 Okay, welcome back off the break. Just before we went for a break, we were looking at Titus chapter one, verse one, where we're talking about the promise of eternal life, which is a sure promise because it rests on God's eternal nature that He cannot lie and His eternal promises because it comes from a God whose nature is, you know, who does not speak lies, is free from falsehood and is free from all deceit and truthful and trustworthy. And we also see that Paul says that, you know, this promise of eternal life that God, you know, spoke even before time. So Paul goes on to show that this eternal life is promised, was not promised just when, you know, Adam and Eve sinned, but it was something that God already thought about it in eternity past, even before the foundations of this world. And it's not something that He just made a last minute or at the moment decision, you know, but it's something that, you know, He has already had full knowledge, already pre-planned something that stretches back the promises of God, stretches back into eternity past. Verse three says, but as in June 9 manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Saviour. So even as God had planned everything, the whole plan of redemption, the whole plan of salvation, everything that was already settled in His mind. It's a done, completed thing in eternity past with the Lamb of God already being slain from the foundations of the world as we read in Revelation chapter 13 verse 8. So even before Adam and Eve sinned, even before God created Adam and Eve, even before they sinned, in God's mind, the whole plan, redemption plan of salvation was a done, completed thing. That is who God is. So it was something that was already settled in eternity past, but the message was proclaimed, was made known in God's own time, and according to His own purpose, and was revealed in the fullness of time in the Chairos moment. So even though all of this was completed in the heart and mind of God, even before He even spoke out these promises there in the Garden of Eden, we have the Edenic covenant which God makes when He is pronouncing the curse. He says the steed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent, which is the Edenic covenant which God makes. Even before He makes all these covenant and promises, it's already completed in His heart and mind. God already has foreknowledge, thought about it, but in His own time He reveals it according to His own purpose. So in the Old Testament, we see that there is an anticipation of the salvation message which was prophesied, which was spoken of by the prophets, and all of the things that God ordained in the Old Testament, whether it is the tabernacle, whether it's the rituals, whether it's the sacrifices, the covenants, whether it is the ceremonies that they have to follow. Everything spoke of this servant messiah, the servant king would come, this messiah would come, and so everything, whether it's the tabernacle, whether it's the priesthood, whether it's the sacrifices, the rituals, whether it is the ceremonies, everything we see is fulfilled in the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the message has not only been made evident in the historical events of the life, the ministry, the death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but Paul is saying, all of this is evident in history, but it has to be spoken of, it has to be made known to the world today, in Titus, in Paul's time, in our time, as well. And so Christianity came into the world in a time when it was uniquely possible for this message to spread rapidly, because there was a common language which was Greek, the Roman Empire controlled most of the world, their empire was very vast, and travel was somewhat easy because this populace saying all roads lead to Rome, and also it was proclaimed at the right moment God sent his son, because the world was very conscious of its need for a Messiah, for a savior, and William Barclay was one of the commentary writers says, there was never a time when the hearts of men were more open to receive the message of salvation which the Christian missionaries brought. So God brought about his plan of salvation into full effect at the Cairo's moment, the right moment, when the world was easy for the gospel to be propagated, and the world was looking more than ever before for a Messiah. And Paul says that it is through preaching, he says, in the due time manifested his word through preaching. So it is through preaching, it's a way that God's eternal work meets people to date. So preaching is a way God's word is made more manifest, made more reality, something that people can experience, taste, touch, see, and just an experience attainable manifest presence of God. And then he goes on to say that this preaching of the gospel was committed to me according to the commandment of God our savior. So Paul viewed this message and its proclamation of preaching the gospel. He said that he was committed, which means the Greek word means here to have faith, to end trust. So the meaning here is to be entrusted with something. So Paul is saying, you know, I've been entrusted, I've been given the privilege of responsibility to proclaim this message. And Paul knew that, you know, this work of teaching the gospel has been entrusted to him, but not to him only, but it's also committed to all believers. And Paul sees preaching the gospel or