Matthew 18:19-20: Again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.”

 

The word  agree in the Aramaic is shava which has the idea of unity, being smooth, making straight.  In other words it is an uninterrupted flow like poetry where everything has a rhythm and is in tune.

 

I read something interesting in the Talmud Berachot 6, “when three sit as judges, the Shekinah is with them,” and  also in the Talmud Sanhedrin 39, “Whenever ten are gathered for prayer, there the Shekinah rests. I also read From the Mishnah Tractate Avot 3.3:  Rabbi Chananiah ben Teradion said . . “when two sit together and words of Torah pass between them, the Divine Presence rests between them’ . . .

 

I really believe Jesus was quoting a common phrase from the Tradition of the Fathers.  If so he would not have been referring to prayer as most Christians teach.   The Talmud does refer to group prayer but not two or three but ten in reference to a minyan.  The reason for a minyan and those who qualify as the ten is complex but it is not to suggest that God does not hear the prayers of the individuals it is only to suggest the power of unity in worship and praise. One person alone can really go off track and leave the reservation without some accounting which is why there is minyan.

 

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi, who was well versed in Oral Tradition.  The expression: “Where two or three are gathered together…”  was a very well known and common expression among the Jewish people of that day.

 

When I hear preachers or prayer leaders quote Matthew 18:19-20 in reference to prayer the first question that comes to my mind is why do we need two people to give a request to the Lord.  Is not one sufficient?  Is God more easily persuaded if two people are praying for something rather than one?   Doesn’t that contradict what it tells us in James 5 that the prayer of a (that is one) righteous man can avail much?   Then Jesus says where “two or three are gathered together in my name there I am in the midst.”   I am alone right now,  does that mean that Jesus is not in my midst?   I read about a persecuted Christian who spent months in solitary confinement.  According to this verse, you need at least two people present for God to be in your midst.  Does that mean that this person suffering for the name of Jesus would not have Jesus in his midst because he is lacking a companion.  Does that mean his prayers will go unanswered because he has no one agreeing with him?

 

First, let me give a little background on this expression.  Ancient Jews, and even today, would never study Scripture alone.  The Talmud admonishes one to never to study the Torah alone. Some people would actually hire someone and pay them to study the Torah with them, just so they would not have to study it alone.  Of course you are going to say that the passage in Matthew is clearly speaking about our prayer request and not studying the Bible.  We would say that because our mindset in our Western Culture is “me” oriented.  To many people God is merely a celestial vending machine.  Pop in a few token prayers, push the button and out comes what you want.  For many in our Western society, Christianity is a marriage of convenience with God.   The purpose of such a marriage is to insured that one’s personal needs come first.  In Jewish thinking, however,  theirs is a marriage of love where the needs of the other come first.  Thus you have the calling of a minyan so that Jews would not become so self-centered in their praise and worship of God.  So we approach Matthew 18 not as “Ah ha, a formula to get my prayer answered” but rather as another deep teaching by Jesus.   The reason the Talmud says “Where two or three are gathered together…” and most likely why Jesus used this common expression is that when two people study together problems and disagreements sometimes arises.  The two may disagree over how to interpret a passage. When this happens, a third person, often a rabbi, is brought in to bring the two into an agreement. It also happens when we make a request to God.  We should have a prayer partner who will confirm our request.  If there is a disagreement that the request is not of God, you may need to bring in a third party to help bring all into agreement. In study and prayer in Judaism the ten righteous ones who pray together must be in totally agreement that their prayer is of God and not amiss. All ten must “Amen” the prayer.

 

In the Greek, Matthew 18:19 literally reads: “Again, amen, I am saying to you that if ever two shall be in agreement out of you on the land in every matter that they are requesting it shall be becoming to them.”  Here is the key, the idea is not to be ganging up on the Lord and storming the palace hoping he will give in and give you want you want.  It is the idea that someone is agreeing with you that your request is within the will of God.  If that person does not agree, then a third person is called in to arbitrate the dispute and bring everyone into agreement..

 

The way I see this played out in Christian circles is someone expresses a need and someone will usually respond with, “Ok, everyone, let’s agree in prayer.” I feel almost like the person is saying: “Ok now, let’s get together here and gang up on God.  We get enough people praying and maybe we can persuade God into some action here.”   I rarely hear someone say: “You know, I can’t agree with you here.  I just don’t feel this is God’s will for  you.  Hey Buford, come here, listen to this request and tell us what  you feel about this.”  Then the three discuss the  request and if they come to a full agreement this request is of God, Jesus will be in the midst of that request as it will be his desire and not a desire of the flesh.  Of course if it is of God, if it is His request and not yours, it will be done.” If the three decide that this is not of God, well, of course they will not pray over it.

 

In other words this passage is speaking more of the unity of the body rather than offering a formula to get your prayers answered.