It Starts and Ends with Grace

“All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all” (Titus 3:15).

We all blow past the blah-blah-blah. You know the stuff I’m talking about. The license agreement for new software. The fine print of the home owners association covenants. The itty bitty print of the side effects for your prescription. And I tend to do the same with certain parts of the Bible. Those verses where Paul introduces himself at the beginning of a letter as well as that whole “Sincerely, Paul” business at the end. When we come to these passages, we need to slow our roll. We need to pump our brakes. There’s great stuff here. Don’t blow past them. There are greetings. And there is grace. And you never blow past grace. Ever.

Before we drill down into the close of this little letter, let’s take a step back at what’s going on here. Jesus’ gracious invitation is washing across the Mediterranean rim like a Gospel tsunami. People of every race, culture, social strata, and demographic group are placing their trust in the resurrected Rabbi from Palestine as the one and only Son of God. One of the places the Good News turns upside down is the island Crete, just off the coast of Greece. There are new believers everywhere. The Apostle Paul led a team that ministered to these baby Christians but has now moved on to the Greek seaport of Nicopolis (Titus 3:12). He leaves behind a squad to finish the next phase of the mission, led by Titus (Titus 1:4) as well as Zenas the lawyer and Apollos (Titus 3:13). 

The apostle gives Titus and the boys a three-point plan. One, appoint qualified spiritual leaders for every church on the island to fill the leadership gap (Titus 1:5). Two, shut down and shut up a pesky pack of false teachers who are stirring up trouble among these baby believers (Titus 1:10-11). Three, establish a self-sustaining system of telling folks what it means to follow Jesus (Titus 2:1-10). Once those items are crossed off the to-do list and once reinforcements arrive, the Big T is to pack his gear and spend the winter with Paul in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12).

The apostle wraps up his letter with greetings to Titus and all the believers on Crete. It’s easy to simply read these unimportant and meaningless sentences. You know, we see this as basically, “Everybody here says ‘hello’ to you, Titus. Please say ‘hey’ to all the folks following Jesus on your end.” Don’t make that mistake. This is SO much more than a shout out from the Nicopolis posse. Remember that the Holy Spirit inspires every single word on the pages of Scripture (2Tim 3:16-17). This verse is there for a reason. Second, you didn’t waste paper (actually parchment or papyrus) back in the first century. It was EXTREMELY valuable. You wouldn’t waste it with worthless words.

So what does Paul really mean when he sends along all of these “greetings” (v15)? He uses the Greek verb aspazomai. It means SO much more than giving somebody a shout out. For those of us who love the old “Andy Griffith Show, this isn’t “tell’ em Goober says ‘hey!’” This word means to salute, honor, express good wishes, and pay one’s respects. And the apostle doesn’t use just once, but twice! So it’s kind of a big deal. So what’s the meat behind the greet? Let’s see how this term is used a few other spots in the NT. Jesus sends out His dozen disciples and instructs them, “As you enter the house, greet (Gr. aspazomai) it” (Mt 10:12). Make sure to introduce yourself to you host. Salute their commitment to God’s kingdom. Make a personal connection. Encourage them as they serve Jesus. When the Son of God rolls into one town, the people are stoked to see Him. “And immediately all the crowd, when they saw Him, were greatly amazed and ran up to Him and greeted (Gr. aspazomai) Him” (Mk 9:14). They pay Him honor and treat Him with respect. When Paul wraps up mission number two, he pays his respects to the home church in Jerusalem. “When he landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted (Gr. aspazomai) the church” (Acts 18:22). 

While it is important to greet people, introduce yourself, and say “hello,” but this is beyond a handshake or a howdy. This is saluting what God is doing in the lives of those we meet. This is paying tribute to someone’s sacrifice for Christ’s kingdom. This is acknowledging a person’s worth as one made in the very image of God. Paul is personally honoring Titus’ service to Jesus and the people of Crete. He’s also passing along the encouragement and thanks of the rest of Nicopolis crew. In the same way that we should always remember to thank members of the military for their service to our country, we should salute those who serve our Savior. 

The apostle lands the plane by writing, “Grace be with you all” (v15). Again, this isn’t just Paul’s way of saying, “I’m out. (Drops mic.)” These final words are closely related to how this letter started. “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior” (Titus 1:4). He starts with grace. He ends with grace. That’s how the man from Tarsus begins and ends every single letter he writes. Don’t believe me? Check for yourself. I’ll wait. Okay, you’re back! This is a not-so-subtle reminder that our entire relationship with Jesus starts with grace and it ends with grace. We’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve it. We’re done nothing to earn it. Christ saved us because of His goodness, not ours. He lived the perfect life that I failed to live. He died the death on the cross for my sin that I should have died. He rose to new life that I don’t deserve. Just like Paul’s letters, my salvation starts with grace and ends with grace.

Whatever you do, don’t blow past what you think is the blah-blah-blah. You never blow past grace. Ever.