Titus came from a Greek political family (Galatians 2:3). Early in his life he obtained a copy of the Jewish Scriptures and learned Hebrew in a short time. He traveled to Judea, and may have been among the attendees when Matthias was elected to replace Judas Iscariot before Pentecost.
Around 49 AD, fourteen years after his conversion, Paul went up to Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:4-29). He went with Barnabas and took Titus along (Gal 2:1-10). Since Titus was an uncircumcised Gentile (Galatians 2:3), his presence as Paul’s disciple cut to the heart of this discussion. Paul called Titus “my true son in our common faith” (Titus 1:4), and since Galatians 2:1 is the first time Titus is mentioned in the Bible, it could be that Paul met and converted him on his first missionary journey, or that Titus studied under Paul for some time (perhaps in Antioch, Syria).
Paul took Titus along on his third missionary journey (52-55 AD). While in Ephesus, he sent Titus to Corinth, perhaps as the bearer of his first epistle to the Corinthians. When Titus failed to meet Paul in Troas, Paul feared the worst about the situation in Corinth (2 Cor 2:12-13). But when Titus met Paul in Macedonia and told him that is letter had been well received and that all was well (2 Cor 7:5-7), Paul was encouraged. Titus then volunteered to return to Corinth to deliver Paul's second letter (2 Cor 8:16-17).
Around 64 AD, Paul and Titus landed on the island of Crete, and Paul left Titus there to “straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders town by town” (Titus 1:5). Paul sent either Artemas or Tychichus to Titus, and urged Titus to meet him in Nicopolis (Titus 3:12). Around 67 AD, when Paul was in prison in Rome for the final time before being beheaded, Titus may have come to visit him before going to Dalmatia (2 Timothy 4:10).
2 Timothy 4, which Paul wrote shortly before he died as his final message to Timothy, mentions that Titus had gone to the Roman province of Dalmatia. What happened to Titus after that is not known, although according to some Catholic sources he founded a church there in the city of Salona and died in 65 A.D. However, the constant connection of Titus with the island of Crete has led many to conclude that Titus eventually returned there and died at an advanced age, perhaps in the capital city of Heraklion, where there is still a basilica dedicated to him.
