Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Titus 3:13
Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
13. Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey ] The verb ‘bring on their journey’ is literally ‘send forward,’ and so Vulg. here ‘praemitte’; but in the other eight places of its use in N.T. ‘deduco’ is used, that is, ‘conduct,’ ‘take them a certain part of the way.’ So in old provincial English ‘I will send you a mile,’ meaning ‘accompany you.’ R.V. in four places has ‘bring on the way,’ in five, ‘set forward on the journey;’ but in only one, Act 21:5, does the context require that the ‘accompanying’ should be prominent, ‘they all with wives and children brought us on our way till we were out of the city.’ Here set forward with less thought of bringing (A.V.) seems sufficient.
Zenas the lawyer and Apollos ] Zenas is the Greek form of Zenodorus, as Apollos of Apollodorus, Artemas of Artemidorus. Nothing is known of him, but the phrase itself suggests that he was one of the class of Jewish scribes or lawyers, i.e. experts in Jewish law who were especially numerous among the Pharisees. On his conversion he may have retained the name, as Simon the Zealot and Matthew the publican did theirs. As his class had for their fuller title ‘teachers of the law,’ ‘doctors,’ Luk 2:46; Luk 5:17, he would be especially fitted to become one of the order of the Christian ‘teachers’; cf. Eph 4:11, ‘some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.’ Apollos, on the other hand, was recognised as an apostle. He was an Alexandrian by race, a learned (or eloquent) man, mighty in the Scriptures, instructed in the way of the Lord, to whom Priscilla and Aquila ‘expounded the way of God more carefully’ (Act 18:26) at Ephesus. He became a most successful evangelist in Achaia and at Corinth, and was regarded by St Paul as a brother apostle, independent in will and action, 1Co 16:12, but preaching and serving an undivided Christ, 1Co 1:12; 1Co 3:22-23. From this passage we may infer, not that they had been resident in Crete, which introduces an unnecessary complication with the official authority of Titus, but that they had undertaken such a ‘pastoral mission’ there as St Paul had invited Apollos to undertake to Corinth, 1Co 16:12; perhaps, with Mr Lewin, that they were on the way from Corinth to Alexandria, and were the bearers of this letter to Titus.
This visit of ‘an apostle’ and ‘a teacher,’ and the hospitality to be exercised towards them by Titus, are to stimulate, St Paul adds, the zeal and liberality of the whole body of Christians, the Cretan Church.
diligently ] Vulg. ‘sollicite’ Theod. Mops. Lat. ‘velociter’; but the following clause ‘that nothing be wanting unto them,’ favours ‘attention’ rather than ‘speed,’ and implies provision for the journey as part of the sympathetic attendance; so in 3Jn 1:6 ‘set forward on their journey worthily of God,’ i.e. with supplies worthy of their service to God, the following verses making this clear, ‘we therefore as fellow Christians ought to give them hospitable support.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Bring Zenas the lawyer – – This person is not elsewhere mentioned in the New Testament, and nothing more is known of him. He belonged doubtless to that class of persons so often mentioned in the New Testament as lawyers; that is, who were regarded as qualified to expound the Jewish laws; see the notes at Mat 22:35. It does not mean that he practiced law, in the modern sense of that phrase. He had doubtless been converted to the Christian faith, and it is not improbable that there were Jews at Nicopolis, and that Paul supposed he might be particularly useful among them.
And Apollos – Notes, Act 18:24. He was also well-skilled in the laws of Moses, being mighty in the Scriptures Act 18:24, and he and Zenas appear to have been traveling together. It would seem that they had been already on a journey, probably in preaching the gospel, and Paul supposed that they would be in Crete, and that Titus could aid them.
Diligently – 2Ti 4:9; Greek Speedily; i. e., facilitate their journey as much as possible.
That nothing be wanting unto them – Nothing necessary for their journey. Paul desired that they might meet with hospitable treatment from Christians in Crete, and might not be embarrassed for the want of that which was needful for their journey. It would seem most probable that they had been sent by Paul on a visit to the churches.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Tit 3:13
Bring Zenas the lawyer
Sermon to the legal profession
This man of my text belonged to a profession which has often had ardent supporters of Christ and the gospel.
Among them, Blackstone, the great commentator on English law; and Wilberforce, the emancipator; and Chief Justices Marshall, and Tenterden, and Campbell, and Sir Thomas More, who died for the truth on the scaffold, saying to his aghast executioner: Pluck up courage, man, and do your duty: my neck is very short; be careful, therefore, and do not strike awry. Among the mightiest pleas that ever have been made by tongue of barrister, have been pleas in behalf of the Bible and Christianity–as when Daniel Webster stood in the Supreme Court at Washington, pleading in the famous Girard will case, denouncing any attempt to educate the people without giving them at the same time moral sentiment, as low, ribald, and vulgar deism and infidelity; as when Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey, the leader of the forum in his day, stood on the platform at Princeton College commencement, advocating the literary excellency of the Scriptures; as when Edmund Burke, in the famous trial of Warren Hastings, not only in behalf of the English government, but in behalf of elevated morals, closed his speech in the midst of the most august assemblage ever gathered in Westminster Hall, by saying: I impeach Warren Hastings in the name of the House of Commons, whose national character he has dishonoured; I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose rights and liberties he has subverted; I impeach him in the name of human nature, which he has disgraced; in the name of both sexes, and of every rank, and of every station, and of every situation in the world, I impeach Warren Hastings. Yet, notwithstanding all the pleas which that profession has made in behalf of God, and the Church, and the gospel, and the rights of man, there has come down through the generations a style of prejudice against it. So long ago as in the time of Oliver Cromwell, it was decided that lawyers might not enter the parliament house as members, and they were called sons of Zeruiah. The learned Doctor Johnson wrote an epitaph for one of them in these words:
God works wonders now and then,
Here lies a lawyer, an honest man!
