Did you know that Jesus went to church? Luke tells us in chapter 4 that it was His “custom” since He was a child to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Obviously, he kept this custom as an adult as well. He regarded the temple as holy, where His Father lived.

People speak disparagingly about going to church. You’ve heard the comments. So have I. “God is everywhere, so my church is wherever I want it to be.”

Wrong, Tonto.

God is everywhere, but He operates in the world through visible and audible things. Christians call these the “means of grace,” the preaching and teaching of God’s Word and the administration of the Sacraments. God comes to meet with us. We meet Him there at His invitation. The church building is a place set apart for prayer and worship. Tranquility there is not just a nice custom, but something God desires.

While the whole earth is filled with His glory, God has a particular presence in the temple. King David called the temple of God “the place where His glory dwells” in Psalm 26:8. The atmosphere of worship is created by the vaulted ceilings, architectural lines that reach toward the heavens, stained glass windows that color the light, candles glowing with flame, and chords giving life to songs. The soothing mood of solace can hardly be put into words.

Complaints are voiced about the routine customs that “have no value” in their opinion. Instead of breaking with customs, perhaps what is needed is explaining the customs and filling them with content. Jesus’ parents brought Jesus to the temple in order “to do for Him what the custom of the Law required” in Luke 2:27. Again, every year Jesus’ parents journeyed some 90 miles to Jerusalem for the Passover, as was the custom for the festival according to Luke 2:42.

Staying away from God’s house is a bad custom.

The service at the synagogue in Nazareth was rich in customs. The Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were read. The psalms were sung. Faith was confessed. The usual prayers were prayed. There was no priest, but the service was led by laymen. The director of the synagogue was like a church elder who found people to read the Scriptures. When someone capable of teaching was present, there would be instruction, like a sermon. Just reading the Scriptures took a great deal of training as Hebrew wasn’t spoken in everyday life. Greek was. And the Scriptures had to be read or sung in a ceremonious fashion, with specific accents and tonal quality.

Jesus sat through long services to be sure. Yet He heard His Father’s voice in the familiar service. He knew the Father was there and He desired with mind and heart to be where the Father was.

Skipping church was not an option for Jesus. It was His weekly custom as a child, a youth, and an adult. He wanted to be there. As one of us in human nature, He needed to be there. As followers of Jesus, shouldn’t it be our custom as well?

God grant us listening ears with eager hearts and eyes fixed on Jesus.