There am I with them

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20)

 

“There am I with them,” this is a saying Jesus did. Jesus’s lesson is as clean as a clear spring, as strong as a thunderbolt in the sky, and perfectly righteous. And yet, certain of sayings He did are so difficult to understand really. What should we do when a fellow committed a sin in church? This Bible text gives us the solution to that problem. And it teaches that Christians, the true brothers of faith, on how to behave like in the world. To tell another words, about what kind of life should Christians find meaning in, it presents important task. Let’s seek wisdom and power from God so that we can realize the mission of the times and lighten the world.

 

The members belonging in Christ’s church call themselves brothers and sisters each other. However, there are times when a certain member commits an error and causes problems within the church. In such a case, on how to solve the problem, Jesus told the process of four steps. The first is to meet him individually to point out fault and give advice to repent. If the person does not listen to the first advice, the second step is to accompany a couple of witnesses to corroborate the blame. If it doesn’t work too, it’s thirdly to inform the church openly. If all three things end in failure, it is to let consider him as like Gentile or a tax-collector the prisoner.

The last of the four is regarded to mean that rather than that’s a way for solution just let it go. Or that even sounds a word that you should think him as if a hostile object rather. But we’ll have to think carefully about who Gentile and the tax-collector are by Jesus’ teachings, and make a correct judgment how to treat them. Which one of negative image would do we have on Christians as we know usually? Everybody may have each opinion differently, but one of those is perhaps like a little hardhearted attitude. That image is an attitude to distinguish others from oneself by doctrinal judgment and to treat them as being far off oneself. But for Jesus, Gentiles and tax-collectors were rather objects for God’s love and grace. Therefore we should be wary of their irreligious lives, but try to treat them with compassion and mercy according to the Jesus’s. Remember the fact that many of poor spirits like Gentiles and tax-collector had been always by Jesus’ side.

It is verily important thing to try to be true brothers of faith above general Christian members. If true brothers, they would be able to share the truth and pray together about everything between them. Let's think carefully about whether I have such a true fellow. Of the brothers in the same church, or of the fellow pastors, can you share the truth with someone and pray together? “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.,” Jesus said, in Matthew 18:18. This verse means that God will fulfill the true brother’s united prayer in Christ.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them,” Jesus said definitely. In ‘two or three’, the number two is the minimum unit that displays the plural number. The church is an assembly of multiple people that gathers together every individual of Christian. Either many people gather, even if they are a little, church members should cooperate together in a relationship where they truly help each other. In spite of being not under unavoidable situations, some think satisfied with their church life as if they were going well church life by individual actions, of these of reading the Bible alone, singing hymns alone, listening to sermons alone, praying alone, and etc. But according to the text Jesus’ teaching, those cannot be called right forms of church or worship.

We have get faced with strange situation that the essence of the church had lost under the guise of cultivating individual faith. Moreover, these days, with the development of the Internet and the Pandemic situation of COVID-19, the concept of church has been almost lost. In fact we think, such unfortunate phenomenon arises because the salvation of true faith in Christ had not been obtained by them.

 

A gathering having no concern with Christ is not a true church of Christ. Jesus said this “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” We believe that Christ, the God of Creation, came to the world to remove human sins. If the brothers who believe in Him understand each other, help, and pray together, God will listen to the prayer and make them experience a new world of life even today and tomorrow continually, we believe.

 

(Written by Koonoh, Pastor of JDO Presbyterian Church in Korea, on Sept 5th 2021)