1. Mary and Joseph were already married when Mary became pregnant.
a. True
b. False
Answer: False. Matthew 1:18 While Jews viewed engagement as the first step in marriage, the
taking of the bride into the groom’s home had not occurred yet.
2. When Joseph and Mary first found out Mary was pregnant with Jesus, what did they do?
a. They got married
b. Joseph wanted to break off the relationship
c. Mary left town for three months
d. An angel told them to go to Bethlehem
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: B, C Luke 1:39, 56 & Matthew 1:19. Mary went to see Elizabeth who was also pregnant, Joseph had in mind to put her away privately.
3. Mary and Joseph were already married when Jesus was born.
a. True
b. False
Answer: True. Luke 2:5 & Matthew 1:24. Jews would not wait till after the baby was born to be married. But a legal enrollment would mean that they were married. Also,
“consummation” was not necessary to make the marriage legal.
4. Mary was still a virgin when she delivered Jesus.
a. True
b. False
Answer: True. Matthew 1:25. Marriage was not consummated till after the marriage. See also
Matthew 13:55-56 concerning Jesus’ siblings. Mary did not remain a virgin her whole life.
5. Who told Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem?
a. The angel
b. Mary’s mom
c. Herod
d. Caesar Augustus
e. Elizabeth
f. The Bible
g. No reference / None of the above
Answer: D. Luke 2:1. His word would have been passed down by other government officials. Nonetheless, it was still his law that required it.
6. Where was Joseph from?
a. Bethlehem
b. Jerusalem
c. Nazareth
d. Egypt
e. Arimathea
f. Bethany
g. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. Luke 2:3-4. This is confusing since they go to Bethlehem. However, birthplace was used as the city you were “from”. Bethlehem would have been his ancestral city for census information. Jesus, though he was called a “Nazarene,” would have been Jesus of Bethlehem, a fitting
title since He was the Son of David.
7. How did Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem?
a. Camel
b. Feet
c. Donkey
d. Mary rode, Joseph walked
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: E. In spite of all the programs and cards that portray this event, Scripture never mentions by what means they traveled.
8. What did the innkeeper tell Mary and Joseph?
a. “There is no room in the inn.”
b. “I have a stable you can use.”
c. “Come back after the busy season.”
d. No reference / None of the above
Answer: D. Luke 2:7. Scripture never mentions an innkeeper, just that the inn was full.
9. In what was Jesus delivered?
a. Stable
b. Cave
c. Barn
d. Room
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: E. Luke 2:7. Again, Scripture omits the specific details, just saying that Christ
was laid in a manger.
10. What is a manger?
a. Stable for animals
b. Wooden hay bin
c. Feeding trough
d. Some kind of barn
e. Old hospital bed
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. This is the definition used by both Webster and Halley. Many conjecture that the manger was made of stone due to the scarcity of wood. However, there were many more trees in Palestine prior to the Roman scattering in 70 AD.
11. Which animals were present at Jesus’ birthplace?
a. Cows
b. Sheep
c. Donkeys
d. Camels
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: E. Again, no animals are specifically mentioned as being at the actual location with Jesus. St. Augustine is credited with our current idea of what the stable looked like. He wanted people to treat animals with kindness.
12. How many angels spoke to the shepherds?
a. One
b. Three
c. A multitude
d. None
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: A. Luke 2:9. Only one instructed the shepherds. The rest praised God.
13. What sign did the angel(s) tell the shepherds to look for?
a. A baby in a stable
b. A star over Bethlehem
c. A baby that doesn’t cry
d. No reference / None of the above
Answer: D. Luke 2:12. Only the “swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” is mentioned as a
sign.
14. What is a “Heavenly Host?”
a. The angel(s) at the gate to heaven
b. The angel(s) who serve(s) God’s banquet
c. The angel choir
d. An angel army
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: D. Numbers 10:1-28. The general Biblical meaning for host was an army. Webster
includes this as meaning #2. Note also that the host praised God by “saying”. Scripture does not say that they sang. This might be more in keeping with the military theme, also.
15. What is the English translation of what the angel multitude said?
a. Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
b. Unto us a child is born
c. Glory to God in the highest
d. Glory to the newborn King
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. Luke 2:14. The rest are embellishments for hymns.
16. When did the baby Jesus cry?
a. When they slapped Him at birth
b. When all the shepherds trampled in
c. When the babies of Bethlehem were killed
d. When He needed something from his parents
e. He didn’t cry
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: D. Hebrews 2:17. He was like us in every way but sinning. Crying is not a sin in itself,
but a way that babies express their needs until they learn to talk. Jesus would have cried to communicate his needs for food, warmth, and dry swaddling clothes.
