Mary Nodded Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nazareth

Luke 1:26-28 in the Names of God translation:
"Six months after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a city in Galilee. The angel went to a virgin promised in marriage to a descendant of David named Joseph. The virgin's name was Mary. When the angel entered her home, he greeted her and said, 'You are favored by the Lord! The Lord is with you.'"

While the Bible doesn't include many details about Mary's personal life, we can probably assume that, at this point, she was a young woman (what the ancients considered a young woman would be more like a teenager in modern terms) who lived with her parents and maybe siblings. When the Gospels introduce Mary, no family members beside Elizabeth are discussed, but John 19:25 suggests that she had a sister.

Mary traveled a lot, whether she wanted to or not. In Luke 1:39, she went to the country of Judah to visit her relative, Elizabeth. Then she had to go to Bethlehem because Joseph's ancestors were from Bethlehem. She, Joseph, and the child Jesus lived in Egypt for a while to escape King Herod. Finally, they moved back and Mary raised Jesus in her hometown of Nazareth (see Matthew 2:23).

Answer: False

It is true that Joseph and Mary were almost as good as married according to the time and culture that they lived in. This was most likely a marriage arranged by the parents of both children and the only way to break off the betrothal would be to get a formal divorce. When Mary became pregnant, she hadn't yet had the ceremony, nor was she living with Joseph, but if her child was the result of natural reproduction, she still would have been guilty of adultery.

As for the idea that Mary considered herself married to the Father, this is false. Luke 1:38 states, "Mary answered, 'I am the Lord's servant. Let everything you've said happen to me.' Then the angel left her." This is from the Names of God version. Depending on the translation, one can also see "handmaid," "maidservant," and "bondslave," but not "wife".

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Most Christians believe that these are three different parts of the same God. Christians also believe that the "Son" existed as a part of this God a long, long time before He was ever placed in Mary's womb.

Answer: Firstborn

The missing word is firstborn. This is a subject of controversy. It is an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church that Mary remained a virgin her entire life, even after marrying Joseph. Many Protestants believe that the couple had a regular marriage after the birth of Jesus.

For this verse in particular, Protestants think that "firstborn", which most translations use, has an obvious meaning. Catholics argue that it is merely an allusion to Exodus 13:1-2, which state, "Yahweh spoke to Moses, 'Set apart every firstborn male for me. Every firstborn male offspring among the Israelites is mine, whether human or animal.'" The Catholic argument includes that the Israelites didn't wait for a second or third son before consecrating their first, so they argue in some cases the firstborn son is an only son.

The New Testament has many verses that reference the "brothers" and "sisters" of Christ and Christ's mother is often in the company of them, and Protestants usually cite such verses, but the Catholics argue that those aren't her biological children. A common Catholic view is that they are Christ's cousins and the sons of Mary, the wife of Clopas.

Answer: False

Matthew 1:18-19 from the Names of God translation:
"His mother Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage. But before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. So he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly."

Joseph didn't want Mary stoned for adultery, but he still wanted to break the engagement. He decided to go ahead and marry her after an angel told him that she was telling the truth (Matthew 1:20-24).

It's interesting that Joseph showed Mary a form of grace; mercy that he probably didn't even think that she deserved (before the angel came to him). However, Deuteronomy 22 says that a girl could only be stoned for sex before her marriage if people could *prove* that she wasn't a virgin anymore!

By the way, if a man raped a betrothed girl or woman, then only the rapist could be legally killed because the woman was considered innocent (Deuteronomy 22:25-27).

Answer: She said nothing. She treasured His words in her heart, though.

Luke 2:46-51 in the Names of God translation:
"Three days later, they found him in the temple courtyard. He was sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions. His understanding and his answers stunned everyone who heard him.

When his parents saw him, they were shocked. His mother asked him, 'Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been worried sick looking for you!'

Yeshua said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Didn't you realize that I had to be in my Father's house?' But they didn't understand what he meant.

Then he returned with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them.

His mother treasured all these things in her heart."

