Jesus' Parables Trivia Quiz

Answer: Luke

While it is probably one of the most well known parables in the Bible, it was only Luke who included it in his gospel. It tells the story of a man who was attacked, and left to die on the side of the road, and who was ignored by both a priest and a Levite, and it was only a Samaritan who stopped to help him, despite the fact that the Jewish population and the Samaritans didn't get on too well.

This parable runs parallel to the passage "Love your neighbour as you love yourself." (Leviticus 19:18.) The parable of the Good Samaritan can be found in Luke 10: 30-37. Also, John is not considered to be a synoptic gospel.

Answer: Who is my neighbour?

In Luke 10:25, a certain lawyer stands up and asks Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks the lawyer what his reading of the law is, to which the reply is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, all your strength and all your mind, and you shall love your neighbour as you love yourself." Jesus tells the lawyer that he has answered his own question.

This ends up confusing the poor man even more, as he does not know who his neighbour is, and then asks, "Who is my neighbour?" Jesus then tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, which truly shows loving one's neighbour, and also highlights the principle of loving your enemy as well.

Answer: The Lost Sheep

Jesus tells the parable of the Lost Sheep, saying that if a sheep from a flock of one hundred were to go missing, the shepherd would leave the other 99 sheep to go and look for the lost one, and when he found it, would rejoice more over the lost sheep than over the other 99. Like that, Jesus came to earth to save those who were lost, not those who were not.

The parable of the Lost Sheep also runs parallel with the story of the Prodigal Son, and the Lost Coin. The parable of the Lost Sheep can be found in Matthew 18:12-14 and in Luke 15:3-7.

Answer: A fattened calf

The parable of the Prodigal Son is probably one of the most well known. It tells the story of the son who squandered his inheritance of his not yet dead father, and eventually returned home seeking forgiveness. Like God will do, the father forgave him, and rejoiced that his son had returned to him, and sent off one of his servants to kill a fattened calf for the celebrations.

The story of the Prodigal Son, also known as the parable of the Lost Son, can be found in Luke 15:11-32.

Answer: 10

The parable of the Ten Virgins was very popular during the middle ages, affecting Gothic art, sculpture and French cathedrals. The story is told by Jesus in Matthew 25:1-13, of ten virgins who were given the honour of attending a wedding, with each of them carrying a lamp, awaiting the coming of the bridegroom. Five of them bring an extra jar of oil, while the other five do not.

After a while, the bridegroom has still not arrived, and the five foolish virgins' lamps start to burn out, and they then do not have a lamp with which to welcome the bridegroom.

This parable is also known as the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

Answer: We must always be on the lookout for the return of the Son of Man

In the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, when the five foolish virgins's lamps burn out, they ask the five wise virgins' if they will share their oil with them. They are rejected, and have to go and buy some more. Unfortunately, while they're out buying more oil, they miss the arrival of the bridegroom, and then missed the wedding.

When they asked him to open the door up to them, he said he didn't know them. Jesus says that, like the wise virgins, we must watch and be prepared for the Second Coming, so as not to be left out of the kingdom of heaven.

The story of the Wise and Foolish Virgins can be found in Matthew 25:1-13.

Answer: He threw him in jail until his own debt could be paid

In the parable of the Unmerciful Servant, Jesus tells us the story lord who wished to settle his accounts with his servants, and whose one servant was brought before him, owing him ten thousand talents. The lord threatened to have the servant and his family to be sold, in order for the payment to be made.

The servant fell to his knees and begged his lord to give him more time until he could come up with the money to pay him back, and he was forgiven and given the time to do so. The same servant who was released came across one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and demanded that he pay what he owed him.

When the fellow servant asked for more time, the unmerciful servant refused, and had him thrown into jail until he could pay his debt.

When this got back to the lord, he called the unmerciful servant before him, saying "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not have the same forgiveness for your fellow servant as I had for you?" and had the unmerciful servant thrown into jail, until he, too, could settle his debt. Jesus told this parable to illustrate, that like God forgives us when we sin, we should also forgive those who sin against us.

The parable of the Unmerciful Servant can be found in Matthew 18:23-35.

Answer: Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37-39

The parable of New Wine into Old Wineskins is never really discussed in too much detail, but has puzzled biblical scholars for years. The story goes if one puts new wine into old wineskins, the wineskins will burst, both spilling the wine and ruining the wineskins.

Many biblical scholars believe that this parable is given as a justification for why Jesus' disciples didn't fast. Others believe that it was Jesus' way of saying that His new teachings didn't fit in with the old Jewish teachings, and that he was starting a new religion, which while built on the basic laws of Judaism, was different to it.

This parable can be found in Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37-39.

Answer: mustard

Jesus says in this parable that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. A mustard seed is tiny, but when it eventually grows, it is larger than all the other herbs, and allows the birds of the air to nest in it. Apart from Matthew 13:31-32, this parable can also be found in Mark 40:30-32 and Luke 13:18-19.

Answer: Because unless we sacrifice all we have, like we would have to do in order to buy an expensive pearl, we will never be able to truly be accepted into the kingdom of heaven

One of my favourite parables, the parable of the Pearl of Great Price is found in Matthew 13:45-46, and it tells us of a merchant who was seeking beautiful pearls. One day, he found one beautiful pearl of great price, and went and sold all that he had in order to buy it. Like the merchant, we too must make sacrifices in order to truly accept God.