“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
My Notes
What Does Titus 2:13 Mean?
Paul tells Titus — and the church — to live looking for something: the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Christian life is expectant, forward-looking, oriented toward an arrival.
"That blessed hope" — the return of Christ is not just a doctrine. It is a hope — and a blessed one. It produces anticipation, not dread. The coming of Jesus is good news for those who belong to him.
"The glorious appearing" — the second coming is described as glory made visible. What has been hidden will be revealed. The full glory of Christ, currently concealed from physical eyes, will appear for all to see.
"The great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" — one of the clearest statements of Christ's deity in Paul's letters. Jesus is called the great God and Saviour in the same breath. The one who appears in glory is both God and Saviour.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does actively 'looking for' Christ's return change your daily posture?
- 2.What makes the hope 'blessed' rather than frightening?
- 3.How does calling Jesus 'the great God and our Saviour' in one phrase affirm his deity?
- 4.What would change in your priorities if you lived with genuine expectation of his appearing?
Devotional
Looking for that blessed hope. The Christian life has a direction — forward. You are looking for something. Not backward at what you lost or downward at what you struggle with. Forward. At a hope.
The glorious appearing. Christ will appear. Not metaphorically. Not spiritually. Gloriously. The full weight of who he is — every dimension of his glory that has been hidden from physical sight — will become visible. To everyone.
Of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. He is both. God and Saviour. Great and personal. The one whose glory will fill the sky is the same one who knows your name.
That blessed hope. Blessed — happy, fortunate, joy-producing. The second coming is not a dark cloud on the horizon. It is the sunrise you have been waiting for. The hope is blessed because what is coming is good.
Are you looking? Not just believing it will happen. Actively looking. Living with expectation. Ordering your days around the awareness that the one you love is coming back.
The hope is blessed. The appearing is glorious. And the one who arrives is both God and your Saviour. What more could you be looking for?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
These things speak and exhort,.... Sound doctrine, the doctrine of grace, the doctrines of salvation and redemption by…
Looking for - Expecting; waiting for. That is, in the faithful performance of our duties to ourselves, to our…
Looking for that blessed hope - Expecting the grand object of our hope, eternal life. See Tit 1:2. This is what the…
Here we have the grounds or considerations upon which all the foregoing directions are urged, taken from the nature and…
looking for that blessed hope The blessed hope, cf. Rom 8:24, where it is both the hope and the object of the hope; Col…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture