Matthew 18:20
The context
Matthew 18 is a discourse on life in the community: the child as the model, the lost sheep, and then a procedure for addressing a member who has sinned, ending in binding and loosing. Verse twenty concludes that procedure with a promise of presence among the gathered.
What it establishes
It establishes that Christ is present with a small, gathered, agreeing group, and that the setting is conflict and restoration rather than public worship. The promise is attached to agreement, not to the mere fact of company.
What it does not establish
It is not a rule about attendance or quorum. The two or three are the witnesses of the preceding procedure, not a minimum for a service, and the verse says nothing about numbers as a measure of God's presence. Nor does it promise that any gathering, however convened, carries authority.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.