Matthew 18:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

NIV: For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

NASB: For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.'

CSB: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them."

NLT: For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.'

KJV: For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

NKJV: For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

This is another one of Scripture's more famous and often-quoted statements. This simple promise from Jesus to His disciples follows a teaching about what God the Father would do for them when two or three of them agreed in prayer about a specific subject (Matthew 18:15–19).

Now Jesus adds the reason the Father will do what these two or three disciples of Jesus ask. The key is not their personal power or merit. It is because when two or three of them gather in the name of Jesus, Jesus is there with them. This is a promise for the days to come after Jesus returns to heaven. It is an assurance that He will, in some way, be present among them. It also explains why God the Father will grant these requests made by the disciples. It will be because Jesus is omnipresent—existing in all places—and therefore with them.

This must have been comforting to Jesus' disciples as they thought about carrying out these heavy responsibilities He was giving to them. What a weight of responsibility, as well, to make the right choices about what to request from the Father.

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.

Accessed 12/3/2024 12:17:04 PM