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“Where Two or Three are Gathered” …in Context

September 28, 2025 4 Comments

I recently received a question about Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” which I discussed in my book Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, page 72.

Men praying

Many scholars read this line as meaning that Jesus promises to be present when his followers gather to pray in his name (meaning, by his authority, because they are his servants). In Sitting at the Feet, I assumed this interpretation and discussed the importance of gathering in community.

More than one reader has pointed out articles like this one that note that this verse is just a few lines after Jesus’ teaching about going to someone who has sinned against you (Matt. 18:15-20). In verse 16, the “two or three who are gathered” are witnesses who you have brought before the sinner so that he can repent. So they feel that we should read this line as only about making a decision in a determination of guilt, not about the need for community in study and prayer. This sounds logical because of the law in Deuteronomy 19:15 that at least two witnesses must be brought to make a legal decision. This law is cited many times in the New Testament, which I’ve written about elsewhere.1

Striking Rabbinic Parallels

Despite how logical the legal conclusion seems, I still disagree. This is because there are striking parallels to Jesus’ saying in Matthew 18:20 within wider Jewish thought. [Read More…]

Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land

October 6, 2025 By Lois Tverberg 2 Comments

Israel MattersFriends –

It’s not often that I read a book that I feel so strongly about that I decide to offer it from my own website store. I just did this for

Israel Matters:

Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land

by Gerald McDermott
(Brazos Press, 2017)
List ($22.00) ($14.99)

Why? After the October 7 attack, I was grieved by the lack of concern that many Christians had for Jews and the people of Israel. A major misreading of the Bible is going on called “supersessionism.”

[Read More…]

Blog

Israel Matters: Why Christians Must Think Differently about the People and the Land

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Watch my Recent Talk called, “The Good News Starts in Genesis”

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Ray Vander Laan has a new series about Discipleship

Articles

“Where Two or Three are Gathered” …in Context

Miracle on the Sea of Galilee

Psalm 90 Realism for Ash Wednesday and Life

Review of “The Bible With and Without Jesus” by Levine & Brettler

A Surprising Source of Inspiration for the Sermon on the Mount

The Problem of Psalms of Cursing

The Sermon on the Mount is about *Hasidut*

An East to West Misunderstanding: What “Our Children” Means

Hamas, Ancient Violence, and the Torah’s Radical Response

Understanding the Bible’s Non-Western Logic

What can we learn from Jesus’ first-century world that will make his words even more powerful and life-changing?

I’ve written several books on the topic. Here you’ll find articles to keep learning, news about my upcoming speaking, and resources to go deeper. 

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