The Pastoral Epistles (Black’s New Testament Commentary | BNTC)

These three letters, which form a distinct group in the Pauline corpus, claim to be dispatches of the great Apostle to two of his most trusted lieutenants. The Pastorals have a special interest an importance. As letters they differ from the majority of Pauline letters, being written for individuals rather than churches. They lift the curtain revealingly from aspects of the Apostle’s activities which are largely ignored in the rest of his correspondence. They show us something of his relations with his more intimate, responsible colleagues, and illustrate his concern for administrative arrangements, his approach to practical problems, and the new emphases in his later theology. They also supply fascinating glimpses of the Church’s life and organization, and of the doctrinal distortions with which it had to wrestle. As J. N. D. Kelly shows, their evidence for Paul’s movements and attitude is immeasurably precious.