exchange, like all the money changers in our city of Windhoek. All this was beginning to make the whole issue of  coming for the Passover a very expensive undertaking, also considering the  travel costs involved.  

When you think about this  you realize that  this  was  not only  exploiting people; it was also  exploiting God. It made  business out of God.  And here  Jesus is, at the temple, the  place where God, in Solomon’s day   had chosen to manifest His earthly presence  and His  glory (2 Chron. 7:12). He sees this sacrilege  and  exploitation, and  indignantly He asks, “How dare you treat My Father's house in this way?”  Jesus had possessed a strong sense of the sanctity of the temple. He called it ‘My Father’s House’ (Lk 2:49). It was ordained by God to be a centre of worship… a house of prayer for all nations (Isa. 56:7 – Mk. 11:17). Looking at this with His godly and holy zeal and in the quiet strength of the Spirit,   Jesus deliberately made a whip out of cords - probably from the cords used to tie up the animals.  And so we read, “and making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’”  (2:15, 16)

Our thoughts must now go back to these words found in the Book of Malachi, the last book of the OT: 1 "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. (Mal. 3:1-2)

I want to, very briefly, deal with the apparent problem of the temple cleansing. The three synoptic gospels,  Matthew, Mark and Luke record the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry, just before he came to Jerusalem, to face the cross. John’s record of the temple cleansing appears right at the beginning of Jesus’ short earthly ministry. How do we reconcile this?  If one accepts the accounts of the Gospels at face value, then there are obviously two temple cleansings. Many scholars seem to have great difficulty with two cleansings. Three of my most  trusted commentators see no such difficulty[2].  

Reactions to the Temple Cleansing 

The first reaction comes from the disciples. When His disciples  saw Him doing this, they remembered  what was written in  Psalm 69:9, “For  zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach  you have fallen one me”,  and they quickly apply this text to Jesus,  the Greater Son of David.

The next reaction comes from the Jews. The Jews  question His authority for doing these things, and in typical  fashion  they asking Him for  a sign, an authentication  for what he was doing: “What sign will you show us for doing these things? [Reminds us of Paul’s observation in 1 Corinthians 1:22- “Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom]. So, Jesus promises them a sign, but they clearly  don’t  understand what He is saying here in veiled form- like the parables : “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up!”  The Jews are thinking  about  this temple[3] that took 46 years to build, from about  20 BC, and it was still being  built in Jesus day, for it wasn’t  finished until about 63 AD or so,  only to be  finally destroyed again in AD 70.

Jesus however,  wasn’t talking about that temple. He knew that this temple was going to be soon destroyed, and He said so on a different occasion. [4] He is now speaking about the temple of His own body. He is talking about His death, burial and resurrection, which would all happen within a matter  of three days. The reflective note from John in v.22 shows us that the disciples  really only understood this after His resurrection. 

So then, the two big themes  surrounding this portion of Scripture  are  the temple cleansing and the  temple replacement.

Clearly Jesus  has a high regard for the old temple, and as far as  OT temple  worship went, it was designed  to  keep before  Israel the fact  that  God was dwelling here in their midst. Here in this place He would hear their prayers, accept their guilt offerings and sacrifices and extend His forgiveness. And in its day it was good and holy. And when Jesus came on numerous occasions He was rightly offended about what He saw, and He rightly took action.

But Jesus came to do so much, much more. He came to make all things new.   In 2: 1-12 we saw that He is the one who brought the joy of the fruit of the new wine. In fact He is the vine (John 15).   And now He  comes to  rebuild the temple, and He is  the Temple. When Jesus stands before these Jews and their temple we must know that someone greater than Moses[5] is here. Someone greater than the temple is here (Matt. 12:6).

So, Jesus’ statement in v. 19 is a huge statement that points to the abolishing  to the formal temple worship with all its sacrifices. This will come about as a result  of His sacrifice on the cross.  He will be both, the new  and final sacrifice and the new, final and lasting temple.  In   John  4  we shall  see Jesus speaking  not only about a new temple, but about a new  and deeper way of worship- worship in spirit and in truth, and it all holds together in  Him . And that is really the profoundest way in which we can understand John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt (lit. tabernacled) among us.” The tabernacle, the tent of meeting, designed and  constructed under Moses,   was  the first place where God regularly  met with  His people after the Exodus. This tabernacle was erected at the heart of the camp. The Israelites camped around this tabernacle in their divisions, 4 tribes on each side – north, east, south, west. And John uses this word deliberately. Jesus came to   tabernacle  in our midst and among us. He came into our midst, and those that see Him for who He is, they are the ones who  behold His glory. The true church today gathers  around  Jesus, and in Jesus,  to the glory of God the Father, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Peter  capitalizes on this thought of Jesus as the cornerstone, and  a living stone and we also being living stones being built into  a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual  sacrifices  acceptable to God  through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-6) The same idea is implied  by Paul in Ephesians  2:18-22.