teaching the gospel or the proclamation of the gospel as a treasure, you know, which he says is entrusted to him. So it's a big treasure that has been entrusted to him. So here in Titus, the apostle, you know, is actually becoming an example to Titus and to the people at Crete. And also an example to us that the message of the savior is given to us. It's a privilege. It's a responsibility. We have been given the truth of the gospel. We have been given the word of God as a treasure for safekeeping. And it's not like a treasure that needs to be hidden in a safe deposit kept under lock and key. But, you know, in a box, like we keep our other important treasures, but it is something that has been entrusted to us to proclaim to share it with others. So this God-given trust or responsibility or privilege is to proclaim the gospel. It's not something that we just take it or leave it, you know, it's not like a take it or leave it matter for the Christians. It's not even an option that has been given to us. And Paul is saying it's not an option that is given, but, you know, it is mandatory because a great commission, you know, tells us to preach and teach and to make disciples of all nations. So we have been entrusted with this responsibility with this privilege and the command has been given by the savior to all believers to preach and teach. So we need to preach and teach like we just looked at in the last class. In 2 Timothy chapter 4, you know, preach and teach the word of God in all its entirety in its truth with the right interpretation in place, in season and out of season, which means when you feel like and you don't feel like whatever do it at all heights. So this great commission has been given to the disciples, to Paul as an apostle to us and to the church also. And it's a command and it's not something that we can just take it or leave it matter, but something is given as a command, as a trust. And it's an awesome responsibility for us, a privilege that we need to preach and teach the gospel. And then he goes on to say that, you know, the gospel has been committed to me according to the command of God, our savior. So Paul identifies God as his savior, you know, so it's an awesome title to see God as a savior God. And it's very, it stresses the very nature and the very heart of God and his heart to save people and heart to free people from sin, from the penalty of sin, the power of sin. So here is God who is concerned with man's salvation and salvation from sin's penalty, sin's power and the ultimately from the presence of sin. So when we die, we are in God's presence, we are ultimately freed from the presence of sin. And we see here the very heart of God concerning man's salvation. Verse four says to Titus a true son in the common faith, raise mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our savior. So Paul is referring to Titus as his son, true son. It was Paul who led Titus to Christ, also mentored him and, you know, made him grow in his spiritual growth and brought him to a place where he can serve God and become a co-labor, a co-companion alongside Paul. And he says a true son in our common faith. So, you know, Paul and Titus, you know, had this relation of a father and son because of their common faith, because of who they were in Christ Jesus. So by using this word common, Paul reminds us that, you know, what we hold in common with all believers is our faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the finished work of the cross, what he's done for us and the cross, what we believe in, what we have faith in, is what binds us all together. And because we believe that we are part of the spiritual family, you know, regardless of our nationality, our status or who we are, but we are all part of this family because of our faith in God who is our Savior, who receives salvation for us and the finished work of the cross. So all who have trusted in the Lord Jesus, you know, we stand together as fathers, as mothers, as, you know, as brothers and sisters in Christ. In some cases we are spiritual fathers, spiritual mothers, some cases we are children, some cases we are brothers and sisters. And it is this common faith that provides the basis for harmony and communion and fellowship in the body of Christ. And then Paul goes on to talk about his normal greetings when he's talked about his credentials. Why is he posing his credentials? It's not because, you know, he's, he wants to just assert his authority on them, but it's because, you know, his main aim is because he wants them to grow in the truth, you know, be built on a strong foundation in their faith which will lead to godliness. And then he's talking about, you know, all about the hope that we have, the eternal life, God's eternal nature and his eternal promises. And then he comes to greetings and he says, grace, mercy and peace, which is Paul's very typical greetings and blessings which he writes to the people because these words are very typical of the greetings and blessings in the ancient world. And we see that Paul never changes the order of the blessings. He first says grace, you know, and then he goes on to talk about mercy and then peace. So grace is basically the unmerited favor of God and it is completely dependent and characterised and personalised by in Jesus Christ himself. It's because of God's great mercy and grace and mercy that we are part of his family that we have