Dr. Dale Taliaferro’s 38-question quiz concerning the Christmas story from a biblical perspective.
| The quiz with questions and answers together can be found here. |
1. Can you name the parents of Jesus?
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2. Where did Joseph and Mary live before they were married?
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3. What was the name of the angel who appeared to Mary?
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4. Where did Joseph and Mary live after their marriage?
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5. Where was Mary when the angel appeared to her?
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6. Whom did Mary visit immediately after Gabriel appeared to her?
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7. How far along in her pregnancy was Elizabeth when Gabriel appeared to Mary?
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8. How long did Mary stay with Elizabeth?
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9. Why didn’t Mary stay to celebrate the birth of John?
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10. How far along in her pregnancy was Mary when she broke the news to Joseph?
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11. Why were Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem?
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12. Why did Mary accompany Joseph?
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13. What determined the city to which each Jew had to travel in order to be taxed?
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14. Who, then, would be in Bethlehem?
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15. How did they travel?
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16. Why couldn’t Joseph and Mary find space in the inn?
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17. Who were the first people to come to see Jesus according to Scripture?
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18. What chorus did the angels sing to the shepherds?
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19. What sign did the angels tell the shepherds to look for?
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20. What was the manger?
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21. In what way do the meaning of the Hebrew term for Bethlehem and the sign given by the angels prepare us for Jesus’ later ministry?
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22. What happened eight days after Jesus’ birth?
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23. What happened 32 days after Jesus’ circumcision (40 days after Jesus’ birth)?
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24. What are two reasons that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem?
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25. Where did Joseph and Mary go after the purification ceremony?
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26. What are magi?
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27. How many wise men came to see Jesus?
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28. How many gifts did the wise men bring and to whom did they present their gifts?
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29. What was curious about the star?
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30. How did Herod use the star?
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31. Where were Jesus, Mary, and Joseph when the wise men reached them?
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32. How old was Jesus at this time?
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33. In what year was Jesus born?
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34. How long was Jesus in Egypt with His parents?
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35. How did Joseph and Mary finance the trip to Egypt?
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36. Where was Jesus raised upon His return to Israel?
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37. How old was Jesus when He began His ministry?
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38. How old was Jesus when He died?
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1. a. Mary (Matt. 1:16; Luke 1:31, 2:6-7).
b. God (Luke 1:32, 35).
c. Joseph (by adoption) (Matt 1:16, 19-20, 24-25).
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2. a. Mary–In Nazareth (Luke 1:26-27).
b. Joseph–In Nazareth, presumably (Luke 2:4).
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3. Gabriel (Luke 1:26).
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4. Nazareth (Luke 2:4-5, 39).
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5. In Nazareth, inside some structure or building (Luke 1:26, 28).
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6. Elizabeth, her relative (Luke 1:36).
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7. Six months (Luke 1:26, 36).
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8. About three months (Luke 1:56).
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9. Probably fear of stoning, since she was pregnant and beginning to “show.”
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10. At least three months (Luke 1:38-39, 56).
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11. To be enrolled for the taxes (Luke 2:1-3).
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12. a. A practical reason (she was well along in her pregnancy).
b. A biblical-prophetical reason (Micah 5:2).
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13. Lineage. Joseph had to go to the city of David since he was of “the house and family of David.” (Luke 2:3-4).
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14. a. Joseph’s relatives—descendants of David (Luke 2:3-4).
b. Possibly Mary’s relatives also (Luke 3:31-32).
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15. Probably in a caravan (cf. Luke 10:30-37, esp. 30). The Scripture doesn’t say anything about their journey to Bethlehem.
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16. Probably because Joseph’s relatives rejected them and wouldn’t give up their space (Luke 2:5; cf. Luke 1:61, 2:5; John 8:41).
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17. Shepherds (Luke 2:8, 15-16).
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18. None. They said “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men of good will” (Luke 2:14).
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19. The baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12, 16-17).
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20. A feeding trough made of stone.
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21. a. Bethlehem means “house of bread,” which correlates with Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse (John 6:22-65).
b. Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes—the same kind of clothes He would be buried in (John 19:40).
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22. His circumcision (Luke 2:21).
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23. Mary’s ceremonial purification and Jesus’ redemption (Luke 2:22-24).
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24. a. To fulfill the Law—Jesus’ redemption and Mary’s purification (Luke 2:22-23).
b. To fulfill prophecy (the personal prophetic revelation given to Simeon) (Luke 2:25-32, esp. 26).
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25. Nazareth (Luke 2:39).
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26. Politically powerful scholars and astronomers (“king-makers”).
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27. Scripture does not say, but Augustine and Chrysostom say twelve. Another tradition names three: Melchior (Shem’s descendant), Caspar (Ham’s descendant), and Balthasar (Japheth’s descendant).
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28. At least one gift from each wise man. They presented the gifts—plural in number—to Jesus. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh designate appositionally the kinds of gifts, not the number (Matt. 2:1-2, 11).
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29. It was not constant (Matt. 2:2, 10).
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30. He calculated the age of the child by the length of time it had been appearing and reappearing (Matt 2:7, 16). The wise men did not discourage this thinking.
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31. a. In a house, not the stable (Matt 2:11).
b. In Nazareth. The impression given in Matthew 2 is that of a hurried, immediate escape for all (Luke 2:39). Thus there was no time to fulfill the law or the prophetic utterance (cf. no. 24).
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32. Two months to two years.
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33. Five or four B.C. (Herod died in March or April of 4 B.C.)
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34. From one month to over one year.
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35. Probably with the gifts of the magi.
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36. Nazareth (Matt 2:23).
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37. 33 to 34 years old (born 5 to 4 B.C., began ministry A.D. 29). Luke 3:23 tells us he was “about thirty”; the Greek indicates a rough (rather than close) estimate.
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38. 37 to 38 years old, depending on whether His ministry was three or four years in length.
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© 2001 Probe Ministries