There is no man who has more temptations, more trials, or graver responsibilities than the barrister, and he who attempts to discharge the duties of his position with only earthly resources, is making a very great mistake. Witness Lord Thurlow, announcing his loyalty to earthly government in the sentence: If I forget my earthly sovereign, may God forget me, and yet stooping to unaccountable meanness. Witness Lord Coke, the learned and the reckless. No other profession more needs the grace of God to deliver them in their temptations, to comfort them in their trials, to sustain them in the discharge of their duty. While I would have you bring the merchant to Christ, and while I would have you bring the farmer to Christ, and while I would have you bring the mechanic to Christ, I address you today in the words of Paul to Titus, Bring Zenas the lawyer. By so much as his duties are delicate and great, by so much does he need Christian stimulus and safeguard. God alone can direct him. To that chancery he must be appellant, and he will get an answer in an hour. Blessed is that attorney between whose office and the throne of God there is perpetual, reverential, and prayerful communication. That attorney will never make an irreparable mistake. True to the habits of your profession, you say, Cite us some authority on the subject. Well, I quote to you the decision of the Supreme Court of Heaven: If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. There are two or three forms of temptation to which the legal profession is especially subjected.
1. The first of all is scepticism. You get so used to pushing the sharp question why and making unaided reason superior to the emotions, that the religion of Jesus Christ, which is a simple matter of faith, and above human reason, has but little chance with some of you. Scepticism is the mightiest temptation of the legal profession, and that man who can stand in that profession, resisting all solicitations to infidelity, and can be as brave as George Briggs of Massachusetts, who stepped from the gubernatorial chair to the missionary convention, to plead the cause of a dying race: then on his way home from the convention, on a cold day, took off his warm cloak and threw it over the shoulders of a thinly-clad missionary, saying: Take that and wear it, it will do you more good than it will me; or, like John McLean, who can step from the Supreme Courtroom of the United States on to the anniversary platform of the American Sunday School Union–its most brilliant orator–deserves congratulation and encomium. O men of the legal profession, let me beg of you to quit asking questions in regard to religion, and begin believing. If you do not become a Christian, O man of the legal profession, until you can reason this whole thing out in regard to God, and Christ, and the immortality of the soul, you will never become a Christian at all. Only believe. Bring Zenas the lawyer.
2. Another mighty temptation for the legal profession is to Sabbath breaking. What you cannot do before twelve oclock Saturday night, or after twelve oclock Sunday night, God does not want you to do at all. Beside that, you want the twenty-four hours of Sabbath rest to give you that electrical and magnetic force which will be worth more to you before the jury than all the elaboration of your case on the sacred day. Every lawyer is entitled to one days rest out of seven. If he surrender that, he robs three–God, his own soul, and his client. Lord Castlereagh and Sir Thomas Romilly were the leaders of the bar in their day. They both died suicides. Wilberforce accounts for their aberration of intellect on the ground that they were unintermittent in their work, and they never rested on Sunday. Poor fellow! said Wilberforce, in regard to Castlereagh–Poor fellow! it was nonobservance of the Sabbath. Chief Justice Hale says, When I do not properly keep the Lords day, all the rest of the week is unhappy and unsuccessful in my worldly employment.
3. Another powerful temptation of the legal profession is to artificial stimulus. The flower of the American bar, ruined in reputation and ruined in estate, said in his last moments: This is the end. I am dying on a borrowed bed, covered with a borrowed sheet, in a house built by public charity. Bury me under that tree in the middle of the field, that I may not be crowded; I always have been crowded.
4. Another powerful temptation of the legal profession is to allow the absorbing duties of the profession to shut out thoughts of the great future. You know very well that you who have so often tried others, will after awhile be put on trial yourselves. Death will serve on you a writ of ejectment, and you will be put off these earthly premises. On that day all the affairs of your life will be presented in a bill of particulars. No certiorari from a higher court, for this is the highest court. The day when Lord Exeter was tried for high treason; the day when the House of Commons moved for the impeachment of Lord Lovatt; the day when Charles I and Queen Caroline were put upon trial; the day when Robert Emmet was arraigned as an insurgent; the day when Blennerhasset was brought into the courtroom because he had tried to overthrow the United States government, and all the other great trials of the world are nothing compared with the great trial in which you and I shall appear, summoned before the Judge of quick and dead. There will be no pleading there the statute of limitation; no turning States evidence, trying to get off ourselves, while others suffer; no moving for a non-suit. The case will come on inexorably, and we shall be tried. You, who have so often been advocate for others, will then need an advocate for yourself. Have you selected Him? The Lord Chancellor of the Universe. Lord Ashburton and Mr. Wallace were leading barristers in their day. They died about the same time. A few months before their decease they happened to be at the same hotel in a village, the one counsel going to Devonshire, the other going to London. They had both been seized upon by a disease which they knew would be fatal, and they requested that they be carried into the same room and laid down on sofas, side by side, that they might talk over old times and talk over the future. So they were carried in, and lying there on opposite sofas, they talked over their old contests at the bar, and then they talked of the future world upon which they must soon enter. It was said to have been a very affecting and solemn interview between Mr. Wallace and Lord Ashburton. My friends, my subject today puts you side by side with those men in your profession who have departed this life, some of them sceptical and rebellious, some of them penitent, childlike, and Christian. These were wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever, while these others went up from the courtroom of earth to the throne of eternal dominion. Through Christ, the advocate, these got glorious acquittal. In the other case, it was a hopeless lawsuit. An unpardoned sinner versus the Lord God Almighty. O what disastrous litigation! (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)
That nothing be wanting unto them
Titus duty to his fellow ministers
Ministers ought to abound in the fruits of kindness to one another, and most to those whose circumstances render the expressions of brotherly kindness needful. Probably Titus could not, from his own purse, furnish everything that was needful to his brethren who were travelling in the service of the Churches. But he might, through his influence, do by the hands of others what was not in his own power. The apostle had already said that the doctrine of salvation by grace teaches and constrains men who believe it to maintain good works. And here he calls on the believers under the care of Titus to embrace the occasion that was presented to them, of testifying their faith by their works, and learning to practise the duties by which they were to approve themselves unto God as faithful Christians. There are too many who form good resolves, but when opportunities offer of putting them into practice, suffer them to pass unimproved. They intend to do what they know to be right, but are in no haste to perform it. But let ours, those who belong to our holy society, learn not only to do, but to stand foremost in doing, good works, on all necessary occasions. An opportunity for doing good ought to be as much valued by us as an opportunity for receiving it, for we are sure that it is more blessed to give than to receive. We know not what opportunities we may afterwards have to do good; but the present opportunity will not return; and we may feel the same disposition to neglect a second and a third as a first opportunity of usefulness. How then shall we approve ourselves fruit-bearing branches in the true vine, and not to be found among the barren branches against whom the terrible sentence is pronounced, that the great Husbandman will take them away, and they shall be gathered, and cast into the fire and burned? Bring Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos, diligently on their way, and in supplying their necessities let our people learn to excel, or go before others, in good works, that they be not unfruitful. Zenas had probably been a Jewish lawyer. And against that class of men awful things had been spoken by our Lord. Amongst others, it is said that they took away the key of knowledge from men. But the grace of God can make a most effectual change in those from whom least good and most evil is to be expected. He was now travelling with the key of knowledge to open the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven to Gentiles as well as Jews. Apollos was a well known and an eminent labourer in the gospel. And those who were not ready to afford encouragement and facilities to such labourers for Christ, and for the souls of men, gave too much reason to suspect that they were themselves barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. Let us be fellow helpers to the truth, that we may not incur the punishment of those who are lukewarm in the cause of Christ (Rev 3:1-22). (G. Lawson, D. D.)