received salvation and as a result of this, you know, we experience peace. So we experience peace only in our response by faith to this grace and mercy that, you know, Jesus Christ has revealed to us that God has revealed to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And he says grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are saviours. So when Paul uses these words, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are saviours, you know, he's not just using it as a formality or making a statement, you know, as a typical formal statement, but Paul knew that the source of all grace, mercy and peace comes from nowhere else other than God and God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ who is our saviour. So in all of his episode greetings, Paul teaches us that there can be neither grace nor peace without a personal relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ our saviour. Now the pronoun our saviour, you know, stresses the need of personal faith and points to the common relationship all believers have together. So it's our personal faith, our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who is our saviour on which basis we receive grace, mercy and peace. And also it's because our faith that binds us along with people of the similar faith, you know, that believers have together that Jesus is our Lord and our saviour. Okay. So that is verses one to four. Anyone has any questions before we go on to verses five to nine? Yes, Asha. Yes, Asha. Pastor, I was just comparing the book of Timothy and Titus. So in both the chapter where it says, like, to Timothy, my true child in the faith and to Titus, my true child in a common faith. So he's talking about his spiritual son, right? Like, I know Paul did not get married and all, but how did he like, So was Titus a younger man or the, like how Timothy was young in, I don't know how to explain that, Sir. I was just very curious. Yes. So when Paul is saying that he's referring to Titus and Timothy as his son in the faith, which means that, you know, he's much older to them. And we also see that, you know, when he puts Timothy in and leaves him in Ephesus, he's 30 plus and Paul was much older. So, yes, as a father and son relationship. So these two were younger because he brought them to the faith, he mentored them and Paul was much older to them. That's why he says stun. Thank you. Anyone else has any questions? Okay, if there are no questions and we'll move on to verses five to nine. So can somebody please read verses five to nine, please. Why I let you increase so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination for an overseer as God's toward must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick tempered or drunkard or violent or greedy for game, but hospital or a lover of good self controlled a pride holy and discipline. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as thought so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to review those who contract it. Amen. Thank you, Asha. So here Paul is again writing what he has written to First Timothy. Sorry, Timothy in First Timothy chapter three is talking about how to choose elders, leaders, bishops in the congregation. And he starts verse five by saying, there's a reason I let you increase. You know, he says states are reason is to build stable churches with the much mature qualified pastors for the believers there. And we also know that, you know, the credence where a wild bunch were known as liars lazy people. And so, you know, Titus had this responsibility to find suitable leaders to train them to oversee the churches and to minister to the people. In the churches at Crete. And so he says, you know, I left you there in Crete to set in order. The Greek word for order here means to straighten further, which means already there was some work done when Paul and Titus were there in Crete. But this is to straighten further what needs to be done more to correct in addition. That is what the Greek word. So, you know, when you actually study the Old Testament, New Testament in Crete, it gives you such a much more deeper meaning. So because when you read here, it's set in order, which means, okay, then we think that there's no order in the church at Crete. So Paul is telling Titus, you know, hey, set the churches in Crete in order. But if you look at the Greek word, it says, you know, you can read it as set in order means set straighten or further or, you know, correct in addition. That means already the work has done, but further more work needs to be done. You know, there was some correction that has already taken place, but in further addition to the correction that needs to take place. So do what needs to be done there. So that which means he's saying to what has already been done. You know, so he's telling Paul the reason why Titus, the reason why left you in Crete is, you know, to set what has already been done to further strengthen or straighten and to bring further correction in addition to what I have already been, has already been done. So look at, you know, how just the change in the Greek word from English word has such more richer and deeper meaning. So here Paul is saying, you know, telling Titus, hey, we began the work at Crete, but I want you to continue the work that has still to be done. Otherwise it would be like, you know, we gave birth to children, we care for them