Titus 2:13; Revelation 19:11-16

Let us look in detail at Titus 2:13.

·        Looking for.  This has two meanings that are similar and fit the context.  It can mean to receive someone or something, such as the way Jesus receives sinners (Luke 15:2).  In Titus it fits the fact that we are receiving Christ in His appearing.  But it can also have the sense of expectation, such as the Messianic expectation of people like Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43) or Simeon (Luke 2:25).  It is used in the New Testament of those who anticipate the Lord’s return (Acts 24:15; Jude 21).  Both meanings involve a joyfulness and a response of the soul.

·        The blessed hope.  As we noted yesterday, there are two Greek words for blessing.  One means to speak well of someone; the other is to bestow happiness.  This term is the latter.  The return of Christ is a happy thought because it is the time when His glory is revealed in the sons of God (Rom. 8:18-25), when they shall finally be like Him (1 John 3:2), when grace is brought (1 Pt. 1:13) and when believers share in His presence (John 14:1-4).

·        And glorious appearing.  Lit. the appearing of the glory.  Appearing is the word epiphany, also in 2:11 when the grace appeared.  Thus it is applied to the first and second comings of Christ.  The glory refers to the glorified Christ who, after His humiliation is exalted by the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).  He will come in His own glory, the glory of the Father, and the glory of the angels (Lk. 9:26).  The prophetic portrait in Rev. 19:11-16 is truly glorious.

·        The blessed hope and glorious appearing.  These are supplementary thoughts.  John Calvin in his commentary put it like this: the blessed hope, even the glorious appearing.  This is the first of two phrased in this verse that are clarified by a rule of Greek grammar attributed to Granville Sharp.  We don’t get too deep into these things but in this case it is critical.  His rule said, “when there are two nouns of the same case separated by and, the first having the article (the) but not the second, the second noun refers to the same thing as the first and further amplifies.”  Thus in this phrase what it means is that blessed hope and glorious appearing are the same event and that we should understand that the happy hope of the believer is the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Keep the context of Titus 2:13.  Paul is encouraging godly living among the believers, godliness that adorns the doctrine of God our Savior (2:10).  What doctrine is that?  The doctrine that, in Christ, grace appeared to all men, grace that teaches us to live godly (2:11-12).  How can we be godly given our sinful past and the ungodliness around us?  We will be encouraged by the joyful expectation of the future appearing of Christ!