For this cause left I thee in Crete
Not in his voyage to Rome, ( Acts 27:7 ) but rather
when he came from Macedonia into Greece, ( Acts 20:2 ) . Crete is an
island in the Mediterranean sea, now called Candy; (See Gill
on Acts
2:11). Here Paul preached the Gospel to the conversion of
many; but not having time to finish what he begun, left Titus
here for that purpose:
that thou shouldest set in order the things that are
wanting;
that is, form the young converts into Gospel order, into a
regular Gospel church state; settle a proper discipline among
them; instruct them more largely into the doctrines of the
Gospel; and correct their manners, and direct them in everything,
both with respect to faith and practice:
and ordain elders in every city:
for this island, though it was not above fifty miles in breadth,
and two hundred and seventy in length, yet had an hundred cities
in it F4; and it seems as if the Gospel had
been preached in most, if not all of them, and churches were
formed: however, in as many of them as there were churches, the
apostle would have Titus see to it, and take care that they had
proper officers fixed in them, particularly elders, pastors, or
overseers, to preach the Gospel, and administer the ordinances to
them, to watch over them in the Lord, and put the laws of
Christ's house in execution, and keep up a strict discipline in
it, according to the will of God. What Titus was to do in this
affair, was to put the churches upon looking out, and choosing
from among themselves proper persons for such service, and to
direct, assist, and preside at the elections and ordinations of
them: for we are not to suppose, that the ordination of elders
was the sole act of Titus, or alone resided in him; but in like
manner as Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in every church, by
the suffrages of the people, signified by the stretching out of
their hands; in which they directed, presided, and also assisted
in prayer, with fasting, ( Acts 14:23 )
as I had appointed thee;
when he left him at Crete; when he gave him orders and
instructions, both with respect to the persons, and their
qualifications, whom he would have ordained, and with respect to
the manner in which it should be done: the former of these he
repeats in the following verses. From all which it clearly
appears, that there were churches in Crete, and pastors placed
over those churches; very probably the Cretes, who were at
Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, ( Acts 2:11 ) , and heard
Peter's sermon, and were converted by him, some of them returning
to their own country, might first bring the Gospel to this
island, and lay the foundation of a Gospel church state here. It
seems by what is said in this text, that the Apostle Paul was in
this island himself, and preached the Gospel, and after him
Titus, whom he left behind; and if any credit is to be given to
the subscription of this epistle, he was the first bishop of the
church in it: and it is certain, that in the "second" century
there were churches in this island, particularly at Gortyna, and
other places, to whom Dionysius F5, bishop of Corinth, wrote
letters, in which he greatly extols Philip their bishop; and in
another letter of his to the Gnossians, or to the church at
Gnossus, another city in Crete, he makes mention of Pinytus as
their bishop, and whom he commends for his orthodox faith, great
knowledge of divine things, and care of his flock; and both these
lived in the times of the Emperors Antoninus Verus and Commodus
F6; which churches, no doubt, continued
in the "third" century, since in the "fourth" we read of bishops
sent from Crete to the synod at Sardica: and in the "fifth"
century, a bishop of Gortyna in Crete is reckoned among the
bishops in the council of Chalcedon: and in the "sixth" century,
Theodorus, bishop of the same place, subscribed in the fifth
synod at Constantinople: and in the "seventh" century, Paul
archbishop of Crete, Basil bishop of Gortyna, with several other
bishops of churches in the island, were present at the sixth
synod at Constantinople: and in the "eighth" century, as appears
from the acts of the Nicene synod, Helias was bishop of Crete,
Anastasius bishop of Gnossus, a city in it, and Melito, Leontins,
and Galatas, bishops of other places in the same island: and in
the "ninth" century, a bishop of Gortyna, in defence of the cause
of Christ, became a martyr F7; so far churches, and
bishops, bearing the Christian name, are to be traced in this
island.