March 22

Church Attendance

Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, — Luke 4:16 BSB

There are many indications that Jesus had a consistent pattern of religious habits. Here, we get a glimpse of His regular attendance at synagogue worship on the Sabbath. This was something He had done since childhood. Even though He was the Son of God, Lord of heaven and earth, and had been revealed as the Messiah, He continued to follow this custom. Some people are careless about going to church. They might complain that the minister doesn’t feed them spiritually—meaning he doesn’t entertain them. Yet, no doubt Jesus sat through many dull talks and sermons, but that didn’t stop Him from attending synagogue. He didn’t go for the entertainment; He went to worship God.

Others stay away from church because they say there are too many hypocrites, or the church is imperfect. It was no different in Jesus’ time. There were plenty of flawed church members in Nazareth and elsewhere. Jesus knew all about people’s real characters. In fact, His strongest rebukes were often directed at the religious leaders. But despite this, He didn’t stop attending worship. If He could worship God in a congregation of imperfect people, so can we.

Another important point is that if Jesus, with all His divine resources, still needed the means of grace provided in worship, how much more do we need them? This also highlights the importance of forming good religious habits, especially the habit of regular church attendance. This lesson is especially relevant for children and young people. Jesus formed this habit in His youth and never abandoned it as an adult.