Match These New Testament Characters -- #12 Quiz

Answer: High priest

Ananias was a high priest who was involved in a hearing involving Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. Details are reported in the 23rd chapter of Acts.

In addition to the high priest, there are two other men who have the name Ananias in the New Testament.

The first Ananias was the husband of Sapphira and both were struck dead by the Lord after selling their property and withholding some of the proceeds from the early church. (Acts 5:1-11)

The second Ananias went to visit Paul, then known as Saul, after his dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. (Acts 9:1-19)

Although there are three different men with the name Ananias in the Bible, their accounts are listed in only Acts. In other words, the name Ananias appears nowhere else in Scripture.

Answer: Paul's co-worker

Quartus was an early Roman convert to Christianity and a friend and assistant to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. However, not much is known about Quartus as he is mentioned only in Romans 16:23. The passage, in the NKJV Bible, states: "Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother." (In the NIV, Quartus is described by Paul as "our brother".)

Romans 16 is largely devoted to greetings from Paul and it is seen by many today as a tribute to "Joe" and "Jane" Christians in the early church.

Answer: Paul's secretary

Tertius served as Paul's secretary and transcribed the words for the book of Romans, according to Scripture. Romans 16:22, states "I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord." There is no further mention of him in Scripture. According to Biblos, a Website that serves as a Bible encyclopedia, some theologians suspect Tertius was a friend of Silas while others believe he was a Roman Christian living in Corinth.

It's all speculation, of course.

Answer: House on Straight Street

According to Scripture, Ananias was instructed by the Lord in a vision to go to the house of a man named Judas who lived on Straight Street in Damascus to meet with Saul after his conversion to Christianity. The story of Ananias can be found in Acts 9:10-18. Initially, Ananias was reluctant to follow the Lord's orders as he knew the notorious reputation Saul had for causing harm to believers in the early church. Nevertheless, he followed the orders. Acts 9:17-19 in the NKJV Bible states: "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus."

Incidentally, there are two other men mentioned in Acts with the name Ananias.
One was struck dead, along with his wife Sapphira, after lying about turning over all the proceeds from the sale of their property to the early church, as per Acts 5:1-11. The other Ananias was the high priest who opposed Paul who was on trial before Felix, as per the 24th chapter of Acts.

Answer: Killed children

According to Scripture, Herod ordered the execution of all male children aged two and under in Bethlehem and district. This was part of an all-out effort to kill the Baby Jesus because Herod feared the Child would grow up and replace him as king.

Matthew 2:13-18, gives this account in the NKJV: "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.' When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.' Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
'A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more'."

There is considerable speculation about how many children were killed by Herod. According to Wikipedia, some claim as many as 14,000 boys were killed. However, a number of theologians have disputed this claim, speculating less than 20 boys were killed because Bethlehem was a "rather small town", Wikipedia reports. It's all speculation, of course. No one knows how many children were killed by heartless Herod.

Answer: Impulsiveness

If there ever was an impulsive person in the New Testament, it had to be Peter. Be it jumping out of a boat to walk on water only to quickly lose his faith and sink, or defiantly proclaiming he would never deny Christ, Peter is front and center in the New Testament when it comes to impulsiveness. Scripture suggests he often spoke without thinking. The account of Peter walking on the water, for an ever-so-brief amount of time, is found in the 14th chapter of Matthew. The account of Peter proclaiming he would never deny Christ and his about-face is found in the 26th chapter of Matthew.

Another example of Peter's impulsiveness is found in the 21st chapter of John, Scripture telling of Jesus, after His resurrection, appearing to seven disciples fishing on the Sea of Galilee. John 21:7 in the NKJV says Peter "plunged" into the water to meet Christ. (The NIV says he "jumped" into the water.) However, the other disciples, according to Scripture, stayed in their little boat and headed to shore to meet Jesus.

Answer: Industrious and irritable

Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus, was both industrious and irritable, Scripture indicates. Meanwhile, her sister Mary would be best described as insightful. The two sisters earned these reputations as per the events in Luke 10:38-42. Scripture tells of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet listening to Him while Martha was busy preparing food for the guests. As a result, Martha became annoyed with the situation and requested Jesus to order her sister to lend a helping hand.

Luke 10:38-42, in the NKJV, reports things this way: "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.'"

Answer: Jesus anointed with perfume

According to Mark 14:1-10, it was at the home of Simon the Leper that Jesus was anointed with expensive perfume, or costly oil. According to the 12th chapter of John, Mary anointed Jesus with the perfume and wiped His feet with her hair. John 12:3, 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 that 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.

There is no smoking gun, but some theologians believe Simon the Leper was the father of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. According to Scripture, Simon lived in Bethany, the same community as Mary, Martha and Lazarus. There is also speculation that Simon was cleansed of leprosy by Jesus, hence his name Simon the Leper.

Answer: Imprisoned

According to the 13th chapter of Hebrews, Timothy, a young worker in the early church, had been imprisoned. Hebrews 13:23 states, "I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been released. If he arrives soon, I will come with him to see you." No further details are given about Timothy's incarceration.

Making things even more of a mystery, no one knows for certain who wrote the book of Hebrews. Some people believe Paul wrote the book, but there is no conclusive proof. If anything, this Scripture might indicate Paul was not the writer. And then again, it might not. In other books, Paul describes Timothy as his son and tells him not to let people look down on him because of his youth. In this case, Timothy is described as a brother. Supporters of the belief that Paul wrote Hebrews will counter by saying perhaps with Timothy serving time in chains for the Gospel of Christ, Paul felt it was appropriate to describe him as a brother, and no longer as a son. In other words, Timothy had "all grown up."

Answer: Voice in the wilderness

Many Christians regard John the Baptist as the last of the Old Testament prophets because he told the people to prepare for the arrival of the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world", as per John 12:29.

In the NKJV Bible, in Mark 1:1-5, John is introduced this way: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight'. John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins."