“Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more” (2 Corinthians 7:6-7).
To borrow a phrase used earlier by the Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 7:6 refers to a New Testament personality who is both well-known and unknown. That person is Titus. While Titus is mentioned over a dozen times within the pages of the New Testament Scriptures, very little is actually known about him. This becomes even more surprising when we consider that the seventeenth book of the New Testament is comprised of a letter that was addressed to him.
Here’s some of what we do know: Paul’s Biblical letter to Titus tells us that he had been assigned to oversee the individual churches on the island of Crete at one point in his ministry. Unfortunately, the citizens of Crete had a poor reputation in the ancient world and its possible that some negative qualities had started to emerge within the early church there.
It seems likely that Titus was given the responsibility of overseeing the church in Crete because he possessed the God-given leadership skills that would best serve the needs of the church in that area. This may also explain why Paul asked Titus to visit the Christian community at Corinth.
Although Paul sincerely loved the members of the Corinthian church, the latter portions of this letter will show that he was realistic about the challenges that existed within the church there. Much like the congregations on the island of Crete, Paul may have seen Titus as someone who was best equipped to work with the members of the Corinthian fellowship and help them on to a more God-honoring path.
The passage quoted above tells us that God ultimately blessed that decision and as one commentator notes…
“Paul was encouraged by the manner in which the Corinthians comforted Titus, since he brought them such a confrontational letter . Paul was also encouraged by their response to himself, which was manifested in 3 ways: 1) ‘longing’—they were eager to see Paul again and resume their relationship with him; 2) ‘mourning’—they were sorrowful over their sin and the breach it created between themselves and Paul; and 3) ‘zeal’—they loved Paul to such a degree that they were willing to defend him against those who sought to harm him, specifically the false teachers.” (1)
(1) MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Co 7:7). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.