Christianity enjoins courtesy
Christianity hindereth not, but commendeth and enjoineth civil courtesy and all kind of humanity. For
1. Whatsoever pertaineth to love and good report, that must believers think on and do (Php 4:1-23).
2. The wisdom which is from above is gentle, peaceable, full of mercy and good fruits (Jam 3:17).
3. Those many commandments, that Christians should salute and greet one another, and that with a holy kiss (1Th 5:26), called by Peter the kiss of love; usual in those East countries, by which outward testimony they declared mutual love and kindness.
4. Outward courtesy is a necessary virtue even for the maintaining of the bond of Christian peace; yea, availeth much for the nourishing and increasing the communion of saints, and society with Gods people.
5. How disgraceful a thing were it for the profession of Christ, that such as profess faith in the Lord Jesus should show themselves inhuman or hoggish, who should be as lambs and little children, for such are they who have entered into the kingdom of Christ, as the prophet witnesseth. Let this point, therefore, be well thought of, that as faith and love cannot be separate, so must good conscience and good manners go together. (T. Taylor, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Bring Zenas the lawyer] This person is only mentioned in this place; whether he was a Jewish, Roman, or Greek lawyer, we cannot tell.
And Apollos] Of this person we have some valuable particulars in Ac 18:24; 1Co 1:12; 1Co 3:5-6; 1Co 4:6. Either St. Paul had left these at Crete when he visited that island, or he had heard that, in their evangelical itinerancy, they were about to pass through it.
On their journey diligently] Afford them the means to defray their expenses. The Churches through which these evangelists passed, bore their expenses from one to the other. See 3Jo 1:6.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of this Zenas we read no more in holy writ, but of
Apollos we read both in the Acts, and 1Co 3:4,5,22; it seemeth they were about to go to Paul to Nicopolis.
That nothing be wanting unto them; the apostle would have Titus take care that they might want no necessaries that might accommodate them in their journey.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. Bring . . . on theirjourneyEnable them to proceed forward by supplying necessariesfor their journey.
Zenasthe contractedform of Zenodorus.
lawyera Jewish”scribe,” who, when converted, still retained the titlefrom his former occupation. A civil lawyer.
Apolloswith Zenas,probably the bearers of this Epistle. In 1Co16:12, Apollos is mentioned as purposing to visit Corinth; hisnow being at Corinth (on the theory of Paul being at Corinth when hewrote) accords with this purpose. Crete would be on his way either toPalestine or his native place, Alexandria. Paul and Apollos thusappear in beautiful harmony in that very city where their names hadbeen formerly the watchword of unchristian party work. It was toavoid this party rivalry that Apollos formerly was unwilling to visitCorinth though Paul desired him. HIPPOLYTUSmentions Zenas as one of the Seventy, and afterwards bishop ofDiospolis.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Bring Zenas the lawyer,…. Whether he was brought up to the civil law, either among the Greeks or Romans, is not certain; it may be he was a Jewish lawyer, or scribe, an interpreter of Moses’s law among the Jews; for with them a lawyer and a scribe were one and the same, as appears from Mt 22:35 compared with Mr 12:28 and the Syriac version here calls him “a scribe”, and the Ethiopic version “a scribe of the city”; which looks as if it was a civil office he bore; but however, be he what he will, he seems to have been now a preacher of the Gospel, being joined with Apollos, who certainly was one: he is said to have been one of the seventy disciples of Christ, and afterwards bishop of Diospolis; [See comments on Lu 10:1]; his name is the contraction of Zenodorus: him the apostle would have Titus bring,
and Apollos, on their journey diligently; who was a Jew born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures; who had preached at Corinth, but was now at Crete; and whom the apostle, with Zenas, would have provided with everything necessary for their journey:
that nothing be wanting unto them; which might be proper for them in their travels, to make them comfortable, and their journey pleasant and easy.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Zenas the lawyer ( ). Possibly abbreviation of Zenodorus and may be one of the bearers of the Epistle with Apollos. Probably an expert in the Mosaic law as the word means in the Gospels. A converted Jewish lawyer. The Latin term is jurisconsultum for .
Apollos (). Paul’s friend (Acts 18:24; 1Cor 1:12).
