Liars, Bullies & Slobs

“One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons’” (v12).

American author Thomas Wolfe wrote, “You can’t go home again.” Well, that certainly would’ve been true of a dude named Epimenides. He was a celebrity Greek poet from Crete who wrote about 700 years before Jesus. And, man, did he say some terrible things about his homeboys! He called these folks “are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (v12). Don’t you know his Cretan buddies would love to get their hands on him! But here’s the deal, the Apostle Paul said he was right on target. Deceivers. Wild animals. Fat and lazy. Paul gives this this scouting report to Titus. These are the folks he’ll be dealing with. Yeah, good luck with that. But don’t forget, the Gospel is radically transforming the people on this island.

Let’s set the scene. Titus is on the Mediterranean island of Crete in the days following a crazy move of God. The Gospel of Jesus has saved folks in just about every Cretan city. His mentor Paul has moved on to his next assignment (Titus 3:12). But he’s given the Big T three things to scratch off the list and wrap up his mission. Put leadership in place in the local churches (Titus 1:5). Shut up and shut down a crew of spiritual con artists (Titus 1:10-11). Establish a system that will tell others about walking with Jesus that will replicate itself after he leaves (Titus 2:1-10). 

In his instructions about dealing with the false teachers, Paul reminds Titus just exactly what kind of folks live there. “Liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (v12). Hey, don’t just take Paul’s word for it. “One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own” said this about the folks back home. By quoting Epimenides, the apostle begins by using a term (Gr. pseustes) that paints these folks as cheaters and deceivers. You can tell somebody is from Crete because their lips are moving. As if that’s not bad enough, Titus is surrounded by “evil (Gr. kakos) beasts (Gr. therion)” (v12). There are a ferocious and savage animals living on the island. And those are just the people! The word paints a picture of savage and deadly apex predators. John uses this very same word to describe savage, satanic critters in Revelation, including the capital “B” Beast who wears the 666 jersey (Rev 11:7; 13:1-18; 14:9-11; 15:2; 16:2-13; 17:3-17; 19:19-20; 20:4, 10). The apostle goes on to throw Cretans under the bus by calling them “lazy gluttons” (v12). The phrase literally means people who refuse to work who are thinking only of the next meal. Picture some slob on the couch covered in the dust of his last bag of Cheetos. 

So these are the folks Titus is dealing with. Cheaters. Ferocious animals. Lazy slobs. Quite the all-star team, don’t you think? But here’s what you need to know. These are the kind of folks Jesus is saving on the island of Crete! And that doesn’t just describe Crete, we could be talking about any place on the planet. (Insert your nationality or demographic group here) “are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (v12). Even the great Apostle Paul saw himself as a dirtbag. If you were to rank sinners around the world, the man from Tarsus would put himself in the pole position as top dog (1Tim 1:15). So before we go getting all high and mighty by comparing ourselves to Cretans, we need to pump the brakes. We need Jesus just as much as they do.

There’s one other thing about this verse. Notice how Paul uses pop culture as a teaching tool. This would be the same as teaching the Bible with illustrations from TV or movies. And the apostle did it more than once (Acts 17:28; 1Cor 15:33). God’s Word should be taught creatively. The Bible is NOT boring and should NEVER be taught that way! Use every available resource to reach the folks you’re talking to. What’s music is popular? What TV shows get the top ratings? What movies are number one at the box office? Take what people know and use it to tell them what they need to know.