Can You Spot the Incorrect Answer? -- #4 Quiz

Answer: She and her husband Joseph were both at the crucifixion site.

Mary, of course, was the young teenage girl who gave birth to Jesus while she was still a virgin, according to Scripture. The first chapter of Luke tells of the angel Gabriel appearing before Mary and telling her the news of the impending birth.

Luke 1:30-33, in the NKJV Bible, quotes Gabriel as telling Mary: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom."

In verse 36, Gabriel goes on to state: "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren."

According to Matthew 13:55, Joseph was a carpenter. Scripture reports Mary was at the crucifixion, but there is no account of Joseph. Many theologians believe Joseph died prior to the start of Christ's ministry.

Answer: She protested there would be a bad odor when Jesus wanted to remove the stone from Lazarus' grave.

It was Martha, not Mary, who protested there would be a bad odor when Jesus removed the stone from the tomb of Lazarus as he had been dead for four days.

John 11:39 in the NKJV, gives this account: "Jesus said, 'Take away the stone.'
Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, 'Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.'"

Stench, or no stench, Scripture reports Lazarus was then raised from the dead by Jesus!

According to John 11:1, Mary was the sister of Martha and Lazarus and they lived in Bethany, a small community, just outside of Jerusalem. It was in the vicinity of Bethany that Jesus ascended into Heaven after His resurrection, as per Luke 24:50-51.

Meanwhile, John 12:3 tells of Mary anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. The verse, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." Verses 4 and 5 go on to state Judas Iscariot was indignant at the display of affection, stating the perfume could have been sold and given to the poor. However, John, the writer of the Gospel, states in the next verse Judas didn't care about the poor, and that he "was a thief" who was in charge of Christ's "money box" and would often steal the offerings.

It was Martha who became upset with her sister Mary, who, according to Scripture, was listening to Jesus and not helping her with household chores. Luke 10:38-42, in the NKJV Bible, tells of the incident: "Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.' And Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.'"

The account of Mary and Martha appears just after the Parable of the Good Samaritan, one of Christ's most famous parables.

Answer: She spent a lot of time alone with Jesus, according to Scripture.

No age is given for Mary Magdalene. The only woman to have her age listed in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament and New Testament of the English Bible is Sarah with Genesis 23:1 stating she was 127 years old at the time of her death. (Luke 2:37 states the prophetess Anna had been a widow about 84 years but no details are given about her exact age.)

My personal view is that it's likely Mary Magdalene was actually in her 40s, or possibly older. After all, the other women in her group would have been around such an age. Mary, the mother of Jesus, would have been something like 47 years old during the end of Christ's ministry. The figure is based on the belief she was about 14 years old when she gave birth to Jesus and Christ was about 33 years old at the time of His crucifixion. Matthew 27:55-56, makes mention of two other women in Mary Magdalene's group: Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. It's possible the two other women were also in their 40s. As a result, an assumption can be easily made that Mary Magdalene was much the same age as the other women in her group and was older than how she is perceived today. It's all speculation, of course. No one knows for certain.

No details are given in regards to Mary Magdalene's appearance. On this topic, not a single woman in the New Testament is described as beautiful. In fact, no details are given at all about the appearance of any woman. However, in the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament of the English Bible, a number of women are described as beautiful, including Sarah, Rebekah, Esther, Abigail, Bathsheba and Abishag.

Mary was at the crucifixion with a number of other women, according to Scripture. Matthew 27:55-56, in the NKJV Bible, states: "And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons."

John 19:25, in the NKJV Bible states: "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene." It's interesting to note Mary Magdalene's name appears last, possibly indicating she was not as close to Jesus as some people have speculated.

There isn't a single indication in Scripture the two spent any time alone. This despite some of the beliefs being perpetuated today. It's interesting to note that after His resurrection, Jesus told Mary Magdalene "touch me not" in the KJV.

John 20:16-18, in the KJV states: "Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the LORD, and that he had spoken these things unto her."

The correct answer in this case has to be 'She spent a lot of time alone with Jesus'.

Answer: In 2 Corinthians Paul writes that she informed him the divisions had ceased.

Chloe is mentioned in only passing reference, as per 1 Corinthians 1:11. It's from this passage we are told members of her household had made Paul aware of divisions in the church at Corinth, a city in Greece. Paul then goes on to exhort the believers at Corinth to end their bickering.

