Persecution of Believers in the New Testament Quiz

Answer: John the Baptist

John the Baptist, who helped prepare the way for Jesus, was beheaded on the order of Herod.

Although Herod gave the orders to behead John, he didn't really want such a thing to happen. Herod's wife Herodias forced his hand, basically giving Herod no other option than to order the execution of John.

Anyway you look at it, Herodias was downright despicable.

She was successful in getting her daughter to request John the Baptist's head on a platter. When her daughter's request was fulfilled, Herodias had removed a hated adversary from the scene. According to Scripture, Herodias had left her first husband and married his half brother, and John denounced the union.

Matthew 14:6-12 reports Herod hosted a lavish birthday party for himself and when Herodias' daughter, who is not named, danced at the reception, Herod was so pleased he told the girl he would give her whatever she asked for. Verse 8, in the NKJV Bible, states: "So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, 'Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter'."

Verse 11 goes on to tell of this macabre scene: "And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother."

It boggles the mind a mother would make such a request of her daughter. At the same time, it's hard to believe Herodias' daughter would fulfill her diabolical wishes.

Answer: James

James, the brother of John and one of the original Twelve Disciples, was put to death "with the sword", according to Scripture. Here's how Acts 12:1-3 tells of the death of James in the NKJV: "Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also."

To be be put to death with the sword, actually means to be beheaded, according to notes in the NKJV Study Bible.

Answer: Jason

Jason is the correct answer. According to Scripture, Jason was hosting Paul and other workers in the early church when citizens decided to take action.

Here's how Acts 17:5-9 tells what happened in the NKJV: "But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, 'These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king -- Jesus.' And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things. So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go."

Jason is also mentioned in Romans, a book written by Paul. In Romans 16:21, Paul writes, "Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you."

Answer: Silas

According to Acts 16:16-34, Silas was stripped and beaten and then severely flogged before being thrown into prison at Philippi. Scripture states Paul suffered the same plight. Despite all this, the two were praying and singing hymns at midnight when a violent earthquake struck, opening the doors to the prison.

The passage goes on to state the jailer took Paul and Silas home and was filled with great joy because he and his household had come to believe in God. Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia that was abandoned in the 14th century during the Ottoman conquest.

Answer: Paul

Opponents to Christianity stoned Paul at Lystra for preaching the Gospel, and left him for dead. Miraculously, when the disciples gathered around him, Paul "rose up and went into the city," as per Acts 14:19. Scripture goes on to tell of Paul and Barnabas departing the next day for Derbe to preach the Gospel.

Later, Paul would meet up with Timothy, a young worker in the early church at Lystra. (Acts 16:1)

According to Acts 14:8-19, the brutal stoning of Paul took place shortly after he healed an unnamed crippled man with a multitude of people proclaiming Paul and Barnabas to be gods. In fact, Scripture states "Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker."

Verses 19 and 20 tell of the stoning: "Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe."

Answer: Mary

Mary the mother of Jesus is the correct answer, of course. The sight she saw at Golgotha must have been horrific and traumatizing.

Here the Child she had given birth to, while still a virgin, and proclaimed to be the Son of God, was hanging in agony from a cross with two common thieves.

Mary had been warned her heart would be pierced with a sword, as per Luke 2:35.
However, all the warnings in the world would not have prepared her for what happened on that dreadful Friday as her Son was brutally beaten, scourged and crucified with no mercy. Making things even worse, many of the people at the crucifixion sight taunted her Son, saying if He was the Son of God, "come down from cross."

Three days later, Mary would be ecstatic with Jesus being resurrected from the dead. The crucifixion, followed by Christ's resurrection, is told in all four Gospels of the New Testament.

Answer: Gaius

The report about Gaius along with his co-worker Aristachus being seized by a mob can be found in Acts 19:23-41. Not much is known about Gaius as he is mentioned in passing reference. Scripture, however, does state he was from Macedonia. His name also appears in Acts 20:4 where it states he was from the Macedonian community of Derbe.

According to Acts 19, the riot was sparked by Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana. Gaius and Aristarchus were eventually released by the crowd, thanks to the actions of an unnamed city clerk.

Answer: John

John was exiled to the island of Patmos when he wrote Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.

Revelation 1:9 in the NKJV states: "I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." What follows this verse is Scripture that has captivated and perplexed Christians for centuries. Patmos is in the Aegean Sea and is part of Greece.

Patmos is a wind-swept Greek island in the Aegean Sea. According to Wikipedia, it consists of an area of 34.05 square kilometers or 13.15 square miles. The current population of the island is about 3,000 people.

Answer: Peter

Peter, according to Scripture, was imprisoned on two different occasions. The first imprisonment is reported in Acts 5:17-29 and the second one in Acts 12:3-19. In both cases, Peter was able to make a break for freedom, thanks to divine intervention.

The fifth chapter of Acts tells of Peter being jailed with other apostles for preaching the news of a resurrected Jesus Christ. However, an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, enabling Peter and the other apostles to escape. As per instructions from the angel, the jail-breakers went back to the temple and continued to preach the Gospel message.

A remarkable story is told in Acts 12:3-19 pertaining to Peter's second incarceration. According to Verse 4, four squads of four soldiers were assigned to watch guard over Peter for each of the four watches during the night. It's abundantly apparent the authorities were not taking any chances and were doing everything possible to prevent an escape by Peter.

The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Then, an angel of the Lord appeared. Acts 12:6-7, in the NKJV Bible, states: "And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, 'Arise quickly!' And his chains fell off his hands."

Peter was then guided out of the prison by the angel. When Peter made his escape from prison, he headed to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark.

Verse 12 states "many" had gathered at the house and were praying for Peter's release. Notes in the NIV Study Bible state Mary was the aunt of Barnabas. "Apparently her home was a gathering place for Christians," the notes state. "It may have been the location of the upper room where the Last Supper was held... and the place of prayer in Acts 4:31."

Answer: Stephen

Stephen was the first martyr of the early church when he was stoned by a group of men overseen by Paul, who was known as Saul at the time.

Acts 6:15 leaves no doubt Stephen was special. According to Scripture, when Stephen was on trial before the Sanhedrin, his accusers looked "intently" at Stephen's face and "they saw that his face was like the face of an angel." They may have seen the face of an angel, but before long those same people would be committing devil-like acts against Stephen and by the end of Acts 7, he was executed.

When it comes to mortals, perhaps no other man in the New Testament commands as many praiseworthy statements as Stephen. For example, Acts 6:8 reports Stephen did "great wonders and miraculous signs" among the people. This on top of him being described in Verse 5 as "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." No details are given about the "great wonders and miraculous signs". However, considering Peter and Paul raised people from the dead, Stephen's accomplishments must have been every bit as great to rate such accolades by Luke, the writer of Acts.

When it comes to raising people from the dead, Peter of course revived Dorcas (Acts 9:36-43) and Paul did the same for sleepy Eutychus (Acts 20:7-12).