for a little while, and then we abandon them by leaving them on someone else's doorstep. So, you know, he's telling Titus, you need to preach and teach so that they can grow spiritually and appoint godly leaders so that they can build up those who are babies in the faith. So what work has been done can be strengthened further and there can be more correction that is being brought in from what we have already established at Crete. And he says set in order the things that are lacking. So, you know, he's saying, you know, set in order the things that are lacking, which means that, you know, there was more work to be done at Crete than at Ephesus where Timothy was because, you know, if you compare the work of Titus at Crete and the work of Timothy in Ephesus, you know, it shows Paul does not mention, you know, anything that is much more lacking among the congregation or set in order what is lacking. At Ephesus, he does not tell Timothy does, but he tells it to Titus, which means that, which shows that there is some things that are more lacking among the congregation or the believers at Crete. And then he goes on to say appoint elders. Elders here is the Greek word is presbyteros who are also called as bishops in, you know, in the same chapter in verse 7. So in the early church, these terms bishop elders, presbyters were used interchangeably and referred to anyone providing a spiritual leadership. So, you know, Paul is saying these leaders who you choose for the church should not be chosen by popular vote or they should not be chosen because of their own self-promotion. But it was Titus' job to look for able men from godly men with that kind of character which Paul is describing in the verses below. And he says appoint them as leaders in the congregation. So if a local church, you know, or believers in a congregation, you know, lack of godly leaders, you know, then, you know, there can be a total breakdown in the structure of the church. Church will not grow. And the obvious reason is, you know, God has chosen this office of elders. The function of these elders of giving oversight to the churches, of shepherding the flock under the care. He has set all of this in place in order to bring about spiritual growth, spiritual nurturing. So, you know, the reason why Paul is mentioning this about how to choose leaders is saying because God has chosen this office of leaders and God has ordained their function, which is to shepherd the flock under the care. And he's saying God has done this in order that, you know, people or believers can grow spiritually. So it's not just me telling you what to do and who to choose and what kind of leaders that needs to be there. But he's saying that this is what God has already ordained, you know, has desires and what he has, you know, has put into the governmental structure in the church. And he says, you know, appoint elders in every city, which means, you know, it was a big job because Crete was famous for having many cities. And then he says, you know, appoint leaders in every city as I command you. So Paul is, you know, saying, acting, Paul is saying that you need to act on his authoritative instruction. And Titus was now responsible to carry out those instructions in the church at Crete. So it was a six to nine Paul lists out, you know, what Titus must look for in leaders. He basically lists out qualifications and we can divide these qualifications into four categories. One is Dometic qualification. Second one is Personal Qualification. Third is Positive Qualification. And the fourth one is Doctrinal Qualification. Okay. So we look at the domestic qualification. Verse six, he says, the man is blameless husband of one wife having faithful children not accused of justification or in subordination. Now we look at all of this in 1 Timothy chapter three. So just kind of go through it quickly. Now blameless, the Greek word means somebody who is without accusation, somebody who cannot be charged with anything that is wrong. So he's saying the leader, the basic most important thing that a leader should have is that he should be a blameless leader, which means no one in the church or in the world or outside can bring any charge against him. That means he must be a man who's living a righteous life and all that he does, everything that he does, people can see this utter righteousness in him. So this word blameless stands at the head of the list as a quality which covers the whole of the elder's life and the qualifications that follow below, which he talks about in detail, you know, will test his blamelessness. Then he must be the husband of one wife that means faithful to his wife, a one woman man. And he must, you know, have having faithful children, which means Paul is saying that, you know, his children must be those who believe if, and, you know, if he's not able to, a man is not able to lead his own family, then how can he, you know, lead the family of God. He must first demonstrate his ability to lead his own children and then, you know, he can lead his own, lead the family of God or the church or the believers in the church. This word's dispensation, this dispassion or insubordination means that, you know, the family of the elders must be such that they cannot be accused of, you know, this dispassion, which means the Greek word here refers to wild, self-indulgent and wasteful manner of life. And, you know, it just talks