Since we have spoken in the past here at Stand to Reason about the fact that not every promise made in the Bible applies to us today, I received a question about whether the promise Jesus made to his disciples in Matthew 18:19–20 is a promise we can claim. Here are Jesus’ words:
Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.
Since this seems to be a confusing passage for many (and it’s also an important one since—see below—it’s likely an example of Jesus claiming to be divine), I thought it would be worth sharing my response here.
The Context for Matthew 18:19–20
As always, when we’re trying to understand the meaning of a verse, we need to start with the context around that verse, and what we find here is that these verses are in a passage about church discipline. Here they are in context:
If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 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 have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.
When Jesus says, “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed,” he’s referring to Deuteronomy 19:15, which says that “on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.” In other words, it comes from instructions in the Mosaic Law about the proper way to judge others. In order to protect the innocent party, you should have more than one witness or accuser.
Jesus goes on to explain that church discipline, if done in this manner, will have the weight of God behind it (i.e., whatever they bind or loose on earth shall have been bound or loosed in heaven). Then he says, “Again”—note that the “again” indicates he’s not changing the subject here but referring back to the two or three witnesses previously mentioned—“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask [in context, regarding church discipline], it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”
“The Lord Is with You When You Render Judgment”
To shed even more light on this, take a look at a passage on rendering judgment in 2 Chronicles 19:5–7:
He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.”
In other words, God promises to be with them when they render judgment. This is both an encouragement and a warning. Since those rendering judgment act as God’s representatives (i.e., “judge for the Lord”), they have his authority and speak in his place (see also Romans 13:3–4), but they also bear a heavy responsibility to represent him righteously.
Putting the Pieces Together
When you put all of these pieces together, you see that when two or three enter into acts of church discipline, they have God’s authority to convict (and excommunicate, if it comes to that) or pardon. This is the sense in which he is with them when they do this.
This is why I think Matthew 18:19–20 is also a claim to deity on the part of Jesus. Notice that at the end of the passage, Jesus suddenly switches from the Father to himself, saying, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” He’s saying his authority is backing them in their judgment, something that God promised in the Mosaic Law.
So does this apply to us today? Yes! When church discipline is done, Jesus still backs the authority of those he has put in place to judge, and no one in that position should forget who they’re representing and the gravity of their judgments.