Writer: Paul

³ After his release from his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul was again associated with Timothy and Titus during the final years of his ministry. This appears to have included service in Crete, Greece, and Macedonia. Finally, Paul is spoken of as going to Nicopolis, in northwest Greece, where he was apparently arrested and taken to Rome for his final imprisonment and execution. It was during the visit to Crete that Paul had left Titus there to “correct the things that were defective and . . . make appointments of older men in city after city,” in harmony with the instructions he had given Titus. Paul’s letter appears to have been written shortly after he left Titus in Crete, most likely from Macedonia. (Titus 1:5; 3:12; 1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:13, 20) It seems to have served a purpose similar to that of First Timothy, namely, to encourage Paul’s colaborer and to give him authoritative backing in his duties.

4. When must the letter to Titus have been written, and what is the evidence for its authenticity?

⁴ Paul must have written the letter sometime between his first and his second imprisonment at Rome, or about 61 to 64 C.E.