"Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them." (Matt 18:20)So we are warmed to think that when we get together with other believers, Christ is there. But ... is that what it means?
Logically there is a problem. The suggestion is, "If you're alone, I'm not there." And, apparently, if it's four or more He's not there either? No. The logical problem is that there can be no place where an omnipresent being is not. That is, if this verse is saying what we think it is saying, it isn't particularly significant. Whether it is two or three or one or more, He is there. So what's the point? Perhaps we should examine the context to see exactly what Christ was saying so as not to miss it.
Verse 20, strangely enough, follows verses 15-19. (I know my math.) What is going on that will give us some context?
"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." (Matt 18:15-19)The context of this beloved text is actually in regard to a brother who sins against you. Now, I know ... this is not one of our favorite passages. It's about how to address those who have sinned against you. We figure, "Don't worry, God, I've got this." And we take them to task for it or bring it up in "a prayer request" (read "gossip") or just complain to a confederate or two. If necessary, we'll go tell the pastor because we need to get this resolved. Except none of this is what Jesus said to do. There is a process. 1) Bring it to them so they can repent. If they do, end of story. If they don't, 2) come with a couple other believers so they can repent. If they do, again, it's over. If not, 3) take it to the church leadership and have them deal with it. How rarely is this carried out?
That's the context. And the fact that this is so harsh (Matt 18:17) on one hand and so difficult for us on the other, Jesus thought it was necessary that we should be reminded that when we do this, He is there. Yes, He's there all the time, but we are supposed to be reminded that even now -- especially now -- He's there among us. We need to remember that we are not "Lone Rangers," operating on our own, that we are to be working with other believers ("two or three") to restore other believers. He intended to apply support to those who find it difficult to address the sin of others ("You're not alone; I am there") and to apply restraint to those who are eager to do it ("Watch how you handle this; I am there").
We should be careful not to take this out of context. The context is dealing with sin. The statement is, "When you do, I am there." The encouragement is that we're not alone when we work toward restoring a fellow believer. The caution is that Christ is there when we work toward restoring a fellow believer. The guideline is that we should work together, pray together, and agree together as we seek to restore believers because Christ is there. His power, His guidance, His ownership, His Body ... all of these are in play when we interact with each other. The idea, then, is "I'm always there. Keep that in mind especially in these situations." That ought to guide our hearts and minds in our interactions.
2 comments:
What's interesting about this is that it presupposes the existence of sin, and the ability of believers to accurately judge sin and to address it. Along with that, you see no incidence that this process should be taken outside the "family" so to speak or that the process should involve harshness or address anything beyond behavior.
I remember the first time I read the PCUSA book of order and how much space it devoted to Church discipline. Not only that, but the way it dealt with Church discipline was (as I remember) pretty good and seemed like a healthy way to deal with these sorts of things. My second thought was that the failure to heed approximately 1/3 of the governing documents of the denomination was the point where the downfall of the PCUSA began.
Good point. This is absolutely in "inside the family" concept and aimed entirely at restoration, not confrontation.
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