Back to Today
Matthew 18:20Community (church) discourse
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.
Permalink Verse page
Interpretation

Jesus teaches a gathered that is embodied in family life. Matthew 18:20: trace "where" and "two". Give gathered in what we refuse to say—turn hope into steady work.

Context

The setting is Matthew—gospel narrative, naming gathered. Placed in ch. 18, the nearby lines set its tone. The nearby sentences supply the texture.

Authorship & Historical Background

Early sources associate Matthew with the disciple Matthew (formerly a tax collector). In current research on Matthew, Early witnesses preserve anonymity; later ascription to Matthew; reflects Mark and a sayings source.. Date: AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. Genre and setting: gospel narrative, in the Community (church) discourse. Catechetical structure appears in the discourse blocks.

More details
Traditional:Matthew the tax collector
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; attributed to Matthew; uses Mark + Q source.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Jewish‑Christian community.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in over 5,800 manuscripts, more than any other surviving ancient work. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within 100–150 years of composition. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the most probable original wording reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46