Nine out of Ten: New Testament Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sapphira

The correct answer is Sapphira. Ananias and Sapphira were stuck dead after selling their property and withholding part of the money from going to the Lord's work, as per Acts 5:1-11.

According to Scripture, they were struck dead after they met separately with Peter and both claimed they had turned over the entire proceeds from the sale of their property.

Answer: Onesimus

Onesimus is part of one of those 'amazing small-world stories'. His master Philemon lived in Colosse (which is in present day Turkey). Paul converted Philemon to Christianity and then preached the news of a resurrected Jesus Christ in a number of other communities in Turkey and Europe before ending up in Rome. Philemon's slave Onesimus ran away and headed to Rome and wouldn't you know it, he met up with Paul who in turn converted the run-away slave to Christianity.

As a result, Paul wrote the book of Philemon as a passionate appeal to Onesimus' master to accept him back, not as a slave, but as an equal in Christ.

In other words, Onesimus was no longer a scoundrel. In Paul's words, he was an equal in Christ.

It is suspected Onesimus stole money, or property, from Philemon. Paul, in a passionate appeal to Philemon to accept Onesimus back as an equal, states in part in Philemon 1:18-19: "But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay..."

Often when people today think of Onesimus running away from Philemon, they think of slavery as it existed on cotton plantations and the like. Such wasn't the case in New Testament times, however.

Notes in the NKJV Study Bible give this explanation of slavery during the time to Onesimus and Philemon: "To recognize the significance of this letter [Philemon], it is essential to understand slavery as it existed in the first century. At that time, the slave-master relationship was as common as the employer-employee relationship today."

Notes go on to explain that in Rome slaves outnumbered Roman citizens and that the system was largely seen as a way of survival for everyone. Among the Jews, slaves were only a small part of the population. Nonetheless, slaves had rights under Jewish law and were to be treated fairly.

Answer: Simon the Tanner

Peter stayed with Simon the Tanner after raising Dorcas from the dead, as per Acts 9:36-43. However, little is known about Simon the Tanner, although his name appears three different times in Scripture. In each case (Acts 9:43, 10:6 and 10:32) it states Peter was staying with Simon.

In both references in the tenth chapter, it states Simon the Tanner's house was by the sea. In that chapter, an unnamed angel of the Lord tells Cornelius he must summon Peter who was staying with Simon the Tanner. Cornelius, of course, was one of the first Gentile believers in a resurrected Christ.

Answer: Tertius

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.com, 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: Herod

According to Scripture, Herod ordered the execution of all male children two and under in Bethlehem and district. All this in 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: Euthychus

Eutychus fell out of a third story window at Troas, when Paul preached on and on, according to Acts 20:7-12. After Eutychus tumbled out the window, people rushed downstairs and found him dead. According to Scripture, Paul raised the young man from the dead and went back upstairs and ate and did some more preaching. Troas is in present day Turkey, south of the ancient city of Troy.

Answer: Nain

Nain is the correct answer. Incidentally, this is the only place in the entire Bible where Nain is mentioned. Luke 7:11-15, in the NKJV Bible, reports: "Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep.' Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.' So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother." According to the Thompson Chain-Reference Study Bible, Nain is about ten miles south of Nazareth.

Answer: Erastus

Not much is known about Erastus apart from the fact he is described by Paul in Romans as the city's director of public works. (Paul was in Corinth when he wrote Romans.) The name Erastus also appears in Acts 19:22 and in 2 Timothy 4:20, but theologians suspect it might not be the same person because Erastus was a common name in Biblical times.

Here's some fascinating trivia from the notes in the NIV Study Bible. The notes state "at Corinth, archaeologists have discovered a re-used block of stone in a paved square with the Latin inscription: 'Erastus, commissioner of public works, bore the expense of this pavement'."

Answer: Sea of Galilee

The correct answer is the Sea of Galilee. I love the account in Mark 6:53-56 telling of what happened after Jesus and the disciples reached Gennesaret on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The account reads: "When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was. Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well."

Answer: Sosthenes

Sosthenes is the correct answer. Apart from Timothy and Silas, he is the only person to have his name included in the salutations of one of Paul's books. Sosthenes' name appears at the beginning of 1 Corinthians, but little is known about him. There is a Sosthenes mentioned in Acts 18:17, a Synagogue ruler who was beaten by an unruly mob, but there is no conclusive proof he is the same person referred to by Paul in his salutations in 1 Corinthians. If it is the same person, he obviously had become a Christian after being a ruler of the synagogue.