Matthew 18:20 (YLT)

Passage

for where there are two or three gathered together--to my name, there am I in the midst of them.'

Nearby Context

Matthew 18:18 `Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.

Matthew 18:19 `Again, I say to you, that, if two of you may agree on the earth concerning anything, whatever they may ask--it shall be done to them from my Father who is in the heavens,

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

Matthew 18:21 Then Peter having come near to him, said, `Sir, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him--till seven times?'

Matthew 18:22 Jesus saith to him, `I do not say to thee till seven times, but till seventy times seven.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "where", "three", "gathered", "together--to", "name", and "midst". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "where" and "three", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Again I say to you that if..." into verse 21's "Then Peter having come near to him...", so "where" and "three" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "where" and "three" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.