And so, when the Jews were  seeing Jesus  zealous for the temple, they are asking Him, ”By what authority are you doing this? What sign will you give us that you have this authority?”  

The sign that Jesus will give them is the sign of the cross, and the sign of the resurrection. That's the only sign that Jesus will give. But they will not come to Him to have life (John 5:40). This brings us to the last few verses in vv. 23-25,  a  bridging statement  which  not only belongs to this text , but which also  introduces us to the next section in Chapter 3.  

JESUS WOULD NOT ENTRUST HIMSELF TO THEM

There were some ready to believe certain signs. They liked that He changed water into wine. But do you notice what it says in v. 24?  “Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them.” They were ready to believe in Jesus for the things that He would do for them and for their convenience, but Jesus will not accept as His disciples those who are not willing to embrace Him for who He is.  This is John’s purpose. To show you Jesus – for who He really is!

Jesus knew human nature only too well. He knew that there were many who were attracted only by the sensational things He did. He knew that there were many who would only  follow Him while He  produced signs, wonders and miracles, but as soon as He spoke about self - abandonment and following  Him,  they left him on the spot (see John 6:66).

Jesus will not take you if you will not follow Him. So, today before this Lord’s table, once again, or perhaps even for the first time declare your clear allegiance to  Him, who is the temple.

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[1] https://www.bible-history.com/ancientquestions/how-many-were-in-jerusalem-for-the-passover-of-jesus/

[2] E.g.  William Hendriksen, p. 120; Leon Morris, pp. 188-191; RVG Tasker pp.

[3] The first temple was  built by Solomon (see 1 Kings 6-7) ;  the second temple was  rebuilt by the Jews returning from their Babylonian captivity (Ezra 6:15) .It was the third temple, known as “Herod’s Temple.” This temple was built by Herod, not so much to facilitate Israel’s worship, but as an attempt to reconcile the Jews to their Idumaean king.

[4] See Olivet discourse in Matthew  24:1-2  where Jesus speaks about the destruction of Herod’s temple

[5] Moses represents the law-  Christ is greater than Moses  and the law Hebrews 3:1-6

John 2: 1-12 "The New Wine"

From the first  chapter  of John's Gospel we receive  a profound insight into who Jesus really is. 

The apostle John shows us that Christ’s origin is in eternity past. He was with God and He is God. He is the Creator of all things. He is the true life and light of men.

And then something amazing happens.  This same eternal Jesus became flesh to dwell among the people whom He had created.

The bad news is that the very people whom He created did not recognize Him. The fall (Genesis 3) has had a terrible effect upon mankind. The fall has made us forget where we have come from. We are like  men and women that suffer from advanced stages  of dementia who no longer can recognize their own  families.  

The good news is that God came in Christ, in the form of a real man  to dwell among us, to deal with our greatest problem – the sin that has not only made us forget our origin in God,  to deal with that sin  that  separates us all now from God. John the Baptist describes Him as the Lamb that takes away the sin of all those in the world, who will look to Him (1:29,36). Jesus is the redeeming lamb of God, but He we must also never forget  that, according to the Revelation of John   He is  also  the  Warrior Lamb[1]  of God. In due time He will exercise His terrible wrath upon all who refuse to receive Him in this life.

The  great purpose of John’s gospel is then   to show us who Jesus is. 

The great purpose statement is found in  John 20:30-31:  “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name”. The first chapter  then is  a mind-blowing introduction to who Jesus is.

Chapter 2:   The wedding in Cana in Galilee  

Chapter 2 begins with a wedding, at which Jesus performs a remarkable sign in a town in Galilee, named Cana.  He is here with the first of His disciples, whose calling is recorded in chapter 1. They are  Andrew, Simon Peter, Philip, Nathanael, and John himself. We learn in 21:2 that Nathanael was from Cana, so he probably knew the wedding couple. Here  He  makes water into wine. 