about the prodigal son, you know, went who lived in a wasteful manner of life, very wild kind of living, very self-indulgent. So the family members should not be these kind of people. Neither should they be rebellious, you know, if their own children or their own family or their wives not able to submit to authority, whether it's parental authority or the spouse's authority, and a man is not able to, you know, train them, teach them how to submit to authority. If he's not able to train and govern his own children, you know, then how can he be able to lead the flock of God, bring them under the submission, the authority and the obedience to Christ and to his truth and to his laws. So, you know, he says, if he's able to conduct his own household well, his children well, then, you know, he'll be able to take care of the church as well. So that is domestic qualification. Verse 7 talks about personal qualifications. And then he begins this verse 7 by saying, for a bishop. So now in this verse, there is a switch from the term elder to that of the bishop. So the bishop, you know, in the Greek word, it means somebody who's a superintendent, a guardian and overseer. So Paul is basically talking about the same office, but now moves the term bishop because he stresses the work or the function of the elder as overseer. So he's moving from just the title to coming down to more specific where he's stressing about the function of the elders or the overseers. So he says, while there is dignity and honor in the office of the elder as an appointed leader of God's flock, the focus here is on the work that they have to do, the work of oversight for which certain qualities are very, very necessary, are very vital to one being a good steward. Then Paul continues with a list of qualifications. He has to be a steward of God. We studied this word steward or iconomous, which basically means somebody who's able to manage a household or a manager of a household or somebody who's in charge of household affairs. So it basically, this word steward portrays the idea of, you know, somebody who's a greatly accountable, very responsible person who's appointed to this place of responsibility and appointment and, you know, has this privilege of carrying on this responsibility and who, you know, is able to do things in the right way. And the one who dispenses God's goods and blessings to others through this responsibility, through this privilege as a steward. And then he says, somebody who's not self will pick temper, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money. Self will means the Greek word is self pleasing, arrogant, refusing to listen to others. So basically the idea is, you know, it's not somebody who's self centered, you know, somebody who's not wanting their own way in everything, not somebody who's self focused but who's God focused. Not quick tempered means not somebody who does not use their temper when they see something that is wrong or get angry when they see something that is wrong or not right. But here he's talking basically about somebody who's constantly losing their temper, constantly getting angry and who's constantly feeding their anger against others and erupting and, you know, trying to have these, you know, flashes of anger on an off, you know, and, you know, on a continual basis basically. Okay. And not just once in a while, but it's a continual basis of just being angry all the time and losing their temper against others, not given to wine. Now the Greek word for wine is para onios, para means alongside. That's where we get para kritos, you know, the Holy Spirit who comes alongside us, para is alongside, you know, and onios means wine. So it basically means somebody who's always alongside the wine. Okay, somebody's always sitting along with this wine and becomes drunk and is under the control of the wine rather than the spirit. Okay. Then somebody who's not violent, it's basically the Greek word here is, you know, somebody who strikes when they get angry, who's a fighter, you know. So, you know, somebody who's getting very physical, not just verbal abuse, but also physical abuse when they're losing anger, when they lose their temper. So basically, quick tempered, somebody who's constantly getting angry and getting very physical or violent when they get angry. And not greedy for money. We looked at this in 1 Timothy chapter 6, 1 Timothy chapter 3. Again, we talked about, you know, the person should be free from the love of money. And so basically look for somebody who's not concerned about laying treasures here on earth, but working for the kingdom of God. And then talks about positive qualifications in verses 8, hospitable, you know, in those days, people had to be hospitable. That means they had to entertain guests, accommodate guests in their homes. Basically because of the persecution, so they could not stay in any inns because, you know, they would be exposed to insult, danger and persecution. So when they traveled, you know, it was the believers who had to open their homes for these people who were traveling. And also for fellow believers who are from, you know, from, you know, the gentile background who are facing persecution, persecuted by their own family or rendered homeless. So the need to be hospitable for hospitality to open their homes to others. Well, this cannot be the case in our culture today, but, you know, as time progresses, we