Q 01/05

According to Christian belief, God raised Jesus from the dead on which day after his crucifixion?

A) The third day

B) The first day

C) The seventh day

D) The fortieth day

Answer · why

A) The third day

The third day counts both ends: the Gospels put the crucifixion on a Friday, the eve of the Sabbath, and the empty tomb at dawn on Sunday, and part of...

Q 02/05

In the oldest manuscripts, Mark's Gospel ends abruptly with the women at the tomb doing what?

A) Meeting Jesus on the road

B) Fleeing and telling no one

C) Running to fetch Peter

D) Anointing the body

Answer · why

B) Fleeing and telling no one

Fleeing and telling no one: the oldest copies stop at 'for they were afraid', with no appearance of the risen Jesus at all, and the twelve further ver...

Q 03/05

How does Mark's Gospel describe the empty tomb's messenger, whom it never calls an angel?

A) An old man with a staff

B) A stranger in shining robes

C) A young man in white

D) A gardener with a lamp

Answer · why

C) A young man in white

A young man in white, sitting on the right inside the tomb, is all Mark describes; Matthew has an angel descend and roll back the stone, while Luke ha...

Q 04/05

Which New Testament letter preserves one of the earliest creeds, listing those who saw the risen Jesus?

A) Hebrews

B) First Thessalonians

C) First Peter

D) First Corinthians

Answer · why

D) First Corinthians

First Corinthians: Paul says he is handing on what he himself received, and scholars date the formula to within a few years of the crucifixion.

Q 05/05

In the early creed Paul quotes, the risen Jesus appeared at one time to more than how many followers?

A) Twelve

B) Seventy

C) Five hundred

D) Five thousand

Answer · why

C) Five hundred

Five hundred: Paul adds that most of them were still alive when he wrote, a remark often read as an invitation to go and ask them, before closing the ...