As most people know, the New Testament story of Jesus is told in four different gospels, each one written by someone who lived somewhere in the Levant three or more decades after Jesus' death. And although these four gospels tell many of the same stories, they don't always tell them exactly the same way. If given some text, could you identify which of the four gospels it comes from? That’s what this gospel study quiz quizzes.
Although each gospel is told from its own perspective and has its own theological purpose, three of the gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke) have so many verbal similarities that scholars have hypothesize that Mark wrote his gospel first, and that Matthew and Luke then copied large chunks from Mark. Because of the similarities, these three are called the synoptic gospels. The gospels of Matthew and Luke also share many of Jesus' teachings (not included in the gospel of Mark) that seem to come from a single source. Did one copy from the other? Or did they use a source now lost? The gospel of John is different from the other three, but for all its uniqueness, it still shares many similarities. And it's this sameness and difference between the gospels that makes this quiz so challenging. Sometimes a single word or phrase will determine whether the given text is from one gospel or another.
Although this quiz is largely a textual quiz, it also has some fun gospel fact questions. For example, do you know which gospel mentions two different Jesuses in a single verse? Or in which gospel Peter walks on water? Or in which one Jesus feeds many, many more than just five thousand people? If you know, you'll do well on the quiz. If you don’t know, take the quiz to learn about it. The quiz is free and anonymous, so only you will know how you do.
Note: The biblical references in this gospel quiz use direct/indirect quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Dates for events in Jesus' life are best guesses based on a ministry that runs from October, AD 26 to April, AD 30 and follows the chronology of the gospel of Mark.
To begin, set Questions this session to the number you want, then tap Start. Have a comment? Want to report an error? Please email Rio Jansen.