Book of Acts Quiz: Paul's Missionary Journeys

1. Before Paul's first missionary journey, the church at Antioch was worshipping and fasting. What happened?

1. A prophet named Agabus announced that the Gentile mission must begin
2. An angel appeared with specific instructions for where Paul should go first
3. The elders voted to send Paul and Barnabas as missionaries
4. The Holy Spirit said 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'

2. On the island of Cyprus, Paul encountered a sorcerer named Elymas (also called Bar-Jesus) who opposed the gospel. What did Paul do?

1. He cast out the evil spirit that controlled him
2. He commanded him to leave the island in Jesus' name
3. He rebuked him publicly and challenged him to a debate on the scriptures
4. He struck him blind — and the proconsul Sergius Paulus believed when he saw what happened

3. At Pisidian Antioch, Paul preached in the synagogue and declared that through Jesus, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed. What happened the following Sabbath?

1. A great debate arose between Paul and the teachers of the law
2. Almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord
3. Most of the Jews rejected the message and the synagogue was closed to Paul
4. Paul baptised all who believed and established the first church in Asia Minor

4. In Lystra, Paul healed a man who had been lame from birth. The crowd concluded that the gods had come down in human form. What names did they give to Paul and Barnabas?

1. Apollo and Ares
2. Hermes and Zeus
3. Mars and Jupiter
4. Poseidon and Hermes

5. The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 met to address a serious dispute. What was the question that divided the church?

1. Whether Gentile converts needed to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved
2. Whether Jews and Gentiles could eat together at the Lord's Supper
3. Whether Paul had the authority of a true apostle since he had not followed Jesus during his ministry
4. Whether the gospel should be taken to Rome before other Gentile nations

6. Who wrote the letter from the Jerusalem Council to the Gentile churches, announcing the council's decision?

1. Barnabas
2. James, the brother of Jesus
3. Paul
4. Peter

7. Before Paul's second missionary journey, he had a sharp disagreement with Barnabas. What was the dispute about?

1. How to deal with the false teachers who had come from Jerusalem
2. Whether Gentile believers needed to observe Jewish feast days
3. Whether to go to Rome or continue in Asia Minor
4. Whether to take John Mark, who had deserted them on the first journey

8. Paul had a vision during the second journey that redirected his mission to Europe. What did he see?

1. A man from Macedonia standing and begging him to come and help them
2. A scroll unrolling showing the cities of Greece
3. An angel pointing west across the Aegean Sea
4. Jesus appearing and commanding him to go to Rome via Macedonia

9. Lydia was the first convert in Europe, baptised in Philippi. What was her occupation and where was she from?

1. A dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira who worshipped God
2. A Greek philosopher and teacher from Corinth
3. A Jewish tentmaker from Alexandria who kept the synagogue in Philippi
4. A Roman noblewoman and patron of the arts from Athens

10. Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi after Paul cast a spirit out of a slave girl. What happened at midnight while they were praying and singing hymns?

1. A violent earthquake shook the foundations and all the prison doors flew open
2. An angel appeared and led them out past the guards
3. The guards were converted and released them secretly
4. The magistrates received a dream ordering them to release the prisoners

11. The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas 'What must I do to be saved?' What was their answer?

1. 'Accept that Jesus died for your sins and God raised him from the dead'
2. 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved — you and your household'
3. 'Confess your sins and follow the ways of the Lord'
4. 'Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ'

12. The Bereans are praised in Acts 17 as more noble-minded than the Thessalonians. Why?

1. They received Paul with greater hospitality and gave generously to his mission
2. They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true
3. They sent a delegation to Jerusalem to verify Paul's teaching with the apostles
4. They were open to the gospel without requiring signs and miracles

13. Paul's speech on the Areopagus (Mars Hill) in Athens began with an observation about the city. What did he notice that gave him an opening?

1. A great temple to Apollo that dominated the skyline
2. An altar with the inscription 'To an Unknown God'
3. Idols of every religion from across the Roman Empire
4. The absence of any synagogue, suggesting Athens had forgotten God

14. In Corinth, Paul met a Jewish tentmaker couple who had been expelled from Rome. Who were they?

1. Andronicus and Junia
2. Aquila and Priscilla
3. Priscilla and Apollos
4. Silas and Timothy

15. In Corinth, Paul was brought before the Roman proconsul Gallio. How did Gallio respond to the charges against Paul?

1. He acquitted Paul and warned the Jewish leaders not to harass him further
2. He dismissed the case as a matter of Jewish law, not Roman law, and drove the accusers from the court
3. He found Paul guilty of causing civil unrest and expelled him from the city
4. He ordered Paul to be held for trial before Caesar in Rome

16. At Ephesus on the third missionary journey, Paul preached with such power that unusual miracles occurred. What happened when handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched Paul were taken to the sick?

1. The cloths glowed with divine light, signalling healing was coming
2. The sick were anointed and prayed for using the cloths
3. The sick were healed in their dreams after receiving the cloths
4. Their illnesses were cured and evil spirits left them

17. Seven sons of Sceva — a Jewish chief priest — tried to invoke Jesus' name over those with evil spirits. What happened?

1. God honoured their attempt and the spirits left, despite their insincerity
2. The evil spirit said 'Jesus I know and Paul I know about — but who are you?' and overpowered them
3. The evil spirits obeyed and left at the mention of Jesus' name
4. They were struck mute for a week as a warning against abusing the name of Jesus

18. A silversmith named Demetrius stirred up a riot in Ephesus. What was his grievance against Paul?

1. Paul had converted his best craftsmen away from their work
2. Paul had exposed him as a fraud selling fake religious articles
3. Paul had publicly mocked the goddess Artemis in the synagogue
4. Paul's preaching was destroying their trade in silver shrines of Artemis and threatening the temple of the goddess

19. Paul raised a young man named Eutychus from the dead in Troas. How had Eutychus died?

1. He choked while eating during the communal meal
2. He collapsed from heat exhaustion in the crowded upper room
3. He fell asleep during Paul's long sermon, fell from a third-storey window and died
4. He had been accidentally struck by a torch carried by a crowd member

20. In his farewell address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus, Paul gave them a solemn warning. What did he say would happen after his departure?

1. Savage wolves would come in among them, and from within their own number men would rise up and distort the truth
2. The Holy Spirit would lift from the churches until a new Pentecost came
3. The Jerusalem church would split from the Gentile churches over the law of Moses
4. The Roman Empire would turn against the church and persecution would intensify