see a lot of persecution happening. And it would also require us to open our homes to accommodate people and just, you know, to show the love of Christ to them through hospitality. And then love of what is good, which means somebody who is devoted to what is good or beneficial, whether in word or deeds or even the things that they do. To somebody who is a sober minded, you know, a sober minded person is somebody who's able to think clearly with clarity. You know, a soundness of mind or a sound mind is, you know, comes only when we are living on the word of God or we are feeding our minds with the word of God. And the word that is, you know, is being fed into our minds and is in our hearts will translate in our values, in our attitudes and bring about a self-control. So the mind of the apostle Paul, you know, this was an important quality for a leader that they had to be sober minded. It suggests that, you know, they know the value of things and they don't cheapen the ministry or the gospel message by their foolish behavior. And then he says somebody who's just holy and self-control just means somebody who's, you know, right toward men. Holy somebody who's in right standing or holy towards God and self-control somebody who is right towards himself and controlled in the various aspects of their mind, whether in their words, their thoughts, their attitudes, their behavior. So being just is having a right attitude towards men. Holy is right towards God and self-control is right towards themselves. Okay. And we know that self-control is one of the gifts of the Holy, through to the Holy Spirit, sorry, through to the Holy Spirit. And, you know, the Greek word refers to self-control refers to strength or power that is needed to restrain or control one's passion. So when our life is under the control of the Holy Spirit, when we are walking the spirit and led by the spirit, you know, we will show forth a self-controlled life. Self-control life is really the self under the control of the Holy Spirit and is a life which is equipped with the word of God. And, you know, like we see in the next section where we talk about, you know, the doctrinal qualification where in verse 9 he says, you know, hold fast to the faithful word, which means he's telling Titus, you know, study the word of God, know it, not only study and know it, but also live by the word of God so that you can be a faithful messenger preaching and teaching the truth in God's word. You can teach it to people who are childlike in their faith. You can use it to defend it against the people who are attacking the truth in God's word. And also that you can, you know, protect this treasure, this revelation of the truth in God's word that has been entrusted, has been given to us as a privilege, as a responsibility. So the leader must be sure of the faithful word of God for himself. And when he is able to do that for himself, he can bring or teach the word of God to people. And when he teaches it, he must teach it with confidence and authority. And his confidence is based on how he has, you know, tasted and seen and lived out those truths of God's word for himself. And also speaks with authority because he knows it's the truth. It's the living word. It's a revelation of God's word. And, you know, he must preach and teach, not with just some theological guesswork, but, you know, with doubts like these false teachers, but know what is the truth, be strong in that, be founded in that, and, you know, then preach it and teach it. And so he's saying that, you know, the preacher and teacher should not follow the trends that are there around them where the false teachers are teaching, but just hold on to the truth. And then he says that he may be able by sound doctrine, both to exalt, convict those who contradict. So he's saying that sound doctrine, you know, he says a godly leader will use his solid foundation of God's word, both to exalt and to refute. That means to exalt is to strengthen, build up the faith of the believers and refute means to, you know, stop those who are teaching false teachings, false doctrines with the truth. So the word both highlights the fact that leaders need the ability to both exalt and to refute. So even as some of us want to preach and teach God's word, we need to use it to exalt people to build up and strengthen their faith and also to refute the false teachings and the doctrines that are there. So he says a godly leader deals with those who contradict the truth with the sound doctrine. He does not should not do it in an arrogant way, but the authority that comes from God and do that in a way that will bring correction with the sound doctrine that he is preaching or teaching. So he says that, you know, when you preach and teach the sound doctrine, it will convict, which means it will show people their fault, it will convince them, you know, rebuke them and prove them. So the Greek word for convict is basically means to tell a fault, to convince, to prove and to rebuke. So do it in an encouraging way so that people are convinced of their sin, the falsehood that is there and it will lead them to either confess the truth or at least be convicted of their sins. So he's saying, you know, do it in such a way that it convinces or rebuke someone in such a powerful and effective way to the truth of God's word that it will lead them to either confess the truth and also be convicted of that