An Investigation of the Mission Motif in the Letters to Timothy and Titus with Implications for the Pauline Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles

Abstract

Abstract This exploration of the mission motif in the Pastoral Epistles (here called “Letters to Timothy and Titus” [LTT]) fills an often-neglected gap in scholarship on these letters. In addition, the investigation of the mission motif in the LTT serves as a case study in reexamining the plausibility of Pauline authorship. While conventional avenues of investigation—such as vocabulary and stylistic elements, theological and ecclesiological comparisons, and so on—have largely proved inconclusive, a study of the mission motif provides a fresh way of approaching the issue. Not only are these writings grounded in the Pauline mission but the strategy and missionary ethos reflected in these letters is congruent with the mission strategy in Paul’s undisputed letters (which, for purposes of this article, are identified as the other 10 Pauline letters in the NT canon) and the book of Acts, which heightens the plausibility that Paul wrote the LTT, whether personally or with the help of an amanuensis.