Scripture in Context: Matthew 18:20

Every Sunday this blog will feature the segment titled Scripture in Context. I will be dealing with a popular passage of Scripture that most have heard and always assumed its meaning. We will look at the context of the passage and discern what it actually means. This week we will examine Matthew 18:20.

I grew up in church. I wasn't a Christian until I was almost twenty-six years old but I was very familiar with the Bible. Most of the passages presented in this segment are ones I heard growing up and even after becoming a Christian.

When I learned hermeneutics and how to interpret Scripture these verses began to make a little more sense, given the context. I pray that it will be the same for you.

(Matthew 18:20) For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

At first glance this verse seems to be talking about believers gathering together to worship Jesus. His very own words indicate that He promises to be with them, in the midst of them as the KJV translates. And so the meaning, application, and "promise" (I put that word in quotes purposely) have always prevailed in our recent Evangelical culture.

But a closer look at the context may surprise you. Jesus is not talking about worship at all but something entirely different. The immediate context begins way back in verse 15.

(Matthew 18:15-20) “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 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. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

I've underlined and bolded some key words within the text. The context follows on the heels of Jesus' teaching of the lost sheep (vv. 10-14). As an example, Jesus uses verses 15-20 to demonstrate how one is to care for those who have wandered away like sheep. We know these two pericopes are connected because of the use of the conditional (If...then). The conditional sets the stage and connects verses 15-20 back to verse 14. The New International Greek Commentary seems to support the idea of this connection.

A brother or sister who sins is equivalent to a ‘little one’ who has been caused to stumble (v. 6), or a ‘little one’ is likened to a sheep that has been led astray (vv. 10–14). The motif of behaviour in the ‘royal family’ through this discourse means that ‘brother or sister’ here should be taken as fellow disciple of Jesus as in 12:49–50, and not as fellow Israelite as in 5:22 and other passages. Though Matthew frequently uses the nouns ‘sin’ or ‘sinner’, this is his first use of the verb. Except for v. 21, he will use the verb again only of Judas’s sin (27:4). Sinning is understood here as separating the perpetrator from the people of God. Matthew‘s topic is sin for which there has been no repentance (NOLLAND, JOHN: The Gospel of Matthew: a commentary on the Greek text, New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle : W.B. Eerdmans; Paternoster Press, 2005, p.745).

In reality the context is not speaking about worship but rather exercising discipline on an unrepentant person within the church. Jesus' statement about the "two or three" refers to those witnesses mentioned previously, not worshipers at a church service. 

We must always take great care in interpreting God's word. This goes not only for those teaching but also for the laity. 

Join us next Sunday as we discuss another popular and misinterpreted verse, Jeremiah 29:11. Have a wonderful Lord's Day!