Promise of Jesus 44: Among them

44. Among them

 Matthew 18:20For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

 The promise that Jesus will be “with” us, that He is “present” where we are, that He will be by our side and He will walk with us and come to us are prevalent enough in Scripture, but this one is a bit of a special promise for us when we “gather together in His name,” then He will be among us. “Among, or in the midst of” is distinguished from the other “Presence Promise” in that He will be between us: He will touch, influence, enhance and smooth out the relationships between believers when they gather together in his name.This “presence between” is a little more than presence “in or with” the believers.

Two or three gathered together in Jesus’ name is a definition of The Church; the invisible Church becomes visible on earth when more than one believer with Christ in them meet for godly purposes of hearing the Word, Sacraments, prayer, worship and for the mutual consolation and conversation of the brothers (mutual fellowship and encouragement of one another). Jesus Christ is the focus and center of attention for the group.When sin, selfishness, strife and bitterness enter in and attempt to distract from the purpose of the meeting the effect and power of the presence of Christ is diminished. When the focus and attention of everyone present is on Him then He is free to minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of the people through the Gospel. This activity is connected to the previous verse (v. 19) where two of you agree: they agree on the centrality and Lordship of Jesus Christ.

The “two or three” can be any group of Christians, but it can powerfully apply to the marriage and the family (when a child is added to the two). The power of husband and wife gathering together for daily prayer in His name can be truly awesome in the strengthening of the marriage bond and the mutual edification of each other; Jesus is among you ministering to the intimate “one flesh” relationship of the two. Jesus promises to be in the midst, and He does not come to harm but to bless.