Soaked in Scripture

19 April 2026  Acts 2:14, 22-33

Third Sunday of Easter

“For David says concerning Him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me…’”

(Acts 2:25)

Many commentators have said that the sermon of Peter on Pentecost (Acts 2:14-36) could not have been the words of Peter the fisherman. “After all,” they say, “just look at the long quotes from Joel and the Psalms. There is no way this could be the speech of a Galilean fisherman.”

Based on what we know, however, about the spirituality of the earliest Church, Peter’s sermon fits almost exactly.

People in our time are looking for meaning and purpose, which have become critically absent as the world has grown more secular. They are finding it among people who have Bibles in their hands, and pray with the scriptures daily, several times daily.

None of the disicples ever wrote down what a typical day with Jesus was like, but we can figure out a lot from the way the New Testament was written.

We know, for instance that Jesus got separated from his family once when he was a boy, and was missing for three days. Mary and Joseph finally found Him in the Temple arguing about scripture with the elders and teachers of the law, and dazzling them with his understanding. Mary and Joseph scolded Him for making them worry and look all over to find Him. Jesus responded with surprise that they would look for Him anyplace else (cf. Luke 2:41-52). In the Temple, talking about the Bible – where else would He be?

We know that the New Testament quotes directly 3186 verses from the Old Testament (about 10% of the total), and alludes to Old Testament texts at least 600 times, perhaps as many as 4000. Quotes and allusions to the Old Testament account for almost 25% of all the words in the New Testament.

We know that over 97% of the New Testament is quoted by the Early Church Fathers, and that the Bible was daily read aloud to church members, who were unable to read, at the hours of prayer, especially in the morning and the evening.

We know that the Liturgy of the Hours, which today is prayed daily by priests and deacons, and a great many lay people, is rooted in the seven hours of prayer observed daily in ancient Judaism, and that those hours of prayer quoted extensively from the Psalms and the prophets, especially Isaiah. We know that the Apostles in the earliest Church observed those hours, especially in the morning and evening.

In short, we have very good reason to believe that a typical day with Jesus for the disciples would have been saturated in scripture. And since paper was extremely expensive (about $20/sheet), and since not all the disciples may have been able to read, we know that learning the scripture with Jesus meant committing it to memory. Paper was expensive for everyone in those days, so ancient people had to rely on their memories far more than we do, and so were able to remember far more than we are.

So, it is not surprising that Peter, moved by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, preached a sermon quoting Joel 2:28-32 and Psalm 16:8-11 from memory. It is precisely what he was learning how to do as a disciple of Jesus. Given what we know about how the Church Fathers, who were taught by the Apostles, used holy scripture in their writing, it would have been surprising if Peter hadn’t.

The earliest Church was soaked in scripture, and it changed the world. People who were soaked in scripture founded the first universities and hospitals. They created public education, and abolished slavery. They created the language of democratic liberty and human rights. People in our time are looking for meaning and purpose, which have become critically absent as the world has grown more secular. They are finding it among people who have Bibles in their hands, and pray with the scriptures daily, several times daily.

If you’re seeking that kind of change, look for the people who know the Bible.