The Jewish people loved God’s Word. God called them to meditate on it day and night (Jos 1:8; Ps 1:2). They considered it more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces (Ps 119:72).

Christians were likewise wholeheartedly devoted to God’s Word. After Jesus spent the day of His Resurrection teaching the Bible while walking seven miles in the afternoon (Lk 24:27) and for several hours in the evening (Lk 24:45), the early Christians got the message that God’s Word was extremely important.

From the moment the Church began at Pentecost, the members of the Church devoted themselves to learning, living, and teaching God’s Word (Acts 2:42). The apostles concentrated on “the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4) to the point that they were repeatedly thrown in jail for proclaiming it (see Acts 5:42). St. Stephen proclaimed God’s Word so boldly and courageously that he became the first martyr (Acts 7:2ff). St. Philip, the deacon, preached the Word even as he was escaping persecution (Acts 8:4-5). Moreover, the Spirit even told Philip to run up to a stranger from Ethiopia and teach God’s Word (Acts 8:29ff). The first believers ever to be called “Christians” were only given that name after a year of intensive Bible study (Acts 11:26). The members of the church at Beroea welcomed the Word with great enthusiasm and studied God’s Word each day (Acts 17:11).

The spirit of the early Church is well expressed by St. Jerome: “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 133).

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