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What is Jesus's most famous sermon called?
the Dead Sea Scrolls
the Last Supper
the Sermon at Gethsemane
the Sermon on the Mount
Some of the gospels' most well-known aphorisms come from this sermon, which begins in Matthew chapter 5. It includes the sayings, "You are the light of the world" and "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out; it is better to lose one of your members than for your whole body to enter into hell."
Where did Jesus choose to begin his preaching career?
Jerusalem
Bethlehem
on the shores of Galilee
Biblical scholars believe that it is possible that Jesus, who was trained as a carpenter, worked repairing boats in Galilee. So the first men he called to be his disciples, the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James and John, might have been friends he first knew in that capacity.
Tel Aviv
In his teachings, Jesus sometimes refers to the Gentiles. Who were they?
desert dwellers
an elite sect of priests
people other than the Jews
Anyone who was not a Jew is a Gentile. The term is still in use today, and now includes Christians, though the very first followers of Christ were Jewish.
people possessed by unclean spirits
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Jesus told stories to illustrate his points. What are these stories commonly called?
fables
morality plays
parables
If you're wondering why "fables" wouldn't work here as well, because fables also teach lessons, an English professor would tell you that traditionally, fables are stories in which animals speak and behave as people. Jesus's stories had humans as their subjects.
synecdoche
What is the name of the list of virtues that begins "Blessed are the poor in spirit"?
the Beatitudes
The word "beatitude" commonly means "blessing," because Jesus started each of them with the words "Blessed are ..." They serve as a kind of "new Ten Commandments," except that, as laid out, in Matthew 5, there are only nine of them.
the Seven Heavenly Virtues
the Olivet Discourse
the Ten Commandments
What is the name of the prayer that Jesus outlines in Matthew Chapter 6?
the Decameron
the Doxology
the Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer ends with the phrase "and deliver us from evil." The closing words "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever and ever, amen" are a later addition, commonly heard in Protestant churches.
the Pentateuch
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"Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing" refers to what practice?
giving alms in secret
Jewish practice of that day put a great deal of importance on giving money to the poor (and still does to this day). Jesus believed in this, too, but wanted this followers to be modest about their giving, not making a show of it.
not sharing the good news with the Gentiles
keeping the good news with anyone not called by Jesus
separating work for money from work for God
Jesus said, "I come not to abolish (the law) but to _____ it."
follow
fulfill
Jesus said this during the Sermon on the Mount probably because his listeners, who were likely all Jewish, badly needed reassurance on this point. Much of what Jesus was saying conflicted with what they'd been taught all their lives -- about divorce, about prayer, about the commandments in general. Here, Jesus is assuring them that he is not telling them to forswear their religious and cultural heritage, but to view it in a different light.
refine
critique
Which of these sayings is NOT in the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in Matthew?
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they neither sow nor reap ..."
"You are the salt of the earth."
"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
these are all part of the Sermon on the Mount
We specify the book of Matthew here because Matthew recounts the Sermon at greater length than the other gospels. However, it should be noted that some scholars believe Matthew included teachings from other occasions in this three-chapter segment -- the writer favored long stretches of teachings at once.
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Which of these teachings is now known as the Golden Rule?
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Jesus said that this simple commandment fulfilled the law and the prophets. It also underscores the chief difference between Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and the law of that day -- the involvement of the heart or intentions in doing the right thing. This point comes up again and again in the Sermon.
Let your 'yes' be 'yes' and your 'no' be 'no'
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth
Which of these is the name of a demon that Jesus cast out of a man?
Ashtaroth
Legion
In Mark Chapter 5, Jesus meets a demon-haunted man and asks the spirit inside its name. The man answers, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Jesus sends the spirits into a herd of pigs, which then run into the sea and are drowned.
Zool
Zoroaster
Jesus's teachings were increasingly opposed by the Pharisees. Who were they?
neighboring heathens
merchants outside the Temple
a political-religious sect within Judaism
During the Second Temple period, in which Jesus lived, the Pharisees were religious leaders. They were rivals to the Sadducees, who were more upper-class and less populist than the Pharisees.
Roman rulers
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When Jesus sent out his disciples to preach, what was this called?
the First Diaspora
the Great Commission
Today, we often think of a "commission" as something a salesperson earns on a sale. But in this case, Jesus is "committing" his disciples to a certain path in life -- that of teaching, healing, and casting out demons.
the Sending
the Scattering
Did Jesus want his disciples to preach to the Gentiles?
yes
no
In Matthew 10, Jesus says, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles ... but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." It is later, in the book of Acts, that the gospel begins to be spread widely to non-Jewish peoples.
Finish the phrase: "I have come not to bring peace but _______."
noise
love
a sword
Jesus is saying here that his message will divide the world. It will even "set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother." (Matthew 10:35).
unrest
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What did Jesus tell his disciples to take with them on their travels?
bread
an extra tunic
money
none of these
Jesus told his disciples to take virtually nothing with them as they traveled and preached, "not even an extra tunic" (Luke 9:3). Jesus was far more adamant about poverty as a virtue than most of today's TV evangelists would like to acknowledge!
Jesus illustrated the quality of mercy in the parable of the good ________.
Thracian
Roman
pagan
Samaritan
The Samaritans and the Jews, neighboring peoples, were enemies at this time. In Jesus's parable, a man who is robbed and beaten by thieves is ignored by a priest and a Levite, but helped by a Samaritan.
