Quarantine Questions

Ever since congregations decided to no longer worship at their usual meeting houses due to the COVID-19 virus, I have received a number of questions from concerned Christians. These questions have not been asked by those who have a contentious spirit or who desire to find fault in the decisions that have been made but were asked from a genuine concern for being obedient to God and respecting his word.

One of the questions I have been asked is, “Since God has promised that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he is there in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20), then what about those who are worshipping alone at home who do not have a family? Is God not with them in their private worship?
The best way I know to answer this question is to put it in proper context. Beginning in verse 15, Jesus is discussing how we are to deal with a brother who sins against us. In brief, Jesus presented a four-step process.

• Go to the brother alone and try to work out your problem (Matthew 18:15). If this doesn’t work,
• Take one or two witnesses and try to work out your problem (Matthew 18:16). If this doesn’t work,
• Take it to the church and enlist their help in resolving the problem (Matthew 18:17). If this doesn’t work,
• Let him be unto you as a heathen and a tax collector. That is a picturesque way of saying, “Withdraw from this man and do not have any fellowship with him” (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15; Romans 16:17; Titus 2:10).

It is in this immediate context that Jesus then adds, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). When Jesus made this statement, the Jews would have immediately remembered the words of Moses when he said, “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15).

The context of Matthew 18:20 has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic of worship but rather the matter of discipline. Jesus is affirming that God will stand with those witnesses in their discipline and withdrawal of fellowship from this sinful man. In other words, they are not “out on a limb” in taking this drastic and consequential action against this sinner. Rather, God is affirming that in their efforts to follow proper procedure involving multiple witnesses, God is with them and supports them in their discipline of this impenitent sinner

Therefore, in light of the context, this passage has no application at all concerning worship and how many worshipers it takes for God to be present. God equally hears and takes pleasure in the worship offered to him by one or a thousand, regardless of their meeting place (John 4:21-24).