People Who Met Christ Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Both Anna the Prophetess and Simeon met Christ as an infant when his parents took him to the Temple in Jerusalem so that Mary could receive the purification rite and Christ could be dedicated to God by the sacrifice of two turtle doves (Luke 2:22-24). Simeon had been promised (Luke 2:25-26) that he would not die before he saw the promised Messiah; he recognized that Christ was the Messiah first. Then Anna, an eighty-four year old widow who was said to never leave the Temple (Luke 2:37), approached the child, praised God and spread the word that the Messiah had come to "all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:22-38).

John the Baptist is viewed by Christians as the forerunner to Christ; the one who helped to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. While Jesus and John the Baptist were cousins, they are not believed to have grown up together. Jesus grew up in Galilee, and John lived in the wilderness (Luke 1:80) "until the day of his shewing unto Israel". It cannot be known with certainty how much time they might have spent together as children, however, in John 1:31-33, John the Baptist stated that he did not know Jesus (as the Messiah), but baptized him so that he "might be revealed to Israel". When John saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus, he then knew that he was the Messiah. Christ's baptism was the first public meeting between the two and the only contact between them that is mentioned in the Bible - in the Gospels of Matthew (3:13-17), Mark (1:9-11), and Luke (3:21-22).

The Gospel of John tells that Lazarus lived in Bethany, which was located about two miles from Jerusalem. The story told in John 11:1-44 implies that he was a man who Jesus knew well, in fact, even loved, and that Jesus was given hospitality in the household shared with sisters Mary and Martha on more than one occasion. When Lazarus fell ill, Mary and Martha sent a message to Christ, however, by the time he arrived Lazarus had already been entombed for four days. Jesus ordered the stone to be removed, and commanded that Lazarus come out of the tomb - which he did, still wrapped in his grave clothes. The final note mentioned about Lazarus is that his resurrection put his life in danger. Jesus won more converts as others heard of the miracle, which was not well accepted by by the Pharisees. They plotted to kill Lazarus (John 12:9-11), however, the Bible does not mention if the plan was carried out.

Zacchaeus' story is told in Luke 19:1-10. Zacchaeus was a Jewish tax collector who worked for the Roman government in Jericho. While he was wealthy, he was generally despised by the Jewish people because they saw him as a Roman collaborator. He wanted to see Jesus when he came to Jericho, but he was too short to see over the crowd of people. When Jesus saw that he had climbed a sycamore tree in order to get a better view, he called to him by name, asking him to come down and then invited himself to stay at his house, an action that the crowd really did not like as they saw Zacchaeus as a sinner. After spending some time talking with Jesus, however, Zacchaeus stated he would give half his belongings away and would pay anyone who had been cheated four times the amount. While some sources state that Zacchaeus eventually became Mattias, other believe that cannot be true as tradition states that Mattias became a follower of Christ after Christ's baptism. Clearly, however, the time spent with Christ moved Zacchaeus' life in another direction.

The story of Nicodemus is found in the Gospel of John, where he is mentioned as part of three separate stories. First, in John 3:1-21 it is said that he was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who visited Christ in secret under the cover of darkness. This visit took place while Jesus was in Jerusalem, shortly after he had cleared the money changers from the temple there. Their conversation centered around the idea of being born again; Christ expressed surprise that such an important leader of the Jewish faith did not understand spiritual rebirth. Later, in John 7:50-52, Nicodemus spoke before the Sanhedrin to remind members that Jewish law specified that a person had to be heard before they could be condemned. After Christ died, Nicodemus brought grave goods (John 10:39-41) and helped to prepare the body for burial.

While the Gospels credit Jesus with restoring the sight of more than one blind man, there is only one who is mentioned by name - Bartimaeus. His story is told in Mark 10:46-52. Bartimaeus was a blind beggar who apparently caught Christ's attention as he was leaving Jericho. Although the crowd tried to silence Bartimaeus' calls to the Son of David, Jesus heard him and asked what he wanted him to do. Bartimaeus said that he would like to see, and his sight was restored due to his faith. He immediately joined the group that followed Christ.

Jarius was the leader of a synagogue in Capernaum; his basic story is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, although some of the details are different. Jarius' daughter was dying, and he put his faith in Christ and asked him if he would come to his house and heal her. While they were making their way through the crowed, a sick woman touched Christ's robe and was healed. By the time the two had resumed their journey, word came that Jarius' daughter had died. Once they arrived, Jesus disagreed and said she was asleep; he took her hand and commanded her to wake up. The girl stood up and began to walk around (Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56). Jesus asked the family not to tell anyone what had happened, and give the girl something to eat.

The Samaritan Woman met Jesus at Jacob's Well in a town called Sychar when he asked her to serve him a drink. First, she was totally amazed that he would even speak to her, as Jews and Samaritans did not normally share company. Second, she was even more astonished to learn that he knew exactly what she had done with her life - that she had been married to five husbands and that the man she was currently living with was not her husband. Their conversation focused on the living water offered by Christ; those who drink it will never be thirsty again. He left her wondering if he just might be the promised Messiah (John 4:4-30), and she shared the news with the people in her town.

Matthias met Jesus early during the time of his public ministry; the Book of Acts tells that he was in the company of Christ from the time of his baptism until his death (Acts 1:21-22), as shortly after the crucifixion Peter said that it had to be a criterion for the person who replaced Judas in the group. He suggested that the group nominate two candidates who could possibly replace Judas; after a time of prayer, the group cast lots and choose Matthias. The decision was made, according to Acts 1:21-22, because Matthias had traveled with them "all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John unto that same day that he was taken up from us". There is very little other information about Matthias' life or ministry.

After Pilate questioned Jesus and could find nothing wrong with him, Christ was sent to Herod Antipas, who was the ruler of Galilee and the same Herod who had ordered the beheading of John the Baptist. According to the Gospel of Luke, Herod was happy to meet Christ. He had heard about him and was quite curious, especially about the miracles that Jesus had performed. While Herod asked questions during the interrogation, Christ remained mostly silent, refusing to speak or perform miracles. Unable to find anything suspicious, Herod returned him to Pilate (Luke 23:4-17).

The Roman Emperor Augustus played a prominent role in the Christmas Story (Luke 2:1), as he was the one who ordered the census which led to Joseph and Mary being in Bethlehem when Christ was born. Malachi was an Old Testament prophet who spoke of the coming of a messenger (John the Baptist) who would prepare the way for the Messiah (Malachi 3:1-2). Paul was an important missionary of the early Christian Church, and he had a vision from Christ on the road to Damascus, but that event took place after Christ's crucifixion (Acts 9:3-5). Surprising, it is not believed that Luke ever met Christ. He was a physician (Colossians 4:14) who was believed to have already been converted by the time he met Paul and decided to travel with him; his stories are said to have been painstakingly researched based on the accounts of eye witnesses. Bible Scholars mostly agree that while the Gospels of John and Matthew were written by people in Christ's inner circle, Mark and Luke were not. Mark was an acquaintance of Simon Peter, but the two met after Christ's death. They are believed to have first become acquainted after Peter escaped from prison in Jerusalem. He was hidden in Mary's house, who was Mark's mother, where Christian meetings took place (Acts 12:12). Scholars believe that Mark wrote down Peter's memories of Jesus and the two became very close, as Mark was referred to as Peter's son (1 Peter 5:13).