Set forward (). First aorist active imperative of , old verb, to send on ahead (1Cor 16:6; 1Cor 16:11; Rom 15:24).
That nothing be wanting unto them ( ). Purpose with and present (or second aorist , some MSS.) subjunctive of , old verb to leave, to remain, to lack. With dative case here ().
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Bring Zenas the lawyer.” (zenan ton nomikon) Perhaps Paul desired the fellowship and council of this respected interpreter of Law as he prepared for his defense of his life and the gospel later in Rome.
2) “And Apollos on their journey diligently.” (kai Apollon spoudaios propempson) “And Apollos send forward urgently, as soon as you can” – Note also Paul urged Titus to send these brethren (pempson, not stellon) not by commissioning authority, but by urgency of his influence, if Zenas the lawyer and Apollos the orator were willing.
3) “That nothing be wanting unto them.” (hina meden autois leipe) “In order that not one thing may be lacking to them.” It appears that Paul desired to communicate information to and elicit help from these brethren in Christian fellowship, who might confirm the Word still, after he was gone.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
13 Zenas a lawyer It is uncertain whether “Zenas”, was a Doctor of the Civil Law or of the Law of Moses; but as we may learn from Paul’s words that he was a poor man and needed the help of others, it is probable that he belonged to the same rank with Apollo, that is, an expounder of the Law of God among the Jews. It more frequently happens that such persons are in want of the necessaries of life than those who conduct causes in civil courts. I have said that Zenas’s poverty may be inferred from the words of Paul, because the expression, conduct him, means here to supply him with the means of accomplishing his journey, as is evident from what follows.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CHRIST AND LAWYERS
Tit 3:13.
IN the study of the life and words of Christ, one scarcely knows whether to admire the more the sinlessness of His character or the length and breadth of His sympathies. It is a difficult question to decide whether a man had best be correct in his habits or grandly generous at heart. When he is both, as Christ was both, we say with the centurion who stood over against him in the hour of death, Truly this Man was the Son of God. Mortal men are always coming short in one or the other. Oliver Cromwell, the military genius of a military age, was characterized by what John Lord styles an immutable morality of life and conduct, and yet was narrow withal in his sympathies. He began as a reformer, and in behalf of the oppressed, and ended upon a throne as despotic as that upon which Caesar used to sit, now oppressor himself; while Daniel Webster, with passions which controlled him at times, and with extravagances that were indulged at the financial loss of others, was yet the most affectionate, sympathetic of men, generous always to a fault, equally frank and sincere, whether in the company of courtiers or hod-carriers.
But the excellency of Jesus Christ was in that to a sinless life He added a heart that pulsed with warmest love for men of most widely separated conditions and attainments. Unto His bosom He took the plain fishermen as readily as the elegant member of the Sanhedrin court; and into His service He accepted the unlearned Apostles with as equal heartiness as that given to the scholarly Luke and the accomplished Saul.
The strings of His great loving heart vibrate to the whole gamut of human feelings, and to show His interest in laboring men is no more easy than to prove His concern in those who enter the learned professions. It is my purpose to discuss Christs attitude toward the only one included in our term, and yet I hope to say such things as will be of benefit as well to those of us who do not belong to that one.
First of all, I invite you to think with me of
CHRISTS CONTACT WITH LAWYERS
In Christs day, lawyers were by no means the least significant class that gathered about Him. After the scribes and Pharisees had plied their arts in vain to catch Him, it was not unusual for lawyers to indulge the conceited thought that they could puzzle Him with their questions. If the lawyers there were as the lawyers of today, no wonder they thought so. The last time I visited a court and listened to the questions with which ignorant men were plied, I was made to seriously doubt whether the cross-examiners were not themselves confounded with their own confession. So I say, no wonder they indulged the egotism of hoping to entangle the Christ. But we are gladlawyers themselves ought to be glad that the fruitless effort was made. The history of that effort contains sentences of profit for the profession.
It was on one of those occasions that Christ exposed some sins common to the profession.
He was dining with a Pharisee, and fell under the ban of the gathered guests because forsooth He sat down to meat without first having washed. In His reply to their criticism He charged them with being over-scrupulous about outward cleanliness, while they were indifferent to holiness of character. A certain lawyer being present objected to Christs words upon the ground that He had created the impression that the members of the bar were also guilty of a kindred hypocrisy and crime. Whereupon Jesus replied, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers (Luk 11:46). Some members of the legal profession are open to a similar indictment today. We still have men expounding laws which they themselves disregard, and prosecuting others under civil and even criminal statutes which they are constantly breaking. If there is any class of men, who, next to Christians, ought to have a profound respect for the law of the land, and be most careful to keep it themselves in letter and spirit, that class should be the members of the bar. A lawyer who drinks has no right either to prosecute or defend the fellow who has broken the peace. A lawyer given to gambling is unfit to expound the legislative act that makes such business a penal offense. A lawyer of immoral habits ought to be silenced in that court where questions of great moral concern are involved. There has long been an idea abroad to the effect that members of this profession were not to be expected to be models of civil behaviour, much less of moral excellence. Before I was regenerated, I had a very distorted idea of life and purposed sowing a good crop of wild oats when I should be old enough to get away from my fathers oversight, and accordingly it was my purpose to study law, and it was my thought that no sort of conduct was disreputable on the part of a lawyer. I have no doubt that my ideas of the profession were, for the most part, the result of acquaintance with a few lawyers of that class. That idea has been too long entertained and entertained too widely. Christ struck the keynote of the truth here when He condemned the profession for making and executing laws which they themselves broke with impunity.
I was pleased with the penitent letter which Mayor Brown of New Castle, Pennsylvania, once wrote to Mr. Squier and to the public, after having knocked Editor Squier down for lying about and maligning the Mayors Pastor. He says of the hasty, yet greatly provoked action, I here publicly and humbly ask the forgiveness of the citizens of New Castle. I have authorized the chief of police to see that I pay the penalty for the violation of a city ordinance, and so forth. That letter has in it the tone of absolute respect for the law, and when under heat of passion Brown broke the law, he proposed to pay the penalty and humbly confessed his error. Such respect for law every man ought to have; such obedience to the law every man ought to render who proposes to expound that law for the public and prosecute and defend mens claims in accordance with its decrees.
