Know Your New Testament?

Here’s part of the first exam my New Testament Survey students took earlier this week. It covers some introductory and background material plus the content of the Gospels, especially Luke. (Don’t worry too much about my posting the exam; I basically write new tests every semester). So, wanna try it cold? Print it off and take the test. I’ll post correct answers tomorrow.

A. Write either (T) rue or (F) alse to the left of each number:

1. In Jesus’ day, the average Jewish person would have no dealings with a Samaritan.

2. For understanding the New Testament, the most important background literature is the Dead Sea Scrolls.

3. The Pharisees were a well-known and highly-respected group in the time of Jesus.

4. Of the Four Gospels, only Matthew tells a story from the time when Jesus was twelve years old.

5. The Gospels refer to more than one person called Herod.

6. The New Testament is the best-attested document from antiquity.

7. One day when Jesus read the Bible and preached at the synagogue, the people got so mad they tried to kill him.

8. In writing his gospel, Luke does not refer to previous attempts to tell the story of Jesus.

9. When John the Baptist began his ministry Nero was Caesar, the Roman emperor.

10. Luke is the gospel writer who tells us about wise men (or magi) who followed a star to the place where Jesus was born.

11. Jesus grew up in the district of Perea.

12. In the early days of his ministry, Jesus seems to have adopted Caesarea as his home away from home.

13. Jesus once claimed that he came to bring fire on the earth and cause division in families.

14. The Gospel of Luke reports a part of Jesus’ family tree.

15. The opponents of Jesus claimed that he used demonic powers to perform his miracles.

16. Jesus once acknowledged that he and John the Baptist had very different personalities and styles.

17. Luke sometimes reports not only the words of a parable, but also indicates to the reader why Jesus told that parable.

18. Jesus’ parable about tenants and a vineyard infuriated some of his hearers.

19. Luke’s description of the crucifixion is quite graphic. It mentions, for example, Jesus’ blood and the hammers and spikes that were used by the Roman soldiers.

20. Some of the parables of Jesus are intended to make a single, identifiable point.

21. There is a connection between the military campaigns of Alexander the Great and the original language of the New Testament.

22. The Gospel of Luke reports the ascension of the resurrected Jesus.

23. According to Luke, the resurrected Jesus appeared to his followers only once.

24. When eleven Apostles of Jesus were told that his tomb was empty, the message was dismissed as nonsense.

25. When he spoke of his motives in telling parables, Jesus said that there were intended to conceal the message as well as reveal it.


B. Multiple Choice. Circle the letter next to the correct response:

1. Which two of the Four Gospels include infancy narratives, stories about the birth of Jesus?

a. Matthew and Mark
b. Matthew and Luke
c. Matthew and John
d. Luke and John

2. How many of the Four Gospels refer to the life and ministry of John the Baptist?

a. one
b. two
c. three
d. four

3. Jesus was born in _________________.

a. Bethlehem
b. Nazareth
c. Capernaum
d. Jerusalem

4. Jesus grew up in what town?

a. Bethlehem
b. Nazareth
c. Capernaum
d. Jerusalem

5. What prompted the people of Jesus’ hometown to reject him?

a. Jesus healed on the Sabbath
b. Jesus cast some demons into a herd of pigs
c. Jesus encouraged the people to pay their taxes
d. Jesus referred to God’s love for non-Jews

6. Name the region that Jesus did not visit during his teaching ministry.

a. Perea
b. Babylonia
c. Samaria
d. Galilee

7. When Jesus was transfigured on a mountain, which two Old Testament characters appeared with him?

a. Moses and Aaron
b. Moses and Joshua
c. Moses and Elijah
d. Moses and Isaiah

8. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, close friends of Jesus, lived in what village?

a. Bethany
b. Bethel
c. Beelzebub
d. Beersheba

9. Jesus spent most of his final week before the crucifixion in what city?

a. Nazareth
b. Bethany
c. Jerusalem
d. Capernaum

10. Unlike Protestant Bibles, Roman Catholic editions of Christian Scripture include more than a dozen additional books commonly known as __________________.

a. the Apocalypse
b. the Apocrypha
c. the Acropolis
d. the Athanasius

11. _________________________ is the name that has been given to the question of why the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke look so much alike, why the contents of these books are so similar.

a. The Similarity Problem
b. The Synchronic Problem
c. The Synoptic Problem
d. The Symphonic Problem

12. Most often, Jesus referred to himself as _________________________.

a. Son of Man
b. Son of God
c. the Christ, the Messiah
d. Son of David