Word Association -- New Testament Characters #8 Quiz

Answer: Peter's mother-in-law

The correct answer is Peter's mother-in-law. No name is given for the woman, but according to the first chapter of Mark, Jesus healed her when she had come down with a fever. Mark 1:29-31, in the NKJV Bible, states this about the mother-in-law of Peter, who was also known as Simon: "Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them."

Answer: Saul

The correct answer is Saul, who would later become known as Paul. According to the ninth chapter of Acts, Saul encountered Jesus while traveling on the road to Damascus.

Acts 9:3-6, in the NKJV Bible, states: "As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?' Then the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' So he, trembling and astonished, said, 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' Then the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'"

According to verse 9, Paul was without sight for three days after being blinded by the light.

Acts 9:17-18 tells of Ananias restoring Saul's sight: "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, 'Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.' Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized."

Damascus is in southwestern Syria and, according to Wikipedia, it is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world.

Answer: Jude

Jude is the author of the second-to-last book of the New Testament. In other words, the book of Jude appears before Revelation and after 3 John. Jude consists of only one chapter, containing 25 verses.

There is no smoking gun, but many theologians believe the writer of Jude was the brother of Jesus. The writer, for example, describes himself as the brother of James. (Matthew 13:55 states Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.) Information at Biblos.com, a Bible encyclopedia web site, states Jude wrote the book because he "had received very distressing knowledge of the serious state into which the Christian brotherhood was rapidly drifting, and he must as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ exhort them to steadfastness and warn them of their danger."

Answer: Silas

Silas served alongside Paul on missionary journeys. He is perhaps best known for being imprisoned in Philippi with Paul for preaching the Gospel. Their imprisonment is recorded in Acts 16:16-40. Scripture states after being stripped, beaten and severely flogged, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God shortly after midnight while being in jail with their feet in stocks!

Their singing, however, was suddenly interrupted by an earthquake "and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed." The chapter ends with Paul and Silas converting the jailer and his household to Christianity.

Answer: Tryphena

Yes, Tryphena is just one of a number of people listed in the 16th chapter of Romans. The chapter is largely a long list of personal greetings Paul sends to believers in Rome. The chapter is seen by many today as a tribute to the common "Jane and Joe" Christians.

According to notes in the NKJV Study Bible, it is "generally considered" Tryphosa was Tryphena's sister.

In Romans 16:12, Paul writes, "Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have labored in the Lord."

Answer: Luke

The correct answer is Luke. We know he was a doctor because in Colossians 4:14, Paul tells the believers in Colosse his "dear friend Luke, the doctor" as well as Demas send their greetings. Luke, of course, wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts. Here are two interesting tidbits about Luke and his writings in the Gospel that bears his name.

When he writes about the woman who was healed by simply touching Jesus' gown, he is the only Gospel writer who doesn't mention she wasted all her money on doctors. And when it comes to Peter severing Malchus' ear in the Garden of Gethsemane, Luke is the only one who writes about Jesus touching his ear and returning it to normal.

Answer: Gabriel

The account of Gabriel telling Mary the news she would give birth to Jesus, while still a virgin, can be read in Luke 1:26-35. Gabriel is also the angel who told Zechariah his wife Elizabeth would give birth to a baby, although he was an "old man and his wife was well along in years." Because Zechariah questioned Gabriel's pronouncement, he was unable to speak until the baby was born.

The baby, of course, was John the Baptist.

Answer: Sosthenes

Sosthenes is the correct answer. I find it interesting Sosthenes is one of only three people mentioned in the salutations of Paul's books, but little is known about him. Sosthenes' name appears at the beginning of 1 Corinthians. There is a Sosthenes mentioned in Acts 18:17, a synagogue ruler who was beaten by an unruly mob, but there is no conclusive proof he is the same person referred to by Paul in his salutations in 1 Corinthians. If it is the same person, he obviously had become a Christian after being a ruler of the synagogue.

The two other people who are mentioned in the salutations of Paul's books are Timothy and Silas.

Answer: Nymphas

Nymphas is the correct answer. In the NIV, the name appears as Nympha, stating the person was a female. In the KJV and the NKJV, the person is regarded as male.

In Colossians 4:15 in the NKJV, the apostle Paul states, "Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house."

Practically nothing else is known about Nymphas/Nympha because this is the only time the person is mentioned in Scripture.

Laodicea is one of the seven churches mentioned in the second and third chapters of Revelation. John of Patmos, the writer of Revelation, describes the Laodicean church as "lukewarm" in his vision recorded in Revelation 3:16.

Answer: Jairus

The correct answer is Jairus. Scripture states he was a synagogue ruler and his twelve-year-old daughter was raised from the dead. The account of the miracle appears in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56

The account of the unnamed girl being raised from the dead is one of most popular in the New Testament. In the accounts in Mark and Luke, it tells of people weeping for the dead girl outside her home. When Jesus appeared and stated the girl was not dead but was simply sleeping, the 'mourners' laughed at Him. A few moments later, however, their laughter turned to total amazement when Christ raised the girl from the dead.