Matthew 18:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

NIV: "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

NASB: Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.

CSB: Again, truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

NLT: I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.

KJV: Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.

NKJV: “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

In these words, often misinterpreted and misapplied, Jesus is talking to the Twelve within the context of a sinful believer who is being removed from the community of Christians. These men will become the apostles of Jesus, given enormous power to represent Him on earth after He departs for heaven and the church is born. One power He will give to them is accurately presenting godly truth (John 14:25–26).

Jesus does not give these men authority over heaven by saying that whatever they bind or loose on earth will be bound or loosed in heaven. Rather, when they describe a person as bound by sin or freed from sin, they are speaking truth. If they describe someone as included in the church or removed from it—according to these teachings of Jesus—that statement holds true. It is an enormous responsibility.

Likewise, Jesus' comments on prayer must be carefully understood. This promise follows the statement on binding and loosing, which itself is a continuation of remarks about church discipline. In this case, that seems to limit application to the disciples' prayer of removing a believer from the community for a refusal to repent. Again, this would be a very solemn and heavy responsibility.

It is drastically against the context of this passage to assume this is a promise from God that any two or three Christians who come together to ask for anything from God will receive what they ask for.

Matthew 18:15–20 describes the process Jesus gives to the disciples for dealing with sin-related conflict among a group of believers. The first step is for the one who is wronged to go and speak privately with the one who has sinned in hopes of restoring the relationship. If the sinful person refuses to repent, the same wronged person should return with one or two others and then take the issue to the church or assembly. If repentance never happens, that person should be treated as an outsider. This is also the process Christians are expected to follow in cases of disagreements or other arguments: individually, then privately, then publicly.

Jesus uses two questions from the disciples to teach important lessons. The "greatest" in the kingdom is the one who humbles himself like a child. Temptation is unavoidable in earthly life, but it's worth going to extremes to avoid falling for it. Even so, those who fall should not be hated and despised. God the Father values them highly and wants none of them to perish. In fact, Jesus lays out a clear, careful process to confront sin in others before removing them from the community. Christ also replies to Peter's question about forgiveness with a parable. This story represents both God's amazing forgiveness, and the way we ought to respond as Christians.

Matthew 18 follows the action of the previous chapter with teaching from Jesus on several issues. These include humility, using the example of a child. Jesus also teaches about avoiding sin and offering forgiveness to others. Interestingly, the following chapter will also feature references to children and to wealth, as Christ continues to explain the will of God to His disciples.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.