[Parakletos] - 'elencho' c: the pastoral epistles

                                                                       (i) negative

Jesus’ use of ‘elencho’ in Matthew seems to pave the way for Paul’s use of it in the pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus. One of the tasks he urges on these church leaders is to ‘rebuke’ ('elencho') those in their congregations who fall into sin. ‘Rebuke’ seems to be the preferred translation of both AV (alternating with ‘reprove’) and NIV in these contexts. The correctness of this translation is confirmed, though the translation itself is not made any easier, by 2 Timothy 4. 2, where the standard Greek word for ‘rebuke’ (‘epitimo’) is used right next to ‘elencho’ in a quick-fire trio of instructions: “convict, rebuke, exhort”. This last word is our old friend ‘parakalo’, which could well mean ‘encourage’ here (NIV), though that seems less consistent with the rather sharper tone of the other two members of the trio. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul had been even more specific: “Those who fall into sin rebuke in front of every one, so that the others, too, may be in fear” – ‘pour encourager les autres’, perhaps ! (5. 20). ‘Elencho’ is again paired with ‘parakalo’ in the first of its 3 appearances in Titus (1. 9): “A church leader (‘episkopos’, ‘bishop’) needs to stick closely to the faithful word of the gospel (literally, ‘the teaching’) so that he has the ability to encourage his church in sound doctrine, and to ‘convince’ those who argue against him”. If this usage could be paraphrased ‘show up and correct the errors in their thinking’, the next example in verse 13 seems once again to refer to moral failings, so that ‘rebuke’ here is appropriate – and Paul does his best to get Titus into the mood: “Cretans are always liars, brutes and lazy gluttons” (he is quoting from an anonymous –wisely so ! – Cretan poet, so perhaps can be acquitted of racial stereotyping); “rebuke them sharply, so that they may be sound (or ‘healthy’, as also in 1. 9) in their faith”. So in all these instances to ‘convict’ is not to ‘condemn’ but to convert: the aim of the church leader is to build up his flock both in correct belief and in right behaviour.

                                                                             (ii) positive

The third instance of ‘elencho’ in Titus is different – in my opinion: like the related use of the noun ‘elenchos’ in Hebrews 11.1, it is positive rather than negative, not ‘convict of sin’ but ‘convince of the truth’. In this interpretation I am, I confess, at odds with NIV. In 2. 11-14 Paul gives Titus a glorious summary of the gospel of grace “through Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us”, so that we might be “a people --- eager to do what is good”. Then in verse 15 come three imperatives which echo the trio in 2 Timothy 4.2 – though this time they are ‘present continuous’ imperatives. A literal translation, then, of the first half of the verse reads: “speak these things and urge them and make them clear (‘elenche’ – imperative form) with all authority”. “These things” must be the object of all three verbs, and as they are the central truths of the gospel ‘elencho’ cannot mean ‘show that they are false’, but must mean ‘demonstrate that they are true’. NIV, apparently unable to countenance this possibility, divides this one sentence into two: “These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority.” This implies that the second and third imperatives are quite unconnected with the first, and with the verses referred to as “these things”. This translation, in effect, divorces what God has joined together. I would suggest, as a paraphrase of this half verse, using adverbs to express the last two imperatives: “Continue to teach these great truths urgently and convincingly.”