17. Where was there snow in Palestine on Jesus’ birth?
a. Only in Bethlehem
b. All over
c. Somewhere
d. Nowhere
e. In Mary’s dreams
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. Luke 2:8; Joshua 11:17 The shepherds would not have been out all night if there was a
chance of snow. However, Mount Hermon in northern Galilee is about 1.5 miles high. This is high enough that snow would have been present all year round.
18. Who saw the “Star in the East?”
a. Shepherds
b. Mary and Joseph
c. The three kings
d. Herod
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: E. Matthew 2:1-2. Only the “wise men” are mentioned as having seen the star.
19. How many wise men were there?
a. One
b. Two
c. At least two
d. Three
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. The Bible only refers to more than one by using the plural to describe them. Three types of gifts are offered, which is where we get our idea of three.
20. What does the term “Wise Men” refer to?
a. College professors
b. Eastern kings
c. Astrologers/astronomers
d. Solomon’s children
e. Fortune tellers
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. Matthew 2:1-2, 7, 9-10. The Greek word the “wise men” is magos. Literally, this means a Magian, an Oriental scientist. Often this word was used to describe fortunetellers, sorcerers, and magicians (a word we use that comes from magos). However, from the account in Matthew, all we can see is that the men studied the stars, not that they necessarily told fortunes from them. The best understanding then of the “wise men” would be astrologers/astronomers.
21. Why did the wise men stop in Jerusalem?
a. To tell Herod about Jesus
b. To find out where the King was
c. To ask about the star that they saw
d. To feed their animals and buy gifts
e. To pay their taxes
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: B. Matthew 2:2. They wanted more information about the king whose star they had
seen. The scribes found the location of the child by referring to Micah 5:2.
22. Where did the wise men find Jesus?
a. In the manger
b. In the stable
c. In a house
d. In Nazareth
e. In Egypt
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. Matthew 2:11. This was up to 2 years later (Matthew 2:16), but was probably not
the same night as the shepherds’ visit. By this time, the family was in a house.
23. What is frankincense?
a. A rare metal
b. An expensive fabric
c. A strange food
d. A sweet perfume
e. A horror story
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: D. Exodus 30:34-35. It was mixed with other things to burn as sweet incense.
24. What is Myrrh?
a. A fancy drink
b. A delicate tapestry
c. An Oriental delicacy
d. A tree ornament
e. A burial spice
f. No reference / None of the above
Answer: E. John 19:39. This also had a sweet aroma and was used to help hide the decay
smell.
25. Why did Joseph take his family to Egypt?
a. To see the pyramids
b. To teach Jesus the wisdom of the Pharaohs
c. To show Jesus where the OT stories occurred
d. He dreamed about it
e. To avoid the Roman taxes
f. They didn’t really go
Answer: D. Matthew 2:13. An angel spoke to him, but it was in his dream.
26. In which Gospels do you find the main points of the Christmas story?
a. Matthew
b. Mark
c. Luke
d. John
Answer: A, C. Matthew 1-2 & Luke 1-2.
27. Which date is probably closest to Jesus’ birth date?
a. December 25
b. First week of January
c. March 25
d. April 1
e. May 20
f. Mid-November
g. No reference / None of the above
Answer: E. Luke 2:8. Watching flocks in the fields at night would only be done during
nice weather and usually only in spring during the “lambing period.” Palestine is in the northern hemisphere like us, so May would be the closest approximation of this time.
28. Which year is probably closest to Jesus’ birth year?
a. 0 A.D.
b. 4-6 B.C.
c. 7-9 A.D.
d. No reference / None of the above
Answer: B. Luke 2:1-2 & Matthew 2:1. Herod died in 4 BC. Caesar is known to have taken a census
around 6 BC. This also corresponds to when Quirenius ruled. The inaccuracy of the dating reflects an effort by monks many years later to establish a calendar based on Jesus’ birth.
29. As long as the Church has celebrated Christmas, it has been celebrated on December 25.
a. True
b. False
Answer: False. The earliest church did not celebrate Christ’s birth, but rather his death and resurrection. The actual date of His birth was disputed, also. In the 4th century, the Roman church set the date to offset a pagan holiday. However, the Orthodox church still celebrates Christmas in January.
30. How did the abbreviation “Xmas” come about?
a. A catchy advertising campaign
b. A tricky atheist scheme
c. A church tradition with Greek roots
d. A development that arose with
typesetting for speed
e. No reference / None of the above
Answer: C. In spite of many people having an aversion to this term, it has very Christian roots. The X is the first letter of Christ in Greek. Our Chi-Rho symbol, the P with the X at the base, is where we do the same thing. XP would be the first two letters of Christ’s name. Christ’s Mass, as the Catholic Church originally called it, could be abbreviated to X Mas without losing any meaning for those early
Christians. Only in our society, where Christ is forgotten, does the X make a bigger statement about secularism.
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