I want to assure you that there is nothing random about this story. It fits in with the flow of thought and the intention of  this writing.  John, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit[2] wants us to ask and answer the question, “Who is this Jesus?”.  And so this story is not about a brilliant winemaker, or simply just a  miracle man.  No,  at the  center  of this story is a sign (v.11- in fact, the first of his many  signs, the second one found in 4:54), and as I already have shown you, we need to link this  to John 20:30-31. So, this sign is another building block in John’s argument, showing us who Jesus really is.   

Our text begins with these words: “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana…”. Now, if you will look back over the first chapter you will notice that there is a sequence of days mentioned there. There is something deliberate about that, but it requires careful thinking and connecting.

The first reference to a day is in 1:29, and that's the next day. So the first day is before 1:29, i.e. vv.19-28, which relates  to  John the Baptist.  Then in 1:29 you find the second day. Then, in 1:35, you find the “next day”, the  third day  (which covers 1:35-38). Then follows 1:39, a reference to the fact that the third day has actually ended and the fourth day has begun because it was about the tenth hour.  Then, in 1:43,  there is another ‘next day’ –  this is day 5. Before we get to our text and the reference to the third day in 2:1, I want to point out that,  between Chapter 1 and chapter 2 there is a 6^th day, which was used for traveling from Bethany  across the Jordan (not the Bethany near Jerusalem)  to   Cana  in Galilee.

So, the third day of which we read in 2:1 is actually day 7  in terms  of the entire text we have covered so far.  The third day in 2:1 relates to 1:43  when Jesus and his 5 disciples   travelled  2 days[3] from Bethany across the Jordan to get to this wedding on the third day   at which Mary, the mother of Jesus was also in attendance.  The  3^rd day is the 7^th day, chronologically speaking.  And that is  important.

You see, the opening chapter of John’s gospel, “In the beginning…God”, resonates with the words of  the opening chapter of Genesis, and  the 7 days of creation.  

What we are suggesting is that the 7 days of creation in Genesis correspond to the work of the Lord Jesus here in the opening words of John’s gospel.  The Christ who at the beginning  created the world  is now here to recreate this broken  world.  He is the Light  and the Life  of the World now lost  in darkness (1:3). And now we see Him in Chapter 2, and  this  miracle of the new wine  on the 7^th day [4] is truly another spectacular affirmation of who Jesus is.  He is the new wine, which makes the heart of men truly glad!  And if you look ahead   you will see this renewing work  of Jesus.  He is going to  speak about the miracle of the new temple which He will raise up in three days  (2:13-22). In John 3, He introduces  the concept of the new birth to  Nicodemus.  In John 4, He will speak  to a woman at the well  of  Sychar, concerning a  new way of worshiping. So, that is what lies ahead. Jesus has come to make all things new! 

Here are some  further texts  that  confirm this: 

·        Rev. 21:5 “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

·        Isaiah 43:19  “19 Behold, I am doing a new thing;  now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness  and rivers in the desert. 

·        2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man is in Christ, then that person enters a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.”

So here is a little taste (forgive the pun) of it. In creating this new wine on the seventh day, Jesus, the Creator of the world and now the Re-creator of this fallen world enters into this arena at a  wedding. I point out in passing that marriage / weddings  in itself is a  creation  ordinance of God for the good of man  (Gen. 2), and  the doctrine of marriage in our time  is  in need of renewal. But here He is now, Jesus, the eternal word of God, who has come to that wedding in Cana of Galilee.

Now that we have looked at the big picture, let us follow the story as it unfolds. Wine runs out at the wedding, and Mary makes it her business to let Jesus know about this. Is she expecting  Jesus to do something out of the ordinary? Jesus says, “Woman, what does that have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (2:4) Now, don't be offended by the language. It’s not as cold in the Greek as it sounds in English. ‘Woman’ …this is the same term Jesus will use when He speaks to her from the cross (19:26) when he hands her over to John. But more significantly, in thinking about  Genesis and John still, there is a woman  whose seed will crush  the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). This Mary, the human mother of Jesus IS the woman, whose offspring will shortly crush  Satan’s head. This is breath-taking stuff! Jesus is not just Mary’s son. He is the Son of divine Promise, born of a woman, and  the fulfilment of Genesis 3:15. And from His present perspective, His hour has not yet come- He is not yet on display.[5]  

Mary does not appear to be offended, but says, ”Do whatever He tells you…”. She  knows that her Son, who was formerly  announced to her as  the Son of Promise (Lk 1:26ff)  will know what to do.