Diodes is said to have made a law that no man should come armed into the public assembly. Through inadvertency he chanced to break the law, and his enemies charged, He has broken a law he himself made. He turned to the accusers and declared with a loud voice, No, the law shall have its sanction, and drawing his sword, he killed himself.
It was a terrible penalty to inflict, but it gave a never-to-be forgotten illustration of respect for law.
On still another occasion a lawyer by a question intended for puzzling the Christ drew from Him a statement of the virtues proposed for the members of the bar. When the wily Sadducees had been routed by this Man of Nazareth, and were left gaping with astonishment at the wisdom of His words, we see the Pharisees gathering for the onslaught and the Scriptures say,
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying,
Master, which is the great Commandment in the Law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great Commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
There is a good sound basis of morality in that reply, and let us remember that such words were spoken to a lawyer. I was pleased to hear the speaker on the occasion of a law school commencement, urge upon the graduates the duty, yea the absolute necessity of moral character and exemplary conduct on their part, as they went into the honored profession. I greatly honor the profession of the law, and second to my present calling it should be my choice of professions, and yet if I entered it now I should hope for success only upon condition that to studious habits I added the force of moral character. There are few professions which can rightly claim a catalogue of nobler names than those which have been enrolled as members of the bar. Into that list have gone the imperishable names of Pitt the Elder, and Pitt the younger, Mirabeau, Fox, Burke and Gladstone, Hamilton, Calhoun, Webster, Sumner, Breckenridge and Clay, and such like, and yet this one claim will stand the test of study. They, whose names are already most immortal have been men of unimpeachable characters and spotless morals. When John Lord in his excellent Essay on Alexander Hamilton reaches the point where he chronicles the bloody deed of Burr in removing such a nobleman from the world, he speaks of Burr as falling from his former greatness like Lucifer, like a star from heaven, his name to become a reproach and his life record stained eternally with the spots of his murdered brothers blood, and adds, And here, let me say, that great men, although they do not commit crimes, cannot escape the penalty of even defects and vices that some consider menial. No position however lofty, no services however great, no talents however brilliant will enable a man to secure lasting popularity and influence when respect for his moral character is undermined; ultimately he will fall. He may have defects, he may have offensive peculiarities, and retain position and respect, for everybody has faults; but if his moral character is bad, nothing can keep him long on the elevation to which he has climbedno political friendships, no remembrances of services and deeds.
How many illustrations of this truth has history furnished already. Pitt was great in intellect, broad in his sympathies, and an actor-born, but his consummate efforts were only possible to a man of his moral parts. Hamiltons memory is revered whilst Burrs is cursed. Burr was the brighter of the two, and more accomplished, equally powerful in speech, but Hamilton was a man and Burr nursed in his bosom the demons that grew and dragged him down. Edmund Burke was oratory-ablaze and his name is a synonym of all that was conscientious and right. If Webster had defects of character, he was not great by reason of them, but in spite of them, and greater still because of the virtues that offset his errors. The greatest living man of yesterday, studied from whatever point, was a lawyer and a statesman. I mean Gladstone! In excellence of moral character he stood the noble equal of the peerless preacher of England, Mr. Spurgeon. So we repeat, Christ knew what need of virtue a lawyer had, and he who loves this calling ought to gladly bow at the feet of the Son of God and learn of Him.
Christianity is not so often professed by lawyers as by members of other callings, such as teaching, and the honorable trades, but I am not sure that the members of the bar are wholly to blame for that. Preachers are often discouraged with the perversities of human nature, and yet they seldom see men in their crookedest moods. Parishioners and others make a point of being on their good behavior when the parson is around. But clients generally discover their distempers of intellect and their viciousness of heart when they consult their legal defenders. To find a man seeking a lawyers advice upon some point in which he is being wronged or imagines himself so, without showing irritability of temper, questionable motive and cruel purpose is unusual to say the least. I shall not soon forget that page in Sir Walter Scotts novel, Guy Mannering, in which that waster of ideas and the pen makes Guy ask Lawyer Pleydell, Shall you be able to carry this honest fellows cause for him? to which the lawyer replies, Why I dont know. The battle is not to the strong, but he shall come off triumphant over Jock of Dawston if we can make it out. I owe him something. It is the pest of our profession, continued Pleydell, that we seldom see the best side of human nature. People come to us with every selfish feeling newly pointed and grinded; they turn down the very caulkers of their animosities and prejudices, as smiths do with horses shoes in a white frost. Many a man has come to my garret yonder, that I have at first longed to pitch out at the window, and yet at length have discovered that he was only doing as I might have done in his case, being very angry and of course very unreasonable. I have now satisfied myself that if our profession sees more of human folly and human roguery than others, it is because we witness them acting in that channel in which they can most freely vent themselves. In civilized society law is the chimney through which all that smoke discharges itself that used to circulate through the whole house, and put everyones eyes out. No wonder, therefore, that the vent itself should sometimes get a little sooty. I dont wonder! I confess that I reckon lawyers more often Christian men than the world has a right to expect. No man can believe in God and be fervently loyal to Him when once he has lost faith in his fellows. And how lawyers believe in mankind in general when most of those by whom they are engaged from time to time are as ugly in temper toward somebody as frizzly chickens are in personal appearance. I cant understand. If this talk should cause those who have listened to be always reasonable even when they are wronged and seek to get justice by means of the law, and to carry into civil courts a Christian spirit, then it will be easier for some lawyers to trust the good in men and follow the teaching of the Man of Nazareth.
