NOTES for Tit 2:1

Reading in Paul's letters about the life he proposes Christians should lead, one cannot help recalling wisdom writings, examples of which are easy to find, for instance, in the Book of Proverbs. The call to chastity, to responsibility in household matters, and to respect for elders (vv. 1-6) was by no means something new. In a certain sense, the call for slaves to obey their masters not out of fear but for conscience's sake (vv. 9-10), which in the letter to Titus is not heard for the first time, could be considered new. This, however, is not surprising: ancient Israel never knew the mass slaveholding that characterized Egypt, Greece, or Rome. But the apostle, it is clear, applies the principles of social relations reflected in the tradition of wisdom writing to the realities of the Greco-Roman world. He evidently considers, if not the recommendations of the ancient sages themselves, then at least the logic that produced them to be universal enough.

Of course, such calls and exhortations were connected not least with political messianism, which at that time was widely spread in the Synagogue and was probably also entering church circles, above all, of course, the Judeo-Christian milieu, which then largely determined the life of the Church as a whole. Paul was a determined opponent of such ideas and views. And, as is clear, not only because political messianism was for him an obviously false messianism that could lead to nothing but senseless uprisings and subsequent reprisals. The main point was elsewhere: the apostle never forgot the Savior's words that His Kingdom is "not of this world." Social reforms, political struggle, or uprisings by themselves could not bring the triumph of the Kingdom nearer, as the apostle knew perfectly well. For Paul, society was only a means and an environment: a means for witness to the Kingdom and an environment in which witnesses must live temporarily, until the complete transfiguration of the world. And he wants this environment to hinder as little as possible the main task for Christians: their own spiritual formation and witness (vv. 11-14), in which the meaning of the Christian life consists.

It is said that in Soviet times, when religious propaganda was a crime and attending church could at the very least get one dismissed from work, someone suggested this simple test: “If people at your workplace discover that you are a believer, do you think it will be religious or anti-religious propaganda?” This is what the apostle Paul speaks about in his letter to Titus. There is only one means of opposing anti-religious propaganda, only one effective way of evangelizing: our life in Christ. If people can say of us, “They are just like everyone else, only worse because they are hypocrites,” then, sadly, it means that our life has turned into anti-religious propaganda.

We love Christ very much, and often because of this love we feel so sorry for Him in His sufferings that we want so badly for Him to avoid them by some miracle. In a way, we become like Peter when he said, "This shall never happen to You" (Matt. 16:22), only we cry out: if only You could avoid such suffering. And in those moments it seems to us that if Judas had been stopped, nothing would have happened. Judas becomes the object of our involuntary desire for revenge.

But we must not forget the main thing. Christ's suffering was voluntary. In the whole drama, Judas played no decisive role; he was simply a victim, a victim of his own weakness. Therefore it is wrong to see him as the embodiment of world evil or anything of the kind. If Judas had not been there, everything would have happened according to another scenario, but the meaning of the Redemption, as the greatest event in human history, would not have changed.

Another question that often arises in connection with Judas concerns his free will. Was he merely an instrument in the hands of providence? After all, Christ says that he was the "son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled" (John 17:12). Of course, this is not so either. A person is never merely an instrument in God's hands; each person whom He created "in His image and likeness" is too precious to Him. Some exegetes believe that when Christ dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas, He did so not in order to amaze the disciples with His omniscience, but to give Judas a chance to come to his senses, since the conversation was quiet, as we can see if we read the text carefully (John 13:26).

Besides, Judas could have repented as Peter did. But he would have had to repent exactly as Peter did, by bearing worthy fruit of repentance. Judas does not manage to do this. And that makes him deeply pitiful. Pity is the feeling that should arise in us toward this man.