The next detail follows. There are 6 stone water jars, kept in the home for the Jewish rites of purification. Each jar could contain more than 100 litres, so there are at least 600 litres of water here. Purification rites for what? Answer:  For sin- and because of sin. The profound teaching of the OT is that man is a fallen, unholy being. He cannot face a holy God. But how could a sinner face God? Answer: Not without purification or atonement, and this ceremonial water was simply    part of this perpetual reminder.  Now here are six (not 7 - the number of perfection) water jars. This perpetual ritual  awaited  a  completion, and now He was here: Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The only water required now is the baptism of our confession of faith speaking of the completed work of Christ, and no more!  Here is Jesus. He is  going to make something entirely new.

The next detail concerns the miracle of the turning of the water in these  6 jars into wine. The jars were all filled to the brim at Jesus command.  The servants were then  told to draw out some  to the master of  ceremonies, and his comment is quite   humorous.   “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, they bring out the poor wine, but you have kept the good wine until now.”  (v.10)  600 liters of wine … far too much for good Baptists, but there you are!

But do you see the point? The sheer extravagance of what Jesus does for us. That's what it means to belong to the Kingdom of God. That's what it means to be in union with Jesus Christ. Our vats overflow. 

Some Important  Observations  in Conclusion 

1.      Jesus is often not as eager to perform miracles as others are to have Him do so. He knows the limitation of such displays of power, as we shall see at the end of this chapter (2:23-25). He  is concerned that He  should fulfill His Father’s plan at the divinely appointed time, rather than in His mother’s time-frame. He knows it is not yet time for Him to make a public display of His power, by which He publicly presents Himself as the promised Messiah. Those in our generation who are overly eager to see miracles performed should consider this fact carefully. Jesus is not as eager to perform miracles as others are to see Him do so. Miracles in themselves provide  evidence, but they do not save anyone.  Only Jesus saves. You must look to Him. 

2.       This sign manifested  Christ's glory. This is what John tells us: “This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him”. This miracle is called a “sign.”  Biblical signs (or works e.g. 5:36; 7:21; 10:25) point beyond themselves to the deeper realities than we can  see  with mere human eyes.  Jesus  disciples, with the eyes of faith were beginning to see so much more. They were beginning  to see glimpses  of the Lord of glory.

3.       The  sign of water into wine is closely related to chapter 1. In the opening verses of  John’s Gospel, we learned  that  Jesus  is the Word (Logos), who was not only with God in the beginning, but was God in the beginning. He is the Creator, who brought all that is into existence. Are we then surprised  to find Jesus “creating” wine from water?  After  all  He once  created the cosmos from chaos? Are we surprised that the disciples beheld His glory through this miracle when, in chapter one, the Apostle John writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)?

4.      The Old Testament Law, based on its profound understanding of sin and dealing with sin required various kinds of purifications or washings. The Jews were to do them in obedience to God’s law, and legalistic Judaism added even more washings. It was burdensome!  Now Jesus did something deeply  important. He turned this  washing water for sin into the best wine of gladness. Jesus took that which was a pain and made it into a pleasure. He shows us  that He is the end of the law. He perfectly fulfilled the law, meeting all of its requirements. He was uniquely qualified to die for sinners on the cross, replacing the demands of the law with Himself. Therefore look to Jesus and  not to the law!

5.      Jesus produces something  something bountiful. The wine Jesus created was the best ever, but He did not create a small quantity. He produced much more than was needed. Can you imagine the joy of this married couple, who may have been poor, being left with over 600  litres of the finest wine ever? Think also about  the time when Jesus fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21) and again the 4,000 (Matthew 15:32-39), there were plenty of leftovers (14:20; 15:37). God’s blessings are lavish.

This miracle, as do  the other signs of the Gospel of John, teaches us about the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. The purpose is simple: that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing you might have eternal life (John 20:31). 

Do you believe? 

There is no more important decision in life than what you believe about the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

He is God manifested in human flesh. He alone is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He  alone can forgive your sin. He  is the new Wine of God. He has come to make your heart truly glad. 

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[1] See the  imagery in Revelation. John sees Jesus both as the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 5:6, 12; 13:8: and the warrior lamb (seated on the throne 7:17) exercising  his wrath (6:16 ; 14:10;17:14). He is  both, Lamb and Lion

[2] 2 Tim 3:16

[3] William Hendriksen: NT Commentary – John , p 114 (footnote) “Josephus affirms that by rapid travel  Jerusalem  may be  reached in 3 days from Galilee”

[4] Indebted to Leon Morris  for this insight: (NICNT) p. 129f

[5] On several occasions in the Book of John, Jesus refers to “His time.” (7:1-5). Jesus declined to go up to Judea with them because He was not yet ready. He encouraged them to go on without Him. Later, He went up to the feast secretly to avoid, rather than to gain, attention (7:6-13). Later in the chapter, we are told that even though some of the Jews tried to seize Jesus, they were not able, because it was not “His time” (verse 30). A similar thing happens in chapter 8, verse 20. On other occasions, Jesus spoke of “His time” as having come (12:23, 27; 13:1; 16:32; 17:1).

Titus 3 : “Practical Christianity 101”

We now come to the final chapter of Paul’s letter to Titus. 

Essentially we see Paul continuing  the  trail of thought which  he  started in  2:1, focusing  on the importance of teaching and  the formation of a sound knowledge platform:  “But as for you, teach what  accords with sound doctrine…”; 2:6 “… urge the younger men…”; 2:7 “In your teaching show integrity, dignity and sound speech that cannot be condemned…” ; 2:15 “Declare these things, exhort, rebuke with all authority… “, and then in  3:1 ”Remind them…”, "insist  on these things"... (3:8).

Paul  and Titus had been on the island of Crete, and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ had come to many Cretans. These Cretans  were  then  to be assembled into local churches  where they were to be taught to think differently about many things. Cretan society, we saw in 1:12 had gone seriously backwards. The Word of God, when  it is believed and received and applied,  reforms   a society.   

The apostle Paul now addresses the matter of  Christian citizenship (3:1-2). When looking back, we can see that Paul  addresses three primary spheres of living with regard to  sound doctrine and duty  (i)  1:5-16 In the church  

(ii) 2:1-15  In the home 

 (iii)  3:1-11 In the world.

Titus 3    addresses the matter   of  Christian citizenship, Christian living in the world.

1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarrelling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

The first  two verses  describe  seven  qualities  of  a  Christian  citizen.

I am going to state them and then make  a general statement

1.     The Christian  citizen is submissive to rulers and authorities. Christians are called to respect rulers  and  authority  (cf. also  Romans 13:1-7)

2.     The  Christian citizen is obedient,  particularly the rule of law.  Unless  laws are kept, life becomes chaos.

3.     The Christian  citizen  is ready for every good work.

4.     The Christian  citizen speaks evil of no one  (lit. he  does not blaspheme anyone)

5.     The Christian  citizen avoids quarreling. The Greek word is 'amachos', which means, ‘not a fighter’. They are not  argumentative  and  aggressive. This does not mean that the Christian citizen will not stand for the principles which he/ she  believes to be right, but that  they will allow to others the same right to have their convictions. (See article 21 Chapter 21  of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith   on  Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience)

6.     The  Christian  citizen is gentle. The word is 'epieikes', (also used in 1 Tim 3:3). This word means  to be   equitable, fair, moderate, forbearing,  not insisting on the letter of the law, expressing a considerateness that looks humanely and reasonably at the facts of a case [1]  (Vines Expository Dictionary).

7.     The  Christian  citizen  shows perfect  courtesy towards  all  people. The word at the center is 'praus', which generally  translates as meekness. It is not a word  that is easily translated, but essentially it  refers  to being  able to  exercise  restraint even while one is able to demolish one’s enemy. Christ was meek.  

Christians living by the power of the indwelling Christ ought to be the best citizens of the state. This is not because they are mindless followers, and blind to the injustices of their governments. NO! They are the best citizens of the state, because they contribute positively to society. The love of Christ constrains them.  They are a prayerful people. They are honest, diligent and willing to contribute to the general welfare of society.   I learned from another source  that the  Cretans, by way  of  contrast,  were notoriously turbulent and quarrelsome and impatient of all authority. Polybius (c. 200 – c. 118 BC)  a  Greek historian, said of them that they were constantly involved in "insurrections, murders and internecine[2] wars." [3]

What we were and no longer are (vv. 3-8 )

Paul stops here and reminds Titus that the gospel has made a tremendous difference. Qualities like these are possible only for the man or woman in whose heart Christ reigns supreme.