Meantime, the members of this noble profession must understand that Christ has made no exception of them in His demand for universal allegiance and fervent love. When in His day lawyers joined with the Pharisees and rejected the counsel of God, He gave no hint that they would escape in the last day. Unfavorable conditions may mitigate judgment, but it cannot excuse unbelief and disobedience. Many men argue that if they were differently situated they would more easily live consistent Christian lives; but such a plea is a poor defense of so grave an act as the rejection of Jesus. If the brightest and best of Christians can come from characters which were once loathsomely degraded as was Bunyan; from those who were criminal as was old John Newton; from those who were doubly fettered by evil habits and vicious associates as was the noted Jerry McAuley, then let no one imagine that an honorable profession can be excused from the most sacred duty of men, because its work is often with unprincipled men, and almost always with men who are in ugly temper. Daniel was a lawyer and lived in a time when the profession was degraded by the practice of unprincipled men and yet he kept a heart ever warm with love to God, and full of service for his fellows even against all cruelties and intrigues from his brothers at the bar. Nicodemus came to Christ at night, when to come by day would have ruined his popularity if it had not cost his life. Saul was a lawyer, but when he heard the voice of the persecuted Master and learned that his practice was a persecution of God, he penitently inquired of Jesus, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? And from that hour so lived and labored for God, that we think of his crown as among the most brilliant of those worn by the saints already redeemed. Zenas, the man of my text, was a lawyer and yet such was his efficiency in Gospel meetings that when Paul needed help he wrote Titus to bring with him that member of the bar. The legal profession has never been without its illustrious followers of the Nazarene. Let us hope that it may never be, but that the religion which sent Hamilton to his grave guiltless after the severest temptation to shed blood to which man can ever be put; the religion that sustained Edmund Burke in all his trials of debate on America, on India, in the impeachment of Hastings, in defense of Irish Catholics, in reference to the French Revolution and lasting him to the end, left no spot upon his record over which good men need to blush; that the religion which supported the noble Webster in the hours of his crudest tortures, may be the religion of the bar in the days yet unborn.
Finally, Christ must be pleased with the allegiance of this profession for the sake of its influence. We do not believe that Jesus is any more a respecter of persons today than when on earth. We are confident that the salvation of the meanest beggar that tramps our highways makes the great heart of God as merry as would the regeneration of the most famed legalist of any nation. The angels in Heaven must have rejoiced as greatly when in Sam Jones meeting at Cincinnati, a whatnot was reached by the Gospel, as they did when Major Blackburn, the most noted criminal lawyer of that metropolis, was converted unto God. But no mans salvation stops with his own security. Men of broader learning and greater prominence among their fellows, react and affect for good or ill a greater number of immortal souls. One of the most serious indictments Christ ever brought against lawyers was that in which He said, Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered (Luk 11:52). He knew well the length and breadth of the influence for evil of such able opponents of the Truth. But as the unbelieving lawyer is a power for Satan, so may the believer be a power for Christ and His gracious Word. As the one closes the gate of life so the other may open it and by voice, deed and the power of life attract men to the King. This world is influenced by fashion to a considerable extent, and fashions emanate as a rule from people of some power. We are told that Queen Anne had a wen on her neck, and to hide it had a high ruffle put on her dress. A few months passed and the world of women was necked in ruffles. We dont want to be unmindful of our influence over the thoughts and actions of others. Dr. Green of Boston said, Two little girls were molding images in clay. One said, I am going to make a little devil. The other said, I am going to make a little angel. Brethren, we have power to do that and the mud in our hands is that of which men and women are made. Which will we make? I know the name Gladstone for his wonderful intellect, grasping more of universal knowledge than any living man. I honor him for his ponderous eloquence, used always in expression of noble opinions and defense of right. I love him for the embodiment of the noblest morals, and the champion of Gods Revelation; but to me he was even greater when he bowed in a humble cabin and tried to lead a man to Christ. Oh, brethren of the law, this is your privilege as well as mine. The ministry cares for no monopoly of this noble work. Lend us a helping hand and you may lay this glorious text to your heart. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(13) Bring Zenas the lawyer.A name contracted, as it seems, from Zenodorus. The term lawyer might possibly indicate that this friend of Pauls was a Roman jurist, but it is more likely that the law in which he was an expert was that of Moses. Hippolytus numbers him among the seventy disciples, and relates how in after years he was Bishop of Diospolis. He is never mentioned by name in the New Testament, except in this place.
And Apollos.This famous teacher appears often in the New Testament records, in the Acts and several of the Epistles. A distinguished Alexandrian scholar and a disciple of John the Baptist, he was converted to Christianity by the agency of the devoted Priscilla and Aquila, the tent-makers. He became the friend and intimate associate of St. Paul, and might, had he chosen, have rivalled or even superseded St. Paul in his supreme authority over the churches planted along the Mediterranean sea-board. But Apollos seems resolutely to have declined any such rivalry, and to have lived ever as the loyal and devoted friend of the great Apostle; who, however, always seems to have treated the learned and eloquent Alexandrian as an equal power in the Church of Christ, classing Apollos with St. Peter and himself. Luthers well-known suggestion that Apollos was the unknown writer of the Epistle to the Hebrewsauctor Epistol ad Hebros . . . ut ego arbritror Apollothe authorship (though not the canonicity) of which has been a disputed point as far back as the days of Origen, in the first half of the third centuryhas been adopted, though, of course, with much reserve, by many. Attention has been called to the somewhat remarkable fact that the names of these three friends of St. Paul, who were classed among his most faithful adherents in this almost the last Epistle he wrote, were derived from three of the most famous heathen deitiesZenas from Zeus; Artemas from Artemis, the famous tutelary goddess of Ephesus; Apollos from the well-known sun-god.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘Set forward Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting to them.’
