Chapter
Verse

Matthew 18:20

ESV For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
NIV For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
NASB For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.'
CSB For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there among them."
NLT For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.'
KJV For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
NKJV For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

What does Matthew 18:20 mean?

This is another one of Scripture's more famous and often-quoted statements. This simple promise from Jesus to His disciples follows a teaching about what God the Father would do for them when two or three of them agreed in prayer about a specific subject (Matthew 18:15–19).

Now Jesus adds the reason the Father will do what these two or three disciples of Jesus ask. The key is not their personal power or merit. It is because when two or three of them gather in the name of Jesus, Jesus is there with them. This is a promise for the days to come after Jesus returns to heaven. It is an assurance that He will, in some way, be present among them. It also explains why God the Father will grant these requests made by the disciples. It will be because Jesus is omnipresent—existing in all places—and therefore with them.

This must have been comforting to Jesus' disciples as they thought about carrying out these heavy responsibilities He was giving to them. What a weight of responsibility, as well, to make the right choices about what to request from the Father.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: