If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. 18 Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, [amen,] I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
In this teaching, Jesus does more than give practical steps for repairing a breach; He reveals the mystery that makes reconciliation possible: He Himself is present among His people. The Church’s unity, authority, and mercy do not stand on human resolve alone but rest on the living Lord who promises, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (v. 20).
Christ’s presence is not a pious idea—it is the ground beneath every act of Christian reconciliation. We approach a brother or sister not as prosecutors but as members of one Body, confident that the Lord who reconciled the world to the Father stands with us and works within us (2 Cor. 5:18-20). Within Matthew’s “discourse on the Church” (18:1-35), this section shows that correction is framed by humility and care for the “little ones,” so that discipline serves communion rather than pride. Because He is in our midst, truth and charity need not be rivals; fraternal correction can be both honest and humble (Gal. 6:1; Eph. 4:15).
In verses 15-17, Jesus outlines a path that honors the dignity of the person and the unity of the community. First, we go privately, seeking to win back the brother into communion with Christ and His Church, not to win an argument (cf. Jas. 5:19-20). This charity guards the other’s good name by beginning in private (v. 15), speaks truth “in love” (Eph. 4:15), and seeks true healing, not humiliation. If that fails, we widen the circle to include “one or two” so that the matter can be established with witnesses, echoing Deut. 19:15 (v. 16). As a last resort, we bring it to the Church (ekklesia)—the gathered people who bear His name (v. 17). Matthew’s use of ekklesia here (and in 16:18) is distinctive among the Gospels, indicating a concrete, visible community entrusted with discernment. At every stage—from private counsel to witnesses to the Church—the aim remains medicinal (healing) and salvific (saving) under the Lord who stands among us (v. 20; 2 Cor. 5:18-20). Each step is undertaken before the face of Christ, who sees, strengthens, and judges with mercy. Without Him, these steps can harden into procedures; with Him, they become instruments of healing. And if someone refuses correction, “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (v. 17) clarifies the boundaries of communion without approving contempt: the Church continues to pray, invite, and seek the lost, as Christ sought tax collectors and Gentiles (cf. Mt. 9:9-13; 18:12-14; 2 Thess. 3:15). Even this final step is meant to heal, not to punish: it makes the break clear and keeps the door open for a genuine return and reconciliation.
“Bind and loose” (v. 18) uses the rabbinic language of authoritative discernment and judgment: to bind is to hold something under obligation or forbid; to loose is to release from obligation or permit, including reconciling the sinner. In Mt. 16:19, this authority is entrusted to Peter; here (v. 18) it extends to the Church acting in Christ. Another way to translate it is “will have been bound/loosed in heaven,” meaning that when the Church stays faithful to Jesus, its decisions on earth echo what God has already decided, not rules it makes up on its own. When the Church judges in fidelity to Christ, her acts on earth participate in and manifest God’s own judgment (cf. Jn. 20:23; Acts 15; 1 Cor. 5:3-5; 2 Cor. 2:6-10). Because the Lord stands among us (v. 20), this authority is pastoral and medicinal, ordered to salvation, not domination.
In vv. 19-20, when believers agree in prayer in Jesus’ name, it is not how many are praying that moves the Father, but the nearness of the Son, who prays with His Body, the Church, and “lives forever to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25). To gather “in my name” means to come under Jesus’ lordship and seek His will together. In the Bible, a person’s “name” signifies the person and their authority. So to gather in Jesus’ name means we come together as His people, under His authority, to do His will. Because He is truly present, we can do the hard work of reconciliation with courage: He is with us in the room we enter, in the words we speak, and in the silence we keep.
The Lord’s promise stretches from the home to the parish, from small groups to the Sunday assembly. He is present in the proclaimed Word and in the praying Church; and He is present in a most wondrous way when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the foundation and highest point of our faith (cf. Lk. 24:30-32; Mt. 28:20). Because He is in our midst, we humbly take the first step toward a wounded brother or sister. Because He is in our midst, leaders should exercise discipline with tears, not triumph. Because He is in our midst, the Church’s “no” to sin serves as a foundation for communion and conversion.
Where two or three gather in His name, the crucified and risen Lord stands among them as Peace and Shepherd, Judge and Physician. To welcome His presence is to become instruments of His reconciling mercy—so that, by grace, the brother is won, the Church is strengthened, and the Name of Jesus is honored.
Lord Jesus, who promised to be with us when we gather in Your name, stand in the midst of our families and our parish. Give us courage to speak truth, humility to listen, and charity to forgive. Make our prayers one with Yours, that our community may be healed and Your Father glorified. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- The Didache (1st c.), 15.3.
- St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew, Homily 60.
- A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, ed. Orchard et al. (1953).
- The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition, Faculty of the University of Navarre (2008).
- The Paulist Biblical Commentary, ed. Chiu et al. (2018).
- The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, ed. Brown et al. (1990).
- Dictionary of the Bible, McKenzie (1965).
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