Question: What does it mean when Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20)?

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by Pastor Jerry Marcellino
Answer:  This is a favorite passage that is regularlyquoted among many Christians, but it is rarely and correctly understood.  In fact, its chronic overuse and abuse is justan example of what many sincere believers have done to numerous other well-knownpassages from God’s Word. Such mishandling of God’s Word reminds me of thequote, “A text without a context is a pretext for a prooftext.” This columnwill aim to engage many of those “prooftext” passages in the months andhopefully years ahead. But, let us begin by reading the context that istypically ignored when one interprets this verse:
“If your brother sins against you go and tell him hisfault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained yourbrother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, thatevery charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. Ifhe refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses tolisten even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a taxcollector.  Truly, I say to you, whateveryou bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earthshall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earthabout anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Matthew18:15-19).
Now, read “For where two or three are gatheredin My name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20) -- please note -- it mustnever be severed from verses fifteen through nineteen, if we are to properly understandits true meaning.
The classic application of this passage uses it to claim the Lord’spresence at a small worship service or prayer meeting where at least two or three believers have gathered in spiritual agreement -- but “Christ is always present with His people, even with a lone believer totallyseparated from fellow Christians by prison walls or by hundreds of miles” (JohnMacArthur).  This common misinterpretationignores the context and incorrectly handles “about anything” in verse 19 asbeing prayer (but the Greek word’s actual meaning and the context agree andtherefore should be understood as meaning “about any judicial matter”).  The context is clearly about how a Christianshould handle repairing a fractured relationship with another believer, whichcould lead to the church body passing judgment if their conflict is notresolved Biblically (a process which is commonly called “church discipline”).  Therefore, we learn from this whole passagethat Jesus is with His church in making a judgment based on evidence Biblicallyattained.  That is, heaven agrees withthe decision of the true church when two or three have established the factsand the church passes a verdict in seeking to reconcile a relationship.  
So, may our sincere “desired intent” never ever trump “authorial intent,”which is always spiritually unwise:
“And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our belovedbrother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does inall his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some thingsin them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist totheir own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:15-16).
Thank you for your question!


PastorJerry Marcellino, Audubon Drive Bible Church, PO Box 8055, Laurel, MS39441-8000