Testing Your Bible Knowledge

Trek AWANA, my middle-school church class, is coming to a close. It has been a great experience for a number of reasons, but also a big stretch on my time because the Trek leader book did not contain any lesson plans. I had to extensively research each passage we studied until I understood it like a Bible scholar, and then I had to synthesize it all into a coherent, relevant lesson for middle schoolers. It was like writing a sermon each time and gave me new respect for what pastors go through in writing sermons once a week (I only had to teach every third week).

For this, my last lesson, I wrote a final exam of sorts that I'll use as trivia-type questions. It only includes what I taught from Luke (and other Gospels as needed to clarify events) not what my co-teachers covered. Take it for fun to test your Bible knowledge?

Some Final Exam Questions (for fun and review) - Trek Class 2016

1.  What two books of the Bible did Luke write?

2.  Which Gospel writer was like an investigative journalist?

3. Which Gospel writer was a doctor?

4. What is the path to greatness in God’s Kingdom?

5. Finish this verse: Matthew 20:28 Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his ________   ____   ____   _________  _____   __________.

6. John the Baptist told the people to repent. What does repentance look like?

7. Name two unusual things about John the Baptist. Can you think of a reason why God may have wanted John to be so unusual?

8. Who put John the Baptist in jail?

9.  Sharing in Jesus’ greatness involves sharing in his _____________.

10.  Of the biblical couples we learned about, which one had trouble conceiving a baby? What was their attitude in regard to their inability to have a baby?

11. What happened to Zechariah before his son John the Baptist was born. Why did it happen?

12. Mary’s famous lines in the Bible are:  I am the Lord’s_________________. Let it be ____   ___   ___   _____   _______.

13. Joseph belonged to the house and line of _______________________, so he had to go to _______________________ to be registered for the census. Why is it important that Joseph and Mary were from the line of David?

14. Finish this statement from John the Baptist: (Luke 3:16) I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not ___________   ___   _______.  He will baptize you with ____   ______   _______   ____   _______   ______.

15.  What is the main need of every person, and what was the main need of the paralytic man Jesus healed?

16. When Jesus healed the paralytic, who was lowered down by his four friends, the Pharisees had an attitude that prevented them from appreciating the miracle. How would you describe their attitude, and is it still here today in our churches? In what form?

17. What city was known as the headquarters of Jesus? Hint: It’s also the city in which the most miracles occurred. Jesus said of it: “And you, __________, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades.” (Luke 10:15)

18. When we die and have to give an account to God for our lives, God will specifically want to know what we did with ____________?

19. What can you tell me about the Roman Centurion who wanted Jesus to heal his servant? (We went over four details about him, but you don’t need to detail all of them.)

20. Jesus was very impressed with the Roman Centurion. Why? (Luke 7:9) When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "____  ____   ___,   ___   _____   ___   ____  _____  ____   ______   ______  _______   ____ .

21. Who was the unknown man who walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus?

22. What did Jesus discuss with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus?

23. Finish this verse (today’s memory verse): Luke 24: 25-26 ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to _____   _______  _____  ______ ______  _____  ____  ____.

24. “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked?” What lesson is this from? What makes your own heart burn within you, and why do you think this is so?

25. Statement about today’s lesson: The story of the disciples on the Emmaus Road is important for many reasons. It provides an emphasis on the Old Testament prophecies related to Jesus, evidence regarding an additional appearance of Jesus, and a connection regarding the many eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus. Luke 24 is often seen as a model of the journey that Jesus makes with many of us today, as He opens our eyes, points us to the Word, and reveals Himself along life’s walk as the resurrected Savior and Lord. (Got Questions.org)

Why do you think all of this is important for the faith--the emphasis on the Old Testament prophecies, the evidence regarding an additional appearance of Jesus, and a connection regarding the many eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus?

26. During the triumphal entry of Jesus seated on a donkey, the people were very excited and the crowds were large. They worshiped Jesus as a king. What kind of a king did they want, and how did Jesus disappoint them?

27. How was Jesus’ triumphal entry different than what you would expect for a King?

28. Why did Jesus weep during the triumphal entry, as he looked out over the city? What was coming that caused the compassionate tears?

29. What was God’s 70 A.D. judgement on the people who crucified him? Can you name a figure from history who was important in the judgement (starts with a T)?

30. What 18-hour and overnight event starkly contrasted the tremendous majesty of God with the depth of man’s sin? What is the purpose of this contrast?

31. Who were Annas and Caiaphas? What do you remember about either of them?

32. What was the name of the body of people which had 71 members, with a high priest serving as leaders, and including the Sadducees, Pharisees, priests and scribes? What part did this body take in Jesus’ trial?

33. The scripture mentions that prior to Jesus’ trial, Pilate and Herod were distrustful of one another. After the trial they became friends. Can you think of a reason why scripture includes such historical details like this, that at first seem irrelevant?

34. Annas was guilty of a certain practice in the temple courts, which made him rich. What was it?

35. Can you think of any reasons Annas and Caiaphas would want Jesus dead? What did they stand to lose in regards to Rome, or way of life as they knew it?

36. Jesus was given an illegal trial. Can you remember anything about it that was illegal? (He was asked to testify against himself, death wasn’t supposed to be ordered until 2 days after conviction, and there were to be no night-time trials).

37. We went over three Herods:  Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, and lastly, Herod Agrippa I--who was the grandson of Herod the Great (Acts 12). It was Herod Agrippa I who persecuted the church in Jerusalem and had the apostle James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, put to death by the sword. By the hand of Herod Agrippa I, James became the first apostle to be martyred. What are Herod the Great and Herod Antipas known for?

38. Jesus actually had more than one trial. He had two trials with 3 phases each--the whole ordeal lasting eighteen hours, overnight, and including many beatings. Why did it have to be so?

To ask everyone: How did going through the gospel of Luke--from learning that Mary was pregnant through the Holy Spirit, to reading about the resurrected Jesus appearing to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus--change your life? How do you think that reading the Bible systematically, versus just opening it anywhere and reading, can change someone’s life, and why?