“For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything” (2 Corinthians 7:14-16).
One of Jesus’ most challenging parables has come to be known as “The Parable Of The Vineyard Owner.” That parable involved a group of tenant farmers who leased a vineyard from it’s owner in return for a portion of the crop. The tenant farmers then went on to treat a succession of representatives from the vineyard’s owner with increasing contempt until they finally murdered the owner’s son in an attempt to secure the vineyard for themselves.
While there are a number of important insights contained within that parable, one underlying message is obvious: the way we treat someone’s representative serves to indicate the amount of respect we hold for the one who sent him or her. We can apply this idea to the closing verses of 2 Corinthians chapter seven by considering the manner in which the Corinthian congregation received Titus, the Apostle Paul’s emissary.
In a sense, Titus was an extension of Paul himself and the fact that the Corinthians welcomed Titus “…with reverence and respect” (CJB) signaled an important shift in their attitude towards Paul. Since it is difficult to lead, communicate, and interact with those who hold an attitude of disrespect, their response told Paul that the members of the Corinthian congregation were open to receiving his counsel.
Unfortunately, we’ll later find that this was not necessarily true of everyone who attended the church at Corinth. As one commentary on this passage observes, “…like a good pastor (Paul) commended the Corinthians and expressed his confidence (2Co_5:6, 2Co_5:8) in them after their positive response. He could only hope that the subjects he was about to discuss (in chaps. 8-9 and 10-13) would meet with the same spirit.” (1)
2 Corinthians chapter eight will next go on to open a two chapter section on the subject of charitable giving. In the following chapter, Paul will use the example of some other first-century churches to encourage the members of the Corinthian church to be generous in their support of those who were in need. Finally, 2 Corinthians chapter nine will discuss the right perspective in regard to financial giving and detail God’s response to those who give with an attitude that honors Him.
(1) John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Bible Knowledge Commentary [7:13-16] © 1983 John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck