Matthew 18:20 (NKJV)

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

Eisegesis: 

“Be encouraged; even though the church attendance is low today, God is present when 2 or 3 are gathered.”

Exegesis:   

This verse has nothing to do with the minimum requirements for the presence of God to be experienced. Instead, this verse is mainly talking about church discipline and dealing with wayward believers living in sin.

We may have heard this verse quoted in our churches when the attendance of a service, prayer meeting or Bible study class is low. However, this verse isn’t talking about inviting the Omnipresent God into our specific locations. God is not limited to one location at a time (Acts 7.48 / Psalm 139.7).

Acts 7:48 (NKJV)

“However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

Psalm 139:7

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

While it is good to remind ourselves that God is present in our gatherings (even if there are few people), the reality is that He is also near when you are alone at home.

Moreover, the Bible promises that if you are born again, the spirit of God is already within you.

The context of this verse was meant to encourage church leaders during difficult times of loving confrontation as two or three witnesses (believers) went about to correct and restore a fallen brother and sister.

The paragraph begins with Jesus talking bout dealing with a sinning brother;

Matthew 18:15-20 (NKJV)

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’

And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “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.

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

Jesus instructed His disciples on how they should confront /handle believers living in sin and the steps that are required to be taken if there is a dispute among the believers. These steps can be broken into three stages;

(1) Personal confrontation (v15) – The offended brother should first confront the sinning brother privately, hoping that the brother will repent and restore the relationship.

(2) Group confrontation (v16) – The offended brother should take two or three (Christians) with him to confront the sinning brother together. They will serve as witnesses against the sinning brother if he still refuses to repent.

(3)  Church confrontation (v17) – The offended brother should bring the matter to the church leadership, who will hear the matter between the offended brother and the sinning brother. If he refuses to repent, he is to be treated as an unbeliever.

The idea of “two or three” also has precedent in the Old Testament, where two or three witnesses were required to bring judgment against someone (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; Hebrews 10:28). Jesus also refers to this very principle in verse 16 of the same chapter.

So why did Jesus even mention His presence among those who gather in His name?

Matthew 18.20 is an incredible truth about the role that the church plays in the world today during the absence (bodily) of the Lord Jesus.

The truth is that the Church is Christ’s representative to the fallen and broken world, and we should be interacting with people as He would.

Jesus mentions His presence (even though bodily absent) as a way of assuring the apostles that they were not making a judgment on their own authority but according to the authority and will of Christ.

As they would take Biblical decisions, Jesus would be present in agreeing with their judgment because it represents His judgment / will.

This is similar to what we see in 2 Chronicles 19:6, wherein Jehoshaphat told the judges;

2 Chronicles 19:6 (NKJV)

“Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment.