A Christian teacher talks about the misinterpretations of the Bible, which are widely accepted today. In one of her undertakings, she exposes the misconception behind the Bible verse Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three gathered in My Name, there am I among them.”
Christian Teacher
Shai is passionate about leading women to read the Bible through the right lens of theology. She also hopes that many will love God’s word and know theology without having a degree or going to seminary. And so, she makes content to teach people to read the Bible in the right discipline.
Most of her posts are about how people read the Bible in the wrong context, such as in Matthew 18:20. Most people take the passage as Jesus’ promise for His presence in prayer. Shai also confessed that she was the same.
“When I used to pray this, it was under the impression that since 2 or 3 people were praying together, Jesus was present,” she said.
However, if we think about it, does the text mean that Jesus is not present when we are all by ourselves?
Where Two or Three Gathered In My Name
So, Shai proposed two tips for understanding God’s word.
“First, we must remember ALL scripture MUST be looked at with help from the Holy Spirit.
Second, we must always look at a verse in context. CONTEXT matters!”
She then discussed, “If we look at Matthew 18:15-20, we’ll find this verse is actually in response to Church Discipline. (I encourage you to read it for yourself, don’t just take my word for it.) Jesus is giving clear instructions for how his disciples (and the Church today) should handle discipline.”
Furthermore, Shai referred to Deuteronomy to prove her point.
“If we go all the way back to Deuteronomy, which is the law the Lord gave to Moses for His people, we find in chapter 19, verse 15 (and following) the Lord is giving the people guidelines on how to handle accusations in court,” she said.
“Here verse 15 says, ‘A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.'”
She explained that the reason for 2 or 3 witnesses was to protect people from false accusations.
Shai continued, “So going back to Matthew 18. Jesus is speaking in regard to Church discipline when He speaks of 2 or 3 being gathered.” His presence is not only present where 2 or 3 gather, but He is always with us because He has marked us with His Holy Spirit.
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