One-Scene Wonders in the Gospels Quiz

Answer: Dismas

'But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."' (Luke 23:40-42)

In both the Gospels of Luke and Mark, two thieves are being crucified on the same day of Jesus's death. Interestingly the good/repentant thief only seems to appear in Luke's Gospel. In Mark's Gospel, both thieves mock Jesus. In both Gospels, neither thief is named. The good thief is named in extra-Biblical sources such as the Gospel of Nicodemus as Dismas. In other sources, he is named as Demas, Zothan, Titus, or Rakh. In the Roman Catholic church, Saint Dismas has the feast day of March 25.

Answer: Nicodemus

'Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him."' (John 3:1-2)

The primary appearance of Nicodemus is in chapter 3 of the Gospel of John, though he has two additional appearances in that Gospel. Nicodemus is a pharisee who meets with Jesus at night. to discuss the concept of being "born again". He later assists Joseph of Arimathea with the burial of Jesus. The extra-Biblical Gospel of Nicodemus is traditionally attributed to him.

Answer: Zacchaeus

'A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.' (Luke 19:2-4)

Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the Roman Empire. As such, he would have been disliked and distrusted by many of his neighbors, who would have essentially seen him as a collaborator. Jesus seeing Zacchaeus and addressing him would have been surprising to many in the crowd. Perhaps just as shocking to the crowd was the wealthy Zacchaeus announcing his intentions to give half of his wealth to the poor.

Answer: Anna

'There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.' (Luke 2:36-38)

Anna is considered a Saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The Eastern Orthodox church considers her and Simeon, the elderly and devout man who was also at the Temple, to be the final Old Testament prophets.

Answer: Bartimaeus

'Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means "son of Timaeus"), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
(Mark 10:46-47)

Bartimaeus is mentioned by name in the Gospel of Mark. Similar stories where the beggar is not named occur in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. in all three versions both the power of Jesus and the faith of Bartimaeus are shown. In the version of the story from the Gospel of Matthew, there are two beggars who are cured by blindness. Jesus specifically instructs them to say nothing about their cure, but they disregard this instruction.

Answer: Theophilus

'With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.' (Luke 1:3-4)

Theophilus is addressed by Luke at the beginning of both his own Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. It is believed that the two were originally written as one work. The name translates as "friend of God" or "beloved by God". There is some uncertainty whether "Theophilus" was being used as the person's name or title. Some suggestions to who Theophilus was include a lawyer employed by Paul of Tarsus and one of the High Priests of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Answer: Simon

'As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.' (Matthew 27:32)

What Simon was enlisted to carry was the crossbeam and not the full cross. Some scholars suggest that the soldiers may have chosen Simon for this task since he was sympathetic to Jesus. In the Gospel of Mark, Simon's sons--Alexander and Rufus--are named. Early Christian tradition suggests that they later became missionaries. Cyrene was found in what is now northeastern Libya.

Answer: Gestas

'One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"' (Luke 23:39)

Gestas is named in the extra-Biblical Gospel of Nicodemus. In the Gospel of Luke, the thief is not named but his attitude of disdain for Jesus and not repenting his actions are clearly shown. This compares with Dismas, the second thief, who has repented. In the Gospel of Mark, while two thieves are crucified at the same time as Jesus, it is less clear which one is Gestas since both mock Jesus. The two thieves also appear in the Gospel of John but they are not named and do not speak.

Answer: Cleopas

'One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people."' (Luke 24:18-19)

Cleopas, or Cleophas, was one of two disciples who encountered Jesus after the Resurrection of Jesus. The two men had been travelling on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The two had heard of the tomb of Jesus being empty but were uncertain what this meant. When he first appeared to them, the two men were "prevented" (seemingly by God) from recognizing Jesus. This is later removed and the men recognize Jesus just before he disappears.

Answer: Malchus

'Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)' (John 18:10)

The story of an apostle cutting off the ear of the High Priest's servant is mentioned in all four Gospels. In the Gospel of John, Peter is named as the apostle and Malchus is named as the servant. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is described as healing the servant's ear. Later in the Gospel of John, a relative of Malchus accuses Peter of being a follower of Jesus, which Peter denies.