To what does Jesus compare the kingdom of God?
an empty field
the sun
a mustard seed
Jesus was saying that the kingdom of God would have humble beginnings, but grow into something vast. In the same way, a mustard seed is tiny but becomes a tall tree.
a sparrow
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Finish the phrase: "If ______ has lost its savor, how can it be made ______ again?"
life/worth living
love/new
food/healthful
salt/salty
The people of Jesus's day didn't know this (at least in scientific terms), but without sodium, your body cannot move water into its cells; that's how important salt is. This makes Jesus's metaphor about the importance of religious zeal even more meaningful.
Jesus compared a camel going through the eye of a needle to _______.
Jesus's own eventual death
a dog walking on its hind legs
a Pharisee accepting his teachings
a rich man getting into heaven
To understand this story, you have to know that Jerusalem had a late-night entry door, called the Eye of the Needle, for when the city gates were locked. To get through, a camel had to have its pack (carrying goods) removed, and to get down on its knees. The parallel to a rich man giving up his goods and humbling himself is clear.
The Pharisees were scandalized, more than once, by Jesus curing the sick under what circumstances?
within sight of Gentiles
without accepting alms for it
on the Sabbath
For observant Jews -- like the Orthodox Jews of today -- even kindling a fire on the Sabbath was forbidden. But Jesus defended his choice to do the work of healing on the Sabbath by comparing it to saving an animal or child from a well, which was allowed under Jewish law.
of illnesses they supposedly deserved
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To what does Jesus compare his followers?
lilies
sheep
sparrows
all of these
Often, Jesus likens his followers to things that are small, innocent or powerless. He told them, "I send you out as sheep amongst the wolves," but also that "not one sparrow falls to the ground" without God knowing about it, and "are you not of more value than a sparrow?"
In the book of Mark, generally believed to be the first gospel written, Jesus's first words are ...
"Here are my mother and my brothers."
"The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them."
"Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."
"Prepare the way of the Lord," was John the Baptist quoting Isaiah. John felt he was fulfilling Isaiah's words by preparing the way for Jesus, who after his baptism went to Galilee and made the announcement about the kingdom of God.
Finish this line from the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our _______."
daily bread
This line underscores that God is to be trusted for our physical needs. (Not that that stops a lot of Christians from worrying about the economy, their 401k, and finding the best mortgage interest rate).
day's news
day's instructions
worker's wages
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Complete this phrase in the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our _____ ..."
debts
party fouls
trespasses
#1 or #3, depending on the version or translation
This line is also from the Lord's Prayer. Older translations of the Bible favor "debts" while more recent versions often use the word "trespasses."
Jesus said we will know false prophets by their ______.
clothing
fruits
Jesus switches similes quickly here, starting by saying that false prophets will go among the people as "wolves ... in sheep's clothing." (Matthew 7:15) But then he uses the example of a tree and its fruit: "You will know them by their fruits," or their actions.
eyes
income
When Jesus said, "Suffer the children to come to me," what did "suffer" mean?
allow
"Suffer" used to mean "allow" or "tolerate." We rarely hear it in this capacity anymore, but some Bible translations use the old-fashioned term about Jesus teaching the children.
prevent
injure
tell
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Which prophet did Jesus often quote?
Joel
Isaiah
For example, to the Pharisees, Jesus recites, "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." The speaker in Isaiah's words is God, not Isaiah himself. Jesus is comparing the Pharisees to the people who are being condemned.
Obadiah
Micah
Jesus compares the faithful to sheep. What are the unfaithful compared to, who will be "separated" from those sheep?
cows
goats
God, Jesus says, will separate the faithful from the unfaithful like sheep from goats. The association of goats with unrighteousness might reflect an old tradition of putting the community's sins symbolically onto a goat and sending it into the wilderness -- a practice known as "scapegoating."
horses
lions
How many times, according to Jesus, should we forgive someone who sins against us?
twice
three times
seven times
seventy times seven
Essentially, Jesus is saying, "As many times as it takes." It was the disciple, Peter, who suggested seven times -- he seems to have thought this was a generous number.
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Jesus said the first shall be ____.
the best
lauded
last
The statement "The first will be last and the last will be first" is Jesus's way of saying that God will up-end our expectations of who deserves glory in the kingdom of heaven. Those who humble themselves will be the greatest in God's sight.
expected to help the last
Jesus instructed his disciples to give God what is God's and ________.
Caesar what is Caesar's
Whether good Jews should pay taxes to their Roman conquerors was a point of debate; the Pharisees were trying to entrap Jesus with this question. Jesus sidestepped it by pointing out, yet again, that money is not important in the kingdom of God.
expect tenfold back
keep the rest
the devil his due
By what name did Jesus often call himself?
Jesus the Baptist
the Holy Ghost
the Son of Man
Observant Christians often explain this by saying that Jesus was "fully man and fully God," but that doesn't explain why Jesus uses the "Son of Man" title far more often than calling himself "Son of God." Theologians do not have a clear explanation for what the name means, either. Some suggest he is borrowing the term from the prophecies of Daniel, who refers to seeing a "Son of Man" coming in glory from the heavens.
the Divine One
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What is Matthew 24 famous for foretelling?
the end of days
Matthew 24 makes chilling predictions about a time of great suffering, and terrifying natural phenomena, like the sun and moon being darkened. But it also promises that "the one who endures to the end shall be saved."
the conversion of the apostle Paul
the spread of Christianity around the globe
the schism of the Eastern and Western Churches
Who, according to Jesus, knows the day and hour of the end of the world?
the angels
God alone
Jesus says "no one knows, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Here he seems to be making a distinction between himself and God, one which undermines the Christian article of faith that Jesus is God.
the prophets
both #1 and #2
You Got:
/35
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