Meanwhile it is clear that Zenas, a lawyer (of either Hebrew or Roman law), and Apollos were either in Crete, or would be met by him on his journey, and would soon be moving on. Titus was asked to ensure that they were well provisioned. This points very strongly to them being in Crete.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Tit 3:13. Bring Zenas, &c. St. Paul, most likely, knew that Zenas and Apollos were to pass through, or touch upon the island; and therefore he ordered Titus, , to conduct them along with all care; or to furnish them with provisions, to help them to proceed comfortably in their journey. See 3Jn 1:6. As the word is the word made use of, Mat 22:35 and as Zenas is here mentioned with Apollos, it seems more probable that he was a Jewish, than a Roman lawyer.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Tit 3:13 . ] Zenas is otherwise unknown. The epithet . shows either that he had been formerly a Jew learned in the Scriptures, a (Mat 22:35 , and other passages), or as is more probable that he was one skilled in law, a jurisconsultus (Strabo, 12, p. 539: , ).
] He is known from Acts and 1 Corinthians; but it is not known when he went to Crete. [21]
] “ equip carefully for departure ;” on , comp. 3Jn 1:6 . Wiesinger translates by “hastily,” unsuitably, as the words . . . show. In the prevailing conception is zeal; is equivalent to “be zealous for a thing.” Luther: “make ready with diligence.”
] Hofmann’s opinion, that “this is an imperative sentence in itself,” is all the more arbitrary that manifestly refers to ; comp. besides what was said on 1Ti 1:3 .
[21] Hofmann suggests that Zenas and Apollo set out from the place where Paul was at the time of writing the epistle, in order to proceed by Crete to Alexandria, which was Apollo’s native place, and that Paul gave them this epistle to Titus to serve them also as a letter of recommendation. These are mere conjectures, for which there is no foundation.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
13 Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
Ver. 13. That nothing be wanting ] Those that labour in the Lord’s work must have all necessary accommodations and encouragements. They must be set forth and brought forward on their journey and in their negotiations worthy of God,3Jn 1:63Jn 1:6 . Deduetione honorifica, Act 15:3 ; Act 20:38 ; Act 21:5 . A Balaam will not deal hardly with his ass, if once he perceive the Lord to be in him, and to speak by him; shall we deal unworthily with God’s ministers, in whom God is of a truth, 1Co 14:25 , and hath given unto them the ministry of reconciliation?2Co 5:82Co 5:8 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Tit 3:13 . : In the absence of any example of this word being used as the equivalent of legisperitus (Vulg.), jurisconsultus or jurisperitus , it seems best to assume that Zenas was a in the usual N.T. sense, an expert in the Mosaic Law.
: For Apollos, see article in Hastings’ D. B .
: set forward on their journey, praemitte ; but deduco is the rendering where the word occurs elsewhere. See reff.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Bring . . . journey. Greek. propempo. See Act 15:3. Compare App-174.
Zenas. Not referred to elsewhere.
Apollos. Mentioned Act 18:24; Act 19:1, and seven times in 1 Corinthians.
diligently. Compare Tit 3:12
nothing. Greek. medeis.
wanting. See Tit 1:5.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Tit 3:13. , that nothing) Titus therefore had the means. They did not go empty.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Tit 3:13
Set forward Zenas the lawyer-It is quite likely that before Zenas became a Christian he had been a Jewish lawyer. The lawyers were a class of Jewish teachers who were especially learned in the Mosaic law, and who interpreted that law and taught it to the people. Nothing more is known of Zenas than is contained in this passage.
and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.-Apollos is mentioned as a colaborer of Paul on several occasions. They were traveling together somewhere and Paul directs Titus to bring them on their journey diligently, and see that they were in want of nothing. They were doubtless on a journey preaching, and, possibly like Titus, going to see Paul for the last time.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
the lawyer: Mat 22:35, Luk 7:30, Luk 10:25, Luk 11:45, Luk 11:52, Luk 14:3
Apollos: Act 18:24
on: Act 21:5, Act 28:10, Rom 15:24, 1Co 16:11, 3Jo 1:6-8
Reciprocal: Act 15:3 – brought
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Tit 3:13. Zenas was a lawyer, meaning an expert in the law of Moses. He and Apollos were to be escorted by Titus to the presence of Paul, and be provided with all things necessary for their transportation.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Tit 3:13. Hospitality to Christian travellers was an urgent virtue in the early Church. Of Zenas nothing is known. Tradition calls him one of the seventy, and later a bishop at Diospolis.
Lawyer may mean either a Jewish scribe or a jurisconsult of the Roman Empire.
Bring on their journey, etc., means to equip them for further travel with everything needful.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Here we have a second private affair which is given in charge to Titus, namely, that he help forward on their journey Zenas and Apollos, both apostolic men, the former an expounder of the law of Moses, the other an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures; both these cleaved to St. Paul, and therefore were worthily to be respected by Titus, whom the apostle therefore bids him be kind and courteous to, and help them forward with their journey.
Learn thence, That Christianity is no enemy to, but a great promoter of, all offices of humanity and civil courtesy towards all persons, towards strangers particularly, towards good men especially.
Observe next, St. Paul desires Titus to take care that those servants of God be so supplied, that they lack nothing; such as are engaged in the Lord’s work must be carefully provided for, and care taken that they lack nothing.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Tit 3:13-15. Bring Or send forward; Zenas the lawyer Zenas is mentioned in this passage only, and called , the lawyer, because, according to Jeromes interpretation, which is also that of Dr. Benson, he had formerly been a teacher of the law among the Jews; see Mat 22:35, where the same appellation is given to one of that profession. He might possibly, however, as others think, be a Roman lawyer; and Apollos It is probable that Zenas and Apollos were to pass through Crete, either in their way to the apostle, or to some place whither he had sent them. He therefore desired Titus to help them forward on their journey by supplying them with such necessaries as they were in want of, that they might not be retarded. And let ours also All our brethren in Crete, whether ministers or private members of the church; learn By thy admonition and example; to maintain good works Works of charity and bounty; for necessary uses For the relief of the poor brethren, that they may not want any necessary; that they The Cretian believers; be not unfruitful Unserviceable to those among whom they dwell. Perhaps, at some former period, they had not assisted Zenas and Apollos as they ought to have done. Greet them that love us in the faith That is, for the faiths sake, and with such a love as Christianity requires.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Week 12: Tit 3:13-15 THE WORKS
Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them.
