This article assesses whether or to what level Jesus and his original Jewish followers were literate. The question of “craftsman’s literacy”–a low to moderate level of literacy associated with trades–is addressed, and important extraliterary means of education are discussed, including learning cultural traditions in the household, participating in religious festivals, synagogue attendance, networking, and travel. Jesus was not generally viewed as a reader and writer, but as someone who learned and taught orally as an itinerant religious expert.