Matthew 18:20: Where Two or More Are Gathered

Introduction

Have you ever attended church and it was a low attendance day? There weren’t very many people there? Or maybe you are attending a Bible Study and not as many people showed up as normal?

Perhaps you have even been with a friend or adult who has decided for one reason or another to skip church to go hunting, watch a sporting event, or maybe the weather was too bad to go and attend that week?

If so, there is a likelihood you have heard someone state this verse in those contexts:

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

This is another verse which is taken out of context often. People use it in all kinds of ways, both as consolation and as justification.

On a day when there is low attendance, perhaps you heard this verse stated as means of saying “well, there may not be a bunch of us here, but where two or more are gathered, there the Spirt is as well” so lets have Bible Study.

Or, while sitting in a tree stand or duck blind, upon realizing you will all miss Sunday Morning gathering, someone states “Well, where two or more are gathered” as though the gathering of two or more believers makes skipping a Sunday gathering ok.

If you have heard this verse used in those ways, or similar ways, then tonights study will show you what this verse really means and help you understand what this verse really applies to.

1. A Guide for Christian Discipline | v. 15-17

EXP: This passage is often used as a guide for Church Leaders. However, this passage is not just directed at church leadership but also at “you,” the believer.

v.15 - What is the purpose of this passage? Restoration of a brother, an attempt to rescue a brother whose sin has put him in danger.

“Against you” - in several important manuscripts these words are missing. We can understand through context how this was introduced or included in the text since v.21-22 Peter asks Jesus what to do with a brother or sister who sins against him. However, if we consider this text without the inclusion of the words “against me” we understand this passage is dealing with the sin of a brother or sister instead of concern over the impact of sin on a relationship between believers.

If we are only ever concerned with addressing sins when they are against us we may fall into a trap of only addressing sins when we think they matter to us. We need to be prepared to call out the sin in a brother or sisters life with love when we see it.

“Go tell him his fault” - for many of us this is uncomfortable. We don’t like telling anyone when they are wrong, let alone a fellow brother. However, what is at stake for the believer who is in sin? They are left living in their sin, and sin, as we know, numbs us to the movement of the Spirit in our lives.

“Between you and him alone” - At the onset, we need to act quickly when we see a brother or sister in sin. We don’t need to sit on it and think how we should go about it or maybe consult someone who is smarter than us. Or talk to some friends about it and decide how best to go about it.

Jesus is clear here how we should respond to a brother or sister in sin - We need to go to them, tell them their fault, between just the two of you.

I want to stop here and also exhort us to remember to pray for them as we take this sin to them.

Imagine with me that you have found a friend to be in sin, by going to them one on one, you save them from further exposure of that sin if they are willing to repent and turn back to Jesus from their sin. Further exposure of their sin is only necessary if they are unrepentant.

What if they don’t listen or they don’t see their sin and repent?

v.16 - “take one or two others with you” - in order to impress on them the importance of turning from their sin and repenting, Jesus tells us to gather one or two others to go with us.

This serves a few purposes - The others you bring in can bring better clarification to you and the brother or sister in sin about the scope of their sin. By bringing in other believers you gain more wisdom and perhaps another brother or sister can speak more persuasively toward repentance than you.

Second, this serves as a measure of multiple testimony saying “We have all agreed this is sin in this brother or sisters life and we have collectively gathered with them to discuss the importance of their repentance.”

Again, the hope is for their eyes to be opened to their sin and for them to turn in repentance of their sin.

Remember to pray as you go forward with the next step - who will you bring in, you want to make sure they are likewise strong brothers and sisters who have concern for their brother or sister caught in sin.

What do you do if they are still unrepentant?

v. 17 - “Tell the church.” - The next step of addressing the sin of a brother or sister who is unrepentant is to take it before the church. In our context this would include going with the one or two others to myself or Clint and making the unrepentant person and their sin known to the Pastor, then the Pastor will likely go to that person and address the issue and if they are unrepentant still they will go before the church.

“This is the ultimate level of persuasion to lead to repentance” - remember the heart of the matter is their repentance not that you want to gossip and get everyone to turn on them. What you desire is to see a healthy believer growing after Christ. This matter is brought before the church in order that this person will repent of their sin and see the importance of their sin. It is not as though we are taking them before the church like the church is a court, no the weight is on having everyone aware of the sin and making every plea to the individual for repentance.

If they remain unrepentant - we treat them as a Gentile or a tax collector.

Jesus tells believers that if a believer is caught in sin, they ought to be treated like a Gentile or a Tax Collector. The key word here is like or .as. A Jewish person hearing these words would immediately identify with this and understand that there were people a “good Jew” kept their distance from. We see the same weight when we recall 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and 2 Thessalonians 3:14.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 CSB

6 Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister who is idle and does not live according to the tradition received from us.

2 Thessalonians 3:14 CSB

14 If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don’t associate with him, so that he may be ashamed.

In these passages Paul tells believers to not associate with them, again for the purpose that they “may he ashamed” and in their shame turn from their sin.