I won’t tell any stories about lawyers, because I’m sure they have a multitude of theologian jokes that they would love to send my way, but suffice it to say, that Paul saw benefit to lawyers. I guess the surprise is that Zenas must have been an itinerant lawyer of some sore to be able to just pick up and go at the apostle’s request.
Not sure, given the growing antichristian climate in the world that this might not be a possible ministry for our own present age; someone that could go place to place giving assistance to people that are in need.
Zenas means Jupiter, while Apollos means “given by Apollo.” Zenas was a lawyer, which may be a lawyer or one that knows the law, but it can also denote a man that works with and teaches the Old Testament law. (The Net Bible note feels that he was a civil lawyer.) Tradition suggests that he was “one of the seventy disciples of Christ, and afterwards bishop of Diospolis.”
We know a little more about Apollos. He is introduced in Act 18:24 ff as a Jew from Alexandrea (North Africa). He is noted for his eloquence and after he became a believer, was quite convincing to the Jewish people. He was evidently a disciple of John the Baptist or one of the Baptist’s followers, for it is noted in Acts that he was preaching in the synagogue with only the understanding of the Baptists teaching. It is also noted in this passage that Aquila and Priscilla nurtured him in the things of Christ.
He was an itinerant preacher and recommended by the brethren. He is mentioned as one of the leaders in Corinth (1Co 1:12) that the people were becoming divisive over. Some were claiming him as their leader while others held to the leadership of Paul. Paul goes on to deal with this problem in the following context.
To have been thus viewed, he must have been an exceptional communicator as was Paul. Both must have been striking men to know and sit under while they preached.
In 1Co 16:12 Apollos is shown to be in compliance with Paul’s wishes for his travels. A good preacher, eloquent, a good minister of the Word and a good cooperating servant with Paul.
One brief side note about Apollos might be that he was teaching wrong doctrine as a disciple of the Baptist, yet we have no indication that he was condemned by anyone. We are told that others took him under their wing to properly teach him.
As we go through life, if you run into someone that is teaching false doctrine, speak to them and attempt to teach them correctly. If they will not admit to their error, then there might be basis for discipline, as we have seen, but if they are accepting of correction and proper teaching, then do so and be sure it is not in a condemning manner.
It is suggested that Titus is to bring these men with him. Either they were with Titus on Crete or they were going to be passing through on their way to Paul, however the later makes little sense, in that Crete is an island and is not on the way to anywhere unless the two men were arriving by boat from ports unknown. Gill holds to the idea of them being at Crete at the time and preparing for a journey.
Some suggest, on the other hand, that these two were traveling from the north and heading via Crete and continuing on by ship to some other destination. They further suggest that the verse is a request for Titus to care for their needs as they travel. The Net Bible follows this line of thought. “Make every effort to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; make sure they have what they need.” They further translate the next verse as follows, thus backing those holding this position. “Here is another way that our people can learn to engage in good works to meet pressing needs and so not be unfruitful.”
Gill says that the Syriac Bible has a postscript to Colossians that mentions it was being sent by Zenas and Apollos thus indicating they were with Paul and it might be possible that they also were carrying this letter to Titus on their way to a final destination.
Keathley holds to the thought that the two were carrying the letter to Titus as part of their journey on past Crete to a final destination.
“Diligent” not only has the idea of “be sure you do it” but also the idea of quickness about the task as well as earnestness in the task.
There is one element that is quite clear in this passage. Diligence. When you are involved in the Lord’s work, be diligent. Don’t allow all things to come before your service to God, but allow all things to become subservient to your service to God.
Servanthood is an option to the believer, in that God does not force servanthood. Servanthood is the command, and it is up to us as individuals to place ourselves in that position. Christ bought us and we are His property, whether we act like it or not.
One that is not “serving” God should consider the ramifications of deciding not to do what they are told in the Word. If SERVING is commanded, and you do not, then you are walking in sin. If walking in sin, you cannot have the full blessing of God. If walking in sin, you cannot have an adequate and proper relationship to the Spirit. If you do not relate properly to the Spirit, you cannot have proper leading and guidance from Him. Just how proper can your life be? I trust you will amend your decision quickly so that you can be right with God. There are a lot of other ramifications if you want to consider them.
There is a priority in life that must be maintained. God first, family second, employer or occupation third. There are many marriages – Christian marriages, where one partner places occupation above the other two and splits the couple. This is wrong and should be corrected.
God must come first in everyone’s life in the family, and then the family and occupation will come into proper perspective.
Be diligent in your visitation; don’t allow a minor headache to keep you home to watch TV.
Be diligent in your teaching; don’t allow a busy schedule to rob your students of proper preparation.
Be diligent in your cleaning of the church; don’t decide that someone else will clean it up.
BE DILIGENT!
Gill goes to some lengths with the thought of good works. He runs with the fact that this can be translated “honest trades” and comments to the thought of a father’s need to teach a son a trade, as was the custom of the day. He does then go on to give emphasis to the idea of “good works” as they are normally understood.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
Zenas and Apollos (cf. Act 18:24 to Act 19:1) were apparently in Crete with Titus and planned to leave Crete for other places of ministry. They may have previously carried this letter from Paul to Titus. Zenas ("gift of Zeus") was evidently a converted Jewish lawyer who was an expert in the Mosaic Law, as the word "lawyer" (Gr. nomikon) means in the Gospels. [Note: Mounce, p. 458; Robertson, 4:608.] Or he could have been an expert in Greek or Roman law, in view of his Greek name. [Note: Towner, The Letters . . ., pp. 801-2.] Paul urged Titus and the Cretan Christians to help these two brethren by ministering to their needs. The apostle gave them a concrete opportunity to put good deeds into practice.