The three days that Jesus was "missing" here was a foreshadowing of the three days that He would later spend in the tomb before coming back to life.

Answer: It isn't clear.

See John 2:1-12. Neither the bride nor the groom are named or identified, but since Mary seems to play a large role in the wedding, and given the fact that not only Jesus, but also His family and His disciples were invited, it most likely was a family member or close friend who was getting married.

In my own opinion, I think that the disciple John was the groom, because John's Gospel is the only Gospel to mention the event, so it might be a form of personal narrative for him. In addition, there is a possibility that John was Christ's cousin, with his mother Salome as a possible sister of Christ's mother.

Answer: He said that His disciples were His real family.

Matthew 12:49-50:
"He replied to the man speaking to him, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' Pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, 'Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.'"

Personally, I'm sure that Jesus had a deeper meaning in mind and didn't intend to be disrespectful, but some might view it that way. Interestingly, however, John 7:5 states that Christ's brothers didn't originally believe in His miracles or message, so this comment in Matthew 12 might be related to that. I find it intriguing that He speaks about Mary this way, though, because she seemed more than willing to do the Father's will when it came to the supernatural conception of Christ. Was Jesus implying that she stopped believing in Him for a while? Maybe.

Answer: Yes

John 19:25 in the Names of God translation:
"Yeshua's mother, her sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary from Magdala were standing beside Yeshua's cross."

People interpret this verse differently. Some believe that "her sister" refers to Mary, the wife of Clopas. In addition, scholars often identify Mary, the wife of Clopas as the same as Mary, the mother of James and Joseph. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention the mother of James but not the title of the wife of Clopas. John includes "Mary, the wife of Clopas" but not "Mary, the mother of James," so the common conclusion is that the Gospel writers simply used different titles for the same woman, who might also be Christ's aunt. But not everybody believes that Mary's parents would name both her and her sister "Mary". Some believe that "her sister" refers to another woman, perhaps named Salome, because the other Gospels reference a Salome. In fact, Christian tradition asserts that Salome was the mother of John, the Gospel's writer.

Perhaps "sister" means a cousin, like other people claim. Yet another interpretation is that "sister" might mean sister-in-law and if that is the case, then the other Mary's husband, Clopas, would be Mary's brother and Christ's uncle. Nobody knows for certain.

Answer: Holding a prayer meeting

Acts 1:13-14 in the Names of God translation:
"When they came into the city, Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (son of James) went to the second-story room where they were staying. The apostles had a single purpose as they devoted themselves to prayer. They were joined by some women, including Mary (the mother of Yeshua), and they were joined by his brothers."

This event took place after Christ's ascension into Heaven. This is the final time that we see this Mary have an active role in the New Testament. If she continued to work in the church, we don't know, because it says nothing further about her. The Scriptures don't even mention how or when she died.

There are multiple women named Mary in the New Testament:

1) The mother of Jesus
2) Mary Magdalene
3) The sister of Martha and Lazarus
4) The mother of James and Joseph
5) The wife of Clopas (possibly the same as #4)
6) The mother of John Mark
7) A Mary that the apostle Paul mentions in Romans 16:6

All of these women had their own important roles in the New Testament. It is possible that #6 and #7 played larger roles in the early church after Christ's earthly ministry ended, but #1 remains the most blessed of them all (Luke 1:42).

Answer: Blue and white

In traditional depictions of Mary (paintings, etc.), she is shown wearing something like a simple and modest white dress with a blue mantle (overcoat) and a white veil. Sometimes, there can be more blue than white and vice-versa. For example, in some images, she has a blue dress with a white mantle and a blue veil. This isn't to say that she has never been depicted wearing anything else, but these seem to be the most common colors for her. The white symbolizes her purity, her virginity as well as her overall purity, including her humility. The blue symbolizes Heaven and grace.

Actually, another popular color combination for her is blue and red, but since that isn't a choice here, the correct answer has to be blue and white. According to catholicsaintsinfo.com, red can symbolize the Holy Spirit. This makes sense for Mary, whose child was "conceived" by the Holy Spirit.