<p>5:21&nbsp;<em>You have heard that it was said to those of old: You shall not kill, and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment</em>- Jesus was addressing the illiterate poor. Elsewhere, to the educated and literate, He says that they are aware that &quot;It is&nbsp;<em>written</em>&quot;. Here He quotes both one of the ten commandments and also the tradition of the elders. We need to reflect upon the implications of the fact that the vast majority of the early Christians were illiterate. Literacy levels in first century Palestine were only 10% at the highest estimate. Some estimate that the literacy level in the Roman empire was a maximum of 10%, and literacy levels in Palestine were at most 3%. Most of the literate people in Palestine would have been either the wealthy or the Jewish scribes. And yet it was to the poor that the Gospel was preached, and even in Corinth there were not many educated or &ldquo;mighty&rdquo; in this world within the ecclesia. Notice how the Lord said to the Pharisees: &ldquo;Have you not&nbsp;<em>read</em>?&rdquo; (Mk. 2:25; Mt. 12:5; 19:4), whilst He says to those who responded to Him: &ldquo;You have&nbsp;<em>heard</em>&rdquo; (Mt. 5:21,27,33). His followers were largely the illiterate.&nbsp;As the ecclesial world developed, Paul wrote inspired letters to the ecclesias. Those letters would have been&nbsp;<em>read</em>&nbsp;to the brethren and sisters. Hence the great importance of &lsquo;teachers&rsquo; in the early churches, those who could faithfully read and transmit to others what had been written.</p>