Was Jesus Mistaken?

Are these passages evidence that God does not exist because prayers are not answered? Matthew 18:19-20; Matthew 17:19-20; James 5:14-16; and 1 John 5:14.

Let’s take each passage one at a time.

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” – Matthew 18:19-20 (KJV)

Some skeptics have offered this passage as evidence for failure regarding prophetic fulfillment.  “After all,” the skeptics notes, “often Christians pray for things that simply don’t come to pass.  Surely if God exists and Christians pray then whatever they ask for they will get.  Since they don’t always get what they ask for, then God must not be real or does not care.  In either case, this passage shows that Jesus was mistaken.”

One of my seminary professors use to say (and it was not original with him) that “a text without a context is a pretext.” So here, as with all of Scripture, context is king.  So, let’s look at the context.

We should note that when Christ made this statement there was no Church (it was promised in Matthew 16:18 and began in Acts 2), nor was anyone at this time a born again Christian because Christ had not yet died for sin (John 3:1-16; Acts 11:26). A key principle in Biblical exegesis is to note not only to whom a text was originally given, but also when a text was given. 

This text is spoken by Jesus, to His disciples before His death, burial and resurrection. It’s laying the groundwork for the promised Church a few chapters earlier.  Let’s look at the whole context:

“Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that ‘in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and so whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.“Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth concerning anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in Heaven.For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”And Jesus said unto him, “I say not unto thee, until seven times, but until seventy times seven.” – Matthew 18:15-22 (KJV).

If one puts aside their preconceived perception of Scripture (for or against) and simply read these verses within their context as they would any other text it is clear that the “binding and loosing” as well as the “agreeing on earth” concern church discipline and not prayer in general. 

The “take one or two witnesses with you” of Matthew 18:16 matches the “two or three agreeing” in Matthew 18:19-20, and both match the Biblical principle that something is established from “the mouth of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15). The passage is not about answering prayer requests, it’s about resolving church conflicts when a fellow believer sins. This is why Peter asks, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” Jesus responds that forgiveness should always be the goal no matter how many times others fail. It would be out of context for Jesus to include agreement regarding general prayer, but is completely within context for Jesus to say that the agreement concerns the correction and restoration of wayward believers.

Let’s look at the passage in Matthew 17 and the disciples inability to cast out a demon.

“And when they had come to the multitude, there came to Him a certain man, kneeling down to Him and saying,“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sorely vexed; for ofttimes he falleth into the fire and oft into the water.And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him.” Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to Me.”And Jesus rebuked the devil, and he departed out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour.Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said, “Why could we not cast him out?”And Jesus said unto them, “Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, ‘Remove hence to yonder place,’ and it shall remove. And nothing shall be impossible unto you.However this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, “The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men.And they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again.” And they were exceeding sorry.” – Matthew 17:14-23 (KJV).

The skeptic claims that verses 19-20 with Mark 9:14-20 and Mark 16:17 show a discrepancy.  “Either the disciples had no faith, or they did not pray” as to why the demon was not expelled.  

The passage in Matthew 17:19-20 has nothing to do with two or three agreeing in prayer. It has nothing to do with church conflict and forgiveness. It has to do with a special type of demon which requires special insight which comes from fasting and praying. Since the Apostles had not yet received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22) which comes in Acts 2, to attempt to connect this passage with general prayer is to ignore the context and events of the text.

This is not a discrepancy.  It does show that at this time the disciples had little faith.  Nor did they have the power of the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet been given.  Later (as we see in Acts) the disciples receive the Holy Spirit, and greatly increase in their faith.  Is it unreasonable to say that faith is increased when we pray – spending time communing with God? The Bible tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). This is communing with God – we talk to God through prayer, God speaks to us through His word (Scripture) and His Spirit. When we spend time with God, faith increases. 

So what about the passage in James?

“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up. And if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” – James 5:14-16 (KJV).

But this passage (as in Matthew 18), in context, concerns illness that is brought about because of judgement for transgressions – which God may or may not bring on His erring child. Once the fault (and/or sin) is confessed and the erring believer is restored, then healing can take place. This is, as in Matthew 18, restoration of a wayward believer. Again, all one need do is read the context: If a Christian sins, and sickness is the result of that sin, they can seek forgiveness from God for their sins, confess their faults to other believers, and then pray for healing.

Finally, let’s consider 1 John 5:14:

“These things I have written unto you that believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe in the name of the Son of God.And this is the confidence that we have in Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us.And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask and He shall give him life, for those who sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death. I do not say that he shall pray about it.All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death.We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true; and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and Eternal Life.” – 1 John 5:13-20 (KJV).

It is interesting that once again the context of prayer concerns restoration of wayward believers. Regardless, this promise is conditional; “if we ask anything according to His will” not if we ask for anything God must do it. So the question then becomes how do we pray according to His will? The Bible provides an answer for us:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” – Romans 12:1-2 (KJV)

We know how to pray within the will of God by living within the will of God. For the believer it is abiding in Christ and presenting ourselves “as living sacrifices” and “renewing of your mind” so that we “may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Once more, as in all of the above passages, it has to do with restoration (as the context of 1 John 5 provides).

In review then:

• Matthew 18:19-20 is about restoring a wayward believer, not a formula for prayer requests.
• Matthew 17:19-20 is about casting out a certain type of demon and not about asking and receiving in prayer.
• James 5:14-16 is about the results of willfully sinning as a believer, and how such can lead to illness, followed by restoration.
• 1 John 5:14 is conditional based on being in and praying for God’s will.