Titus 1:14

My Notes

What Does Titus 1:14 Mean?

"Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth." Paul warns Titus about two dangers: fables (mythoi — stories, legends, fabricated narratives) and human commandments. Both share a common result: they turn people from the truth. The fables distract. The commandments burden. Both redirect attention away from the gospel.

The "Jewish fables" likely refer to speculative expansions of Old Testament narratives — the kind of imaginative theological storytelling that the rabbinical tradition sometimes produced. These aren't Scripture but human additions to Scripture, treated with scriptural authority.

The "commandments of men" echoes Jesus' confrontation with the Pharisees (Mark 7:7): human traditions elevated to divine status. Rules that people invented and then enforced as if God required them. The problem isn't that the commandments are all wrong — some may be reasonable. The problem is that they "turn from the truth" by replacing God's requirements with human ones.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What religious speculation or 'fables' are consuming your attention?
• 2.What human-made rules are you treating as divine requirements?
• 3.How do you distinguish between Scripture and human additions to Scripture?
• 4.What 'commandments of men' in your community aren't actually in the Bible?

Devotional

Don't listen to made-up religious stories and human rules dressed up as God's commands. Both turn you from the truth — the stories by distracting you and the rules by burdening you.

Paul identifies two forms of religious misdirection: fables (the imaginative stuff) and commandments of men (the legalistic stuff). Both are human products presented as divine truth. The fables say: here's an exciting addition to the biblical story. The commandments say: here's another rule you need to follow. Neither is God's word. Both divert attention from what is.

The fables are the more seductive of the two: they're interesting. Speculative narratives about angels, detailed stories about biblical figures' private lives, elaborate theological systems built on imaginative foundations — they're fascinating. They feel spiritual. They produce the sensation of deep knowledge. And they turn you from the truth by replacing actual Scripture with sanctified fiction.

The commandments of men are the more oppressive: they burden. Every generation of religious leaders produces new rules — rules about food, clothing, behavior, association — that aren't in Scripture but are enforced with scriptural authority. The rules multiply. The freedom shrinks. And the truth gets lost behind a wall of human regulation.

What fables are you giving heed to — what religious speculation is consuming your attention? What commandments of men are you following — what human rules are you treating as God's requirements? Both turn from the truth. The fables are more fun. The commandments are more familiar. Neither is the gospel.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture