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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman A
Gathering Of Two Or Three Was Jesus really talking
about a poorly attended church meeting when He said "for
where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among
them" (Matthew 18:20)? A
contextual study of this verse, along with its Greek text tells me that Jesus did not have poorly attended
church meetings in mind. The context of Matthew
18:20 begins back in verse 15 where Jesus addressed the issue of restoring
broken relationships caused by sin among His people.
He then said this in verse 18. "Truly
I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven." Contextually speaking
from what Jesus just said about restoring broken relationships, our words
"bind" and "loose" in verse 18 refer to those broken
relationships. If broken
relationships are bound back together or restored on earth, it produces a
corresponding positive reaction in heaven.
If broken relationships are loosed or not restored on earth, it
produces a corresponding negative reaction in heaven.
Clearly, our relationships in church are important.
Now read verse 19. "Again,
truly I tell you, if two of you on earth agree about any matter that you
pray for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven." In context, our word
"agree" in verse 19 refers to two or three people living in
harmonious agreement, who have mended broken relationships.
More basic to two or three people agreeing on a prayer request is
their relational agreement. Furthermore,
our English word "agree" in verse 19 is translated from the
Greek word "symphoneo," the Greek word from which we derive our
English word "symphony." "Symphoneo"
consists of two Greek words meaning "to sound" and
"together." The
agreement Jesus had in mind here was the relational sounding together of
lives, just as musical instruments harmoniously blend together in a
symphony orchestra. Clearly,
Jesus was not just talking about two or three people agreeing on a prayer
request. When relational harmony
exists in church, requests asked in Jesus' name, accordance to God's will,
are granted. If there is
relational discord yet agreement on some prayer requests, God is not
obligated to grant our requests. That's
one reason for our unanswered prayers.
Once again, relationships in church have a direct correlation to
God's interaction with us from heaven. In Matthew 18:20, the Greek word
"synago" is translated as "gathered together" in our
English text. The concept of "synago" used
by the Jews finds its roots in the Old Testament
and refers to the community of
godly people existing in right relationship with God and with each other.
Knowing this, Jesus said that where two or three gather together
(synago) in relational harmony in my name, not a denominational name, I am
among them. Matthew 18:20 has little
to nothing to do with poorly attended church meetings and corporate prayer
requests. It has everything to
do with as little as two or three believers living in harmonious,
supportive, and functional relationships gathering together.
In their gathering, you can count on Jesus being there.
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