Deadlines are important. Knowing you have limited time on the clock to wrap up your assignment is a huge motivator. Without a date is circled on the calendar, there’s no urgency. Once the target date is established, stuff gets real. Paul writes to Titus that he has a limited amount of time left to wrap things up on Crete. Reinforcements are coming. Help is on the way.
This the perfect time to review Titus’ to-do list. The Apostle Paul has left his protege on the Mediterranean island with a very specific three-point plan in the wake of the Gospel’s impact on the people there. One, put elders in all of the churches to fill the leadership vacuum (Titus 1:5). Two, put a stop to a posse of false teachers that are stirring up trouble for these new believers (Titus 1:10-11). Three, put in place a self-sustaining system to teach people what it means to follow Jesus (Titus 2:1-10). That’s some serious stuff to get done. And that’s only going to get done because God is behind it all. Now we see that Titus doesn’t have the next few years to get things done. He needs to wrap up his assignment by the time Artemas or Tychicus hit town. Help is on the way.
Paul promises to send one of two dudes to Crete for the next phase of this operation. Either Artemas or Tychicus will be there before you know it. So just who are these guys? We really don’t much about Art. This is the only time his name shows up in the New Testament. Some folks think he might have become the bishop of Lystra in modern day Turkey. But we really can’t be sure. What we do know is that the man from Tarsus had tremendous confidence in Art to take the baton from Titus and keep running.
We’ve got a much more complete scouting report on Tychicus. This guy is a biblical beast (in a good way!). Paul gives him props as “the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” (Eph 6:21), as well as a “fellow servant” (Col 4:7). Dr. Luke lets us know that Mr. T is from Asia (modern day Turkey) and was buddies with another believer named Trophimus (Acts 20:4). Paul handpicked him to be part of the team responsible for delivering the relief money from various churches back to Jesus’ followers under persecution in Jerusalem. Tychicus clearly proved himself to be somebody the apostle could count on to deliver. As matter of fact, he was the courier for at least three of Paul’s letters to Ephesus, Colossae, and his buddy Philemon. Just before Paul died, the apostle sent Tychicus on at least one other important mission to Dalmatia, which is a region in Croatia (2Tim 4:12). Let’s call him the Mail Man. Tychicus always delivers.
This is a HUGE reminder that we don’t serve Jesus in a vacuum. There are no Lone Rangers in His kingdom. I don’t have to do it all by myself. Ministry is a team sport. Everybody plays a part. Everybody has a role. Even the Apostle Paul was no solo artist. His team included such studs as Titus, Artemas, and Tychicus. Who’s on your team? Who can you count on? Who can count on you? When we’re part of a team, we can count on others to have our back. We can count on others to come alongside. When we’re not flying solo, we can be sure that help is on the way.
Once reinforcements hit the beach on Crete, Titus is hit the road. Paul encourages the Big T to “do your best to come to me in Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there” (v12). Titus isn’t to waste a moment once help arrives. The apostle commands him using the Greek verb spoudazo. It means to make every effort and hurry to do something. It’s the idea of doing something in a hurry and giving it everything you’ve got. For you fans of the classic Star Trek, think of Captain Kirk begging Scotty for every ounce of power from the Enterprise’s engines right now. The chief of engineering would respond, “I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain!” Paul tells Titus to give it all he’s got and get to Nicopolis. Spare no effort. Put the pedal to the metal. Make it priority one. Apparently Paul needs reinforcements. He knows that help is on the way.
The apostle is settling in to ride out the winter in Nicopolis. This is a port city on the west coast of Achaia, what we now call Greece. It’s about 450 miles northwest of Crete. This isn’t like grandma and grandpa packing up to spend a few months in Florida. Paul knows that this is a very strategic location for upcoming missions to telling the world about Jesus. From Nicopolis, several European locations are within easy reach, including the Dalmatian coast. That’s where we later will find Tychicus in Paul’s final days (2Tim 4:7). But that will happen once Titus meets up with the apostle again. That’s what will happen once help arrives.
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