A Window into the Work

About this sermon

Introduction: The beginning and the end of the New Testament letters are always fascinating. They bear many of the marks of the common letters of their day. But they’re also unique. And even the New Testament letters, when compared one with another, are each somewhat unique at the beginning and at the end. One of the things fascinating about them is that they give us a window into the way that the ministry was being conducted at the very beginning. They give us a window not only into the work, but also into the relationships that existed among the workers. In the final verses of this letter addressed to Titus, Paul refers to many different people. Titus, Artemas, Tychicus, Zenas, Apollos, and the nameless ones who are with Paul, along with the nameless ones who are with Titus and who love Paul in the faith. This is New Testament life. This is New Testament ministry. The purpose of this ending, of course, was very practical. Paul is giving final instructions. He’s giving final greetings. He’s leaving the readers with a benediction. But through this practical correspondence we get some insight into the relationships and labor that belonged to the first churches. And as we finish book, I want to offer five observations from this inspired window into their work. These are simple, but they’re instructive. THE JOY OF STRUCTURED LABOR (vs.12a) We see the joy of structured labor. Paul is like a conductor. The work at Crete is maturing. Titus will soon be leading in the appointment of elders. But he will soon receive relief. Paul will eventually (he doesn’t know when), send a replacement for Titus in the form of either Artemas or Tychicus. We don’t anything about Artemas from the New Testament. We find Tychicus being useful to Paul on multiple occasions in the New Testament letters. You find him with Paul is Acts 20. He is Paul’s messenger to the Ephesians and the Colossians (Eph 6:21; Col 4:7). And in Paul’s final letter, he has been sent to Ephesus (2 Tim 4:12). But here are these men, able to be sent by Paul, and called for by Paul — Paul asking Titus to come to Nicopolis after his replacement arrives (vs.12). Paul is able to give Titus instructions about how to care for Zenas and Apollos (vs.13). Paul is able to give Titus instructions about how to guide fellow saints into fruitful good work (vs.14). All these men are God’s servants. All these men are engaged in ministry. And yet they have respect for the apostolic office, and they have respect for the leadership of Paul, and they are able to put their gifts and availability at the disposal of someone else who is guiding, and directing, and coordinating. That hasn’t changed has it. Ministry is still meant to be structured. It is meant to be organized. We have to have the humility and the team mindset to be able to allow others to lead and direct us, or to help us if we’re in a leadership role. There are no lone rangers in the body of Christ. We work together. THE JOY OF SHARED LABOR (vs.12-13) That’s the second observation I have as we look into this window. I see shared labor. Titus is able to give himself to the work of the churches on the island of Crete, but he’s also able to walk away from the work, and to entrust it into the hands of Artemas or Tychicus when Paul makes that decision. SHARING IN THE WORK (vs.12) That work that Titus has given himself to, will one day be built upon by the man who relieves him. The man who comes won’t tear down what Titus has done, rather he will add to what Titus has done. These men are sharing in the work by means of labor. This is something that Paul himself modeled. This was his own mindset.