or at least be convicted of their sin. And then he goes on to say that, you know, those who contradict, which means, you know, use the sound doctrine to exact, to convict and also use it against those who contradict. So the Greek word for contradict basically means refuse the truth, answer again, deny and speak against. So those who are speaking against the truth, deny the truth, you know, refuse the truth, you know, you need to use the sound doctrine against them because there are always people who stand and speak against an opposed to sound teaching of scripture. But he says that the church needs elders who are not only able to teach the truth but also defend the false teachers, the false doctrines with the truth of the scripture, with the truth and the revelations that is there in the word of God. And, you know, the Apostle Peter tells us, you know, we need to be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks us to give an account for the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. And he says we need to do this with gentleness and a reference. So even when Paul is writing to Timothy, we saw in Second Timothy that he says, even as you correct and rebuke and teach, do it with all, you know, humility, with reference and gentleness and great patience, forbearance. He chooses the word that, so patience. Okay. We'll stop here at verse nine. Anyone has any questions? Any questions? Okay, if there are no questions then we had a question on the last class, you know, whether it was John Mark who wrote, you know, the Mark's Gospel. Yes, the authorship of the Gospel of Mark is not definitely known, but there is some scholarly debate on this matter. But, you know, tradition, however, says that, you know, this Gospel of Mark was written or is attributed to John Mark, who is a companion of the Apostle Peter. So, you know, the attribute, the Gospel of Mark, to be written by John Mark because of the early Christian tradition and the testimony of some of the church fathers who say that, you know, it was Mark who wrote down Peter's teachings and his antidotes about Jesus. And hence, you know, tradition has it that, you know, it was he who wrote Mark's Gospel. Yeah. But even though there is this traditional attribution to John Mark, modern scholars still question, you know, whether John Mark was really the author of the Gospel. Some people, you know, suggest that the author may be someone else who basically used Mark's name as a pseudo name or that the Gospel was compiled by several sources, you know, by unknown editors and so, however, you know, there's no consensus to all of these things, these theories. But tradition basically attributes this to John Mark, who remains widely accepted as facts, you know, based on the tradition that is there. So, yes, the Gospel of Mark by tradition says written by John Mark. But the other question that we had was, you know, I think Hoopa said, did Paul basically not take John Mark because of the agreement or the sharp disagreement that Peter and Barnabas had against Paul regarding the circumcision. Well, it does not say that John Mark was along with them. We don't have that written, but of course, you know, the New Testament, both Peter and Barnabas, we know a post Paul regarding the circumcision and we read this in the book of Ganeshians, where Paul writes about this disagreement with Peter and Barnabas over the issue whether Gentile converts to Christianity should require or undergo circumcision. But it does not say anywhere that, you know, John Mark was along with them. But the reason why Paul does not take John Mark on the second missionary journey is because the basic reason that I said last class was because he deserted them in midway during their first missionary journey. And hence Paul did not want to take John Mark along with them for the second missionary journey. And since Barnabas did not want to go alone without John Mark, he went ahead with John Mark and we know that Paul took a Silas. But it's not because of this disagreement regarding circumcision that Paul did not want to take him on his second missionary journey. And then I think it was somebody else who posted whether the young man mentioned in Mark chapter 14 verses 51 and 52, whether when Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. You know, this young man was wearing nothing but a linen garment was following Jesus and when they seized him, he fled naked leaving his garment behind. So was this John Mark? Well, it's not very clear from the texts and scholars have debated about this identity for centuries. But some suggest, you know, it could have been Mark himself, who is the author of the Gospel, while others say that he was a disciple or a bystander who happened to be present at that time. But how the true identity of the young man is still mysterious, still remains a mystery and the passage is still open to interpretation. But people say or scholars say that it's John Mark himself who is the cousin of Barnabas who was there and would quite possibly be him. But that's a speculation they don't know for sure. Okay. So I think these are the three questions that were asked and I hope it's answered. Okay. Okay. If no one has any questions, we'll end class today. Anyone has any questions regarding Titus? No. Okay. Thank you all for joining class. I'll see you next Monday. Till then have a blessed week ahead. God bless you. Thank you.