3:3 "For we ourselves were once"... just like those Cretans. So we can't walk around pointing the finger. We were once...foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others  and hating one another.

Converts to Christianity were once no better than their pagan neighbours. So, when Christians  are tempted to boast about  their  moral superiority, they quickly need to remind themselves  about  what they once were (1 Cor.  6:11).  Our  ability to  be good  should not make us proud; it  should make us supremely grateful.  And so when we look at others, living the pagan life, we do not regard them with contempt. We say, "There but for the grace of God go I.” That statement is incidentally attributed to  John Bradford (1510–1555), an English Reformer and  a pastor at St Paul’s.  He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Mary Tudor. He was burned at the stake on 1 July 1555. He said this apparently when he once saw a  criminal on the way to the gallows: "There but for the grace of God go I."

How did we change?

We changed  because  the grace of God our Saviour appeared in our lives.

3:4–8 "But when the goodness and loving-kindness  of God our Saviour  appeared..(lit. when the kindness [Gr. chrestotes]  and the love  for man [ Gr."philanthropia" ],   the Saviour  our God  appeared ...")

What then makes us good church members, good members of our home communities and what makes us good citizens?  It is God in Christ, by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that makes the difference.

Observe the following  theological basics, contained both in  2:11-14 and   3:4-7 

·       The Author of  our salvation: God our Father (2:11,3:4)

·       The  Agent  of  our salvation:   Jesus Christ  our Saviour  ( 2:13 ;  3:6) 

·       The Applier of our salvation:  "The washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit".

·       The thinking  that  by our  own agency  we may obtain  salvation is denied in v.5:  “he saved us  not because of works done by us  in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…”

This gracious  salvation  applied to us  has  the following effects:  

·        Justification:  "So that being justified by His grace …” By this act we are declared righteous  before God. “There is therefore now no condemnation…” Rom.  8:1. This happens by the ‘washing of regeneration  and  renewal by the Holy Spirit.’ 

·       The hope of eternal life …we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Heaven, eternal life is before us.

·       The application of salvation:  "Those who have believed in God may be careful to devote  themselves to good works."  In the meantime , how are we to live ?  Well this is the point of  Paul’s letter  to Titus, isn’t it?

What about those who disagree and contradict our convictions?

9 ...But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

People who want  argue for arguments sake  should be admonished once or twice and then ignored. We are warned not to engage in useless discussions.   Paul advises that the contentious and opinionated  people should be avoided. The word for such a person is  literally  ‘heretic’ (Gr. hairetikos). A heretic is  a person who has made their  own ideas the test of all truth.

Greek philosophers loved talking about the latest ideas. Just that. The Jewish Rabbis spent their time building up imaginary genealogies for the characters of the Old Testament. The Jewish scribes spent endless hours discussing what could and could not be done on the Sabbath, and what was and was not unclean.

There is a danger that a person may think themselves  religious because they  talk about religious  issues. Well, let’s face it.  It’s  much easier to discuss theological questions than to be kind and considerate and helpful at home, or  to be diligent and honest at work. There is no virtue in theological debates, when the simple tasks of the Christian life are waiting to be done. Such discussion can be nothing other than an evasion of Christian duties.

That is not to say that there is no place for Christian discussion,  but  when  discussion  does not end in practical action, it  is actually  and literally just a waste of time. 

FINAL GREETINGS (Titus 3:12-15)

As usual Paul ends his letter with personal messages and greetings.

12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. 13 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. 14 And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. 15 All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all.

·       Of Artemas we know nothing at all.

·       Tychicus 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).

·       Apollos was the well-known teacher (Acts 18:24).

·       Of Zenas we know nothing at all. Here he  is called a nomikos. That could mean one of two things: He could be a converted scribe (a student of the law of God)  or he could be a  converted lawyer.

Paul's last piece of advice is that the Christian people should  learn  to practise doing good  -  to live  like a fruitful believer. This is what much of the letter is about.

Lastly we com to the final greetings. Here, as in every letter, Paul's last word relates to  grace: “Grace be with you all!”   We have  received grace. We  live by grace. Amen!

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[1] Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words ( p.262)

[2]  Internecine:  Mutually destructive; most often applied to warfare. Characterized by struggle within a group, usually applied to an ethnic or familial relationship.

[3] The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. W.Barclay; Westminster Press,’75; p.258.