Book of John Quiz: The Word, the Signs and Early Ministry

1. How does the Gospel of John begin, unlike the other three Gospels?

1. With 'In the beginning was the Word' — a theological prologue about Jesus as the eternal Word (Logos)
2. With a genealogy going back to Abraham
3. With John the Baptist's birth and ministry
4. With the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River

2. John 1 says 'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.' The Greek word used for 'dwelling' literally means what?

1. To live permanently
2. To reign as king
3. To tabernacle or pitch a tent among us
4. To visit for a season

3. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, what did he declare?

1. 'Behold the King of kings, Lord of lords'
2. 'I am not worthy to untie his sandals — here is the Holy One of God'
3. 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'
4. 'This is the Messiah of Israel — the Son of David'

4. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus after spending a day with him. What name did Jesus give Simon when he met him?

1. Both A and B — Cephas and Peter mean the same thing
2. Cephas, which means Peter (Rock)
3. James (meaning 'supplanter')
4. Peter (meaning 'the Rock')

5. Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. What was it?

1. Calming a storm on the way to the wedding
2. Feeding the entire wedding party miraculously
3. Healing the host's sick son
4. Turning water into wine

6. John's Gospel calls Jesus' miracles 'signs.' What was the purpose of these signs?

1. So that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God
2. To demonstrate that the kingdom of God had arrived in power
3. To fulfil every prophecy of the Old Testament
4. To prove Jesus was greater than Moses

7. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. What did Jesus tell him he must do to see the kingdom of God?

1. Be born again (born from above)
2. Follow Jesus as a disciple and leave everything behind
3. Keep all the commandments from his youth
4. Repent and be baptised in the Jordan River

8. John 3:16 is perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible. How does it begin?

1. 'Behold, God's love for the world — he gave his only begotten Son'
2. 'For God loved the world so greatly that he sent his Son to die'
3. 'God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son'
4. 'Such is God's love that his Son was given for the world'

9. Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman at a well. Why was this considered unusual by the disciples?

1. He spoke with her about theology, which was reserved for men only
2. Jews did not associate with Samaritans, and a Jewish man did not speak publicly with a woman
3. The well was in Gentile territory, making Jesus ceremonially unclean
4. Women were not permitted to draw water during the day

10. What did Jesus offer the Samaritan woman that would mean she would never thirst again?

1. Living water
2. The bread of life
3. The light of the world
4. The word of eternal life

11. Jesus healed a royal official's son in Capernaum while staying in Cana — without going to the boy. What was significant about this?

1. It happened on the Sabbath, setting the stage for later controversy
2. It proved that Jesus had authority over death as well as sickness
3. It was a long-distance healing performed by spoken word alone — the second sign in John
4. It was the first healing of a Gentile in John's Gospel

12. In John 5, Jesus healed a man at the Pool of Bethesda who had been ill for how many years?

1. 12
2. 22
3. 38
4. 40

13. In John 5, after healing the man on the Sabbath, Jesus made a claim that made the Jewish leaders want to kill him. What did he claim?

1. That God was his Father — making himself equal with God
2. That he was greater than Moses and the temple
3. That he would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days
4. That the Sabbath laws were no longer binding on those who followed him

14. The feeding of the five thousand in John 6 is the only miracle recorded in all four Gospels. Whose food did Jesus use?

1. A small boy's five barley loaves and two fish
2. A wealthy man's packed lunch for his family
3. Food donated by the disciples from their own supplies
4. Food purchased in the nearby town of Bethsaida

15. After the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd wanted to make Jesus king. What did he do?

1. He accepted the title but said his kingdom was not of this world
2. He rebuked them and returned to Capernaum publicly
3. He told them the time had not yet come
4. He withdrew again to a mountain by himself

16. In John 6, Jesus said 'I am the bread of life.' What did he say would happen to the person who comes to him?

1. They will be satisfied in this life and the next
2. They will never hunger, and whoever believes in him will never thirst
3. They will receive eternal life on the last day
4. They will understand all the mysteries of God

17. When Jesus taught that his followers must eat his flesh and drink his blood (John 6), many disciples left. What did Jesus ask the Twelve?

1. 'Are you also going to abandon me like the others?'
2. 'Do you understand what I was teaching you?'
3. 'Will you remain faithful even to death?'
4. 'You do not want to leave too, do you?'

18. What was unique about John's approach to baptism compared to the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke)?

1. John does not record Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River
2. John focuses entirely on the baptism of the Spirit, not water baptism
3. John records that Jesus baptised more disciples than John the Baptist
4. John records three separate baptism events — by water, by Spirit and by fire

19. John's Gospel contains seven 'signs' (miracles). How many of these signs are unique to John and not found in the other Gospels?

1. All seven are unique to John
2. Five
3. Three
4. Two

20. In John 1, Philip found Nathanael and told him they had found the one Moses and the prophets wrote about. What was Nathanael's sceptical response?

1. 'How do you know this man is truly the Messiah?'
2. 'If Moses wrote of him, why has he not come sooner?'
3. 'Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?'
4. 'Show me a sign and I will believe you'