Four Gospels Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anglo-Saxon

It comes from the Anglo-Saxon "godspell", which means "good news". The Greek word for good news is "evangelion", from which we get evangelism.

Answer: John

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic Gospels because they all have the same basic perspective. John, however, has the most unique material of the four Gospels, and it is a more spiritualized account of Christ's life.

Answer: Luke

Luke, a physician, is also credited with writing Acts. These are the only two books of the entire Bible not written by Jewish authors.

Answer: Matthew

Matthew is very concerned with presenting Christ as the prophesised Messiah and King of the Jews, and in his Gospel we find countless allusions to Old Testament prophecy. Arguably, John focuses on Christ as the Son of God, Luke on Christ as the Son of Man, Mark on Christ as Servant, and Matthew on Christ as King of the Jews.

Answer: Matthew

See Matthew 5:2-10. In Luke 6:20-23 there are only four Beatitudes. Some traditions separate the Eighth Beatitude (which concerns the persecuted) into two.

Answer: Matthew and Luke

Luke gives us the manger scene, and Matthew tells us of the wisemen following the star to visit the young child sometime later. The other two Gospels do not give details of the birth or early childhood. Indeed, Mark does not begin until Christ is a man.

Answer: True

Matthew was originally thought to be the oldest Gospel. Today, however, many scholars consider Mark to be the oldest Gospel, and some see it as a partial source for Matthew.

Answer: Acts

Acts, or "The Acts of the Apostles", tells the story of the early church, and is traditionally attributed to Luke.

Answer: All of these

There was also a fourth criteria - the canonized Gospels had to have a theological outlook that was consistent with the other New Testament writings. "Apostolic Origins" means the Gospel had to be based on the preaching or teaching of an original apostle (not necessarily written by an apostle). "Liturgical Use" meant that it had to already be the practice of Christian communities that the gospels were read aloud publicly when they gathered.

Answer: False

None of the Gospels tell us everything Christ may have said in his final hours, but they each give us a selection of his final words. The last recorded words of Christ prior to his death are: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." (Luke); "It is finished." (John); and "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew and Mark)

Answer: John

Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; and Luke 23:45. The veil separated the congregation from the Holy of Holies.

Answer: Matthew

Matthew 27:52: "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose..."

Answer: John

John 19:26 "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!" The "disciple...whom he loved" is thought to be John himself, to whom the Gospel is attributed.

Answer: Luke

Luke 23:42: "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."

Matthew 27:44 says that one of the thieves "cast" insults at Christ, but does not record the words he used.

Answer: No

Paul's letters may have been the earliest writings of the New Testament. The Gospels are dated between 60 and 100 AD by most traditionalists; as late as the 2nd century by liberal scholars. Most of Paul's letters were already in circulation by 60 AD. Matthew may have been written at the same time as Paul's letters, however. Irenaeus tells us that Matthew published a gospel among the Hebrews while Paul was in Rome with Peter.

Answer: All of these

All of these are probable reasons why the Gospels were finally written down, instead of being left to oral tradition. Many in the early church seemed to expect the imminent return of Christ, which would make a written Gospel unnecessary; but as time passed and Christ did not return, and as the first-generation of Apostles began to die off, the need to preserve Christ's teaching intensified. Also, contradictory stories about Christ were arising and circulating, perhaps inspiring the Gospel writers to "set the record straight", so to speak.

Answer: False

Although the New Testament canon was not officially agreed upon until the 4th century, these Gospels were attributed to the authors that now bear their names at least as early as the second century AD. Indeed, the attributions are unanimous among the surviving, 2nd century documents that mention these four Gospels.

Answer: Mark

Papais (second century AD), as reported by the historian Eusebis, said, "Mark indeed, since he was the interpreter of Peter, wrote accurately, but not in order, the things either said or done by the Lord as much as he remembered. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed Him, but [ . . . ] Peter." It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that in Mark's Gospel, Peter is mentioned more often than in any of the other three Gospels, and he is also the first of the disciples to be mentioned.

Answer: Luke

This is probably because he is the only non-Jewish Gospel author. Luke also shows little knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic, whereas Matthew interjects some Aramaic phrases into his account.

Answer: None of these

John the Baptist, Christ's cousin, was not the author of the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is attributed to Christ's disciple John (a brother of James and a son of Zebedee), who is also credited with Revelation.