ILL: Trey and his sin

ARG: Remember, the point of calling someone out on their sin is not to gossip or to point them out, the point is for them to return. I can say from experience, calling someone out on their sin is not easy and it hurts, especially when we remember they are a brother or sister and that your responsibility toward them if they continue living in unrepentance is to disassociate in order that they might turn in repentance.

APP: We need to be willing to pay attention to, and call out sin in our brother and sisters lives. Likewise, we need to take correction in our own lives as an act of love when a brother or sister does so in our lives.

In what manner should you approach a brother or sister who is in sin? (lovingly? Gossipy? “Oh, I caught you, now I’m gonna call you out!”)

How should we respond if we are caught in sin in our lives by a brother or sister?

2. Authority of the Church | v. 18

EXP:

Here Matthew repeats, almost verbatim Matthew 16:19 “19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.”” . However, instead of the verse being addressed to Peter, it is addressed to the plural “You” - Disciples, or the Church.

Here Jesus is telling believes that the church has the power or Authority, as given by Jesus himself, to prohibit and command believers toward a standard of behavior. Within the context of the previous passage, Jesus is giving the church the responsibility to consider all the Bible says and all Jesus commands, and to make judgement on what is and is not standard behavior for a believer.

In simpler terms: Jesus is saying to his believers, you have the responsibility of understanding Jesus teaching to the point where you can understand and apply His teaching to your life and the life of the church. The reason the previous passage goes from one person, to three, to the church body is because at every level fellow believers are asked “is this sin which should be handled in this way” and “how should we command a brother or sister to like in repentance to that sin.” The church body is the regulating body that seeks to understand what God says and commands and implement those commands on the local level.

“Whatever you bind, whatever you loose” - Jesus is telling his disciples “To whom the church declares to be in step with God is indeed in step with God, and the one whom the church declares to be out of step with God is indeed out of step with God.”

ILL: We have something similar in our own judicial system where a law can be deemed unconstitutional or constitutional. If a state imposes a law which an individual deems to be a out of line with the constitution they can appeal the law all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States. If the Supreme Court takes the case they will argue and vote on whether the law is or is not constitutionally viable.

In a similar way, we as the local body of believers, have the responsibility of searching Scripture and knowing what Jesus does and does not command in order that we can encourage and exhort one another to walk in step with God. When someone is out of line we do not argue with them on the ground of our own opinion. We seek repentance in their heart on the ground of God’s Word and what God teaches us in His word.

ARG: There may be people who do not do things exactly as you do them. There may be people who look at scripture and come away with a different point of view. Does one persons opinion that humanity has complete free will and another persons opinion that humanity has limited or no free will rise to the level of breaking union? No. What does rise to this level is what it means to walk in step with God. We need to make sure we are not calling everyone out at every step for our opinions, but instead on what God’s word actually teaches.

APP:

How seriously should Christians take the command to know God’s Word if we are responsible for our brothers and sisters as well?

How should you handle personal opinions on Scripture versus what Scripture explicitly teaches?

3. Agreement in Prayer | v. 19-20

EXP: Jesus tells the disciples that the authority he gives them in understanding right and wrong and implementing the teaching of Scripture on earth, when done so through prayer will be done in heaven by God. Jesus is reiterating the point from verse 18 - Whatever you bind will be bound, whatever you loose will be loosed in heaven. Jesus is not telling them they get to decide what sin is or what is or is not appropriate in their own minds. Instead, Jesus is giving them a promise that if they will seek him in prayer as they seek to navigate the matter of sin and standard of behavior, he will faithfully reveal those things and what they decide on earth will be done in heaven.

Then comes our verse “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”

Jesus is telling believers that if they are seeking after Him and are seeking to understand how they should live as followers of Christ, He will be there with them.

What does this mean then? We are not alone as we seek to navigate what it means to walk with Christ.

What does this mean I should do? Faithfully gather with brothers and sisters in Christ who will faithfully pray for one another and seek God’s direction for how we should live as followers of Christ.

Jesus is telling his disciples that when they gather together with concern over sin, in their lives and their brothers, and seek how to walk with Christ, He is personally with them, guiding them in their seeking.

ILL:

ARG:

APP: Diligently pray over and seek out brothers or sisters who will pray with you, walk with you, and seek God’s face with you. So that you will not only seek after Christ but know how you are called to walk before Christ as Christians in a fallen world.

Conclusion

If you are a believer, you need to be involved in regular discipleship, meeting with brothers and sisters of Christ in order to walk more closely with God. If you are a believer, it is to your benefit to read the word daily and to talk about what you are reading with others, sharing how God is sharpening you in your faith.

Make your life count for the Kingdom. There is so much happening here on earth that we can get caught up in that has no eternal value. Make your efforts, the way you spend your time, and your choices count for the kingdom of God.

How can we apply verses 19-20 to our lives this week?

Why is it important to have brothers or sisters of Christ who are praying with us and walking together as Christians?