And while Paul also wrote 2 Corinthians, there is no further mention of reports received from Chloe's household.

Answer: She did not believe Jesus was the Messiah.

No one can accuse Anna of not being faithful. In fact, she was apparently as reliable as the world-famous geyser Old Faithful. Luke 2:37, in the NKJV Bible, states Anna "did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day." According to verse 37, she was the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher, and was of "great age" and a widow.

And there can be no disputing the fact Anna firmly believed Jesus was the long-promised Messiah. After Jesus was presented as an infant at the temple by his parents Mary and Joseph, Scripture states Anna "gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem."

As a result, the correct answer has to be 'She did not believe Jesus was the Messiah'.

Answer: He died before John the Baptist was born.

Scripture states Zacharias was a priest who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah and his wife was also a descendant of Aaron, as per Luke 1:5. Luke 1:11-25 tells of the angel Gabriel appearing before Zacharias and telling him of the upcoming birth of their son, who would become John the Baptist. When Zacharias doubted Gabriel's claims, he was rendered speechless as per Luke 1:20.

Going by Scripture, there can be no disputing Zacharias was alive when John the Baptist was born. After the baby was born, Zacharias wrote on a tablet that the infant was to be called John and, according to Luke 1:64, "immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God."

Answer: He is mentioned in all four Gospels.

Joseph is mentioned in Matthew, Luke and John but not in Mark, nor is he mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. (Incidentally, Joseph of the Old Testament is mentioned in as many books as Joseph, the husband of Mary. Joseph of the Old Testament is mentioned in Acts, Hebrews and Revelation.)

So the correct answer is 'He is mentioned in all four Gospels'.

Joseph was told about the virgin birth in advance (Matthew 1:20) and he was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55).

Matthew 2:13-15 tells of Joseph being warned in a dream to flee to Egypt with his family. Scripture goes on to tell of Herod coming up with a diabolical plan to kill all the infant boys aged two and under.

Answer: He is commended for his faith in Hebrews Chapter 11.

In Acts 6:5, we read about Philip being appointed as one of the seven disciples for the Grecian Jewish believers in the early church. (Some people mistakenly think the Philip mentioned here is the one who served as one of the original Twelve Disciples.)

In Acts 8, we are read Philip ended up encountering a Ethiopian eunuch who was traveling home from Jerusalem in a chariot. The chapter states Philip was taken aboard the chariot and explained the Scripture the eunuch was reading with the end result that the eunuch became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, making him the first documented believer from Africa.

According to Acts 8:39-40, Philip made a sudden departure from the scene after he baptized the eunuch.

The verses, in the NKJV, state: "Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea."

According to notes in the NIV Study Bible, Azotus was about 19 miles from Gaza and 60 miles from Caesarea.

Here's some interesting trivia about Azotus and Philip, as per the notes in the NIV Study Bible. In the Old Testament, the community was known as Ashdod (1 Samuel 5:1). Azotus had been rebuilt by Herod as it had an excellent harbor and served as a headquarters for the Roman procurators. "The account leaves Philip in Caesarea at this time: his next appearance appearance is 20 years later, and he is still located in the same place (Acts 21:8)," the study notes state.

There is no account in Hebrews, or any other book for that matter, about Philip being commended for his faith.

Answer: His name means 'Can't Be Trusted'.

According to notes in the NIV Study Bible, the name Onesimus translates as 'Useful'. The correct answer in this case is 'His name means Can't Be Trusted'.

According to Philemon 1, he was a run-away slave and his master was Philemon who lived in Colosse, which is in present day Turkey. Paul converted Onesimus to Christianity when the two met in Rome.

Answer: The Patmos of his name was a city in present-day Turkey.

Christian tradition holds that John of Patmos is John, one of the original Twelve Disciples. However, a number of theologians dispute this view and I respect their opinion, although it is my belief John of Patmos and the John the Disciple are the same person.

Nevertheless, there can be no debate John of Patmos wrote Revelation and he was in exile for preaching the Gospel of Christ.

Revelation 1:9-11, in the NKJV, states: "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last...'"

However, it is incorrect to state Patmos was a city in present-day Turkey. Actually it is a small wind-swept island in the Aegean Sea.