A Walk through the Bible II: The New Testament Story

A Walk through the Bible II: The New Testament Story Lesslie Newbigin

Round Five God’s Kingdom and Jesus

Question #1 “The children of Israel no longer inhabit their own kingdom. . . . and Israel still longs for the day when they will see the fulfilment of God’s promise that he will ________ all of the nations” (45). A. judge B. destroy C. forgive D. reign over

Questions... The next four questions relate the different ways in which Jewish groups expressed their hope for God’s kingdom. Notice that their way of being Israel as it awaits God’s rule says a lot about what they think is wrong with the world and what they think God is going to do to put it to rights.

Question #2 This Jewish group followed the example of the Maccabees and engaged in political revolt as the means by which they would establish God’s kingdom in the land. Their battle cry was, “No king but God.”(Newbigin does not actually name them.) A. Pharisees B. Sadducees C. Dead Sea sect D. Zealots

Question #3 This Jewish group were the officially-recognized authorities who collaborated with the imperial Roman occupational forces. They are connected to the temple, the religious, economic, and political center of Judea. A. Pharisees B. Sadducees C. Dead Sea sect D. Zealots

Question #4 This Jewish group was comprised of lay people, that is, those without officially-recognized authority. “It was their faith that if Israel could perfectly keep God’s law, then God would in his own way and time intervene to establish his kingdom” (47). A. Pharisees B. Sadducees C. Dead Sea sect D. Zealots

Question #5 This Jewish group withdrew from society and lived in a monastic community of sorts out in the wilderness of Judea and waited for the time when God, with apocalyptic force, would establish his kingdom. We know about them through their scrolls. A. Pharisees B. Sadducees C. Dead Sea sect D. Zealots

Question #6 This man appeared in the wilderness of Judea calling for the Jewish people to repent and be cleansed in preparation of the coming imperial rule of God. He washed people in the Jordan river, the same river the people of Israel had crossed in order to enter the Promised Land during the time of Joshua. A. Jesus B. John the Baptist C. Peter D. Bob the Builder

Question #7 This man was baptized in the Jordan River along with all of the other sinners who were repenting of their sins in preparation for the empire of God. A. Jesus B. John the Baptist C. Peter D. Bob the Builder

Question #8 When Jesus was baptized the heavens were torn apart, the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove alighted upon Jesus, and he heard a voice out of heaven saying to him, “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” » A. incorrect B. incorrect C. correct D. incorrect

Question #9 » “And that is why from the time of Jesus onwards we have to rethink the very concept of God in terms of Father, Son and Holy Spirit” (51), the technical term for which is ___________. A. unitarianism B. deism C. trinitarianism D. theism

Round Six Sacrifice

Question #1 “Most of Jesus’ hearers thought it was quite clear. . . . To say that the kingdom of God is at hand must mean that _________ is/are about to be thrown out and that Israel is going to be once again under the direct rule of God” (57). A. the Romans B. Satan C. the demons D. the earth

Question #2 “Jesus has to use coded language in his teaching, he speaks in _________ so that the scouts from Jerusalem cannot pick up his words and use them as a basis for an arrest. But . . . those with ears to hear will be able to understand” (58). A. symbols B. parables C. metaphors D. English

Question #3 Out of all who followed, Jesus chose ______ “to be his special companions so that by living with him, sharing in all his wanderings, in his teachings, in his meals, they would learn to know him in his own full reality as the presence of the kingdom of God” (58). A. three B. seven C. twelve D. seventy

Question #4 Once Peter came to recognize Jesus as the Christ (i.e., the Messiah), the king through whom God would reign, Jesus “immediately begins to teach them what kind of kingship this will be” (59). It will involve _________. D. suffering D. rejection D. humiliation D. vindication

Question #5 As they ate the Passover meal, part of Israel’s Fourth of July celebration, Jesus took a loaf of bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said_____________. A. This is my body. B. Follow me. C. Hocus Pocus D. I love you.

Question #6 Then he took a cup of wine and said, “This is _________ in my blood. Drink it all of you.” A. not grape juice B. judgment day C. the new covenant D. a celebration

Question #7 This cup will be the new covenant which Jeremiah had promised, in which the law of God will be written not on tablets of stone but _________ of men and women (63). A. on the heads B. on the hearts C. on the palms D. in the Bibles

Question #8 On the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” Newbigin connects this cry to when God cried out in the garden, “________, where are you?” A. Jesus B. My Son C. Adam D. Eve

Round Three New Life New Communities

Question #1 The resurrection of Jesus requires a radical rethinking of everything we have under-stood hitherto about the fundamental nature of the world. And this is not a new problem. It is rather silly to suggest that it arise because of our modern scientific knowledge. »

Question #1 » The fact that people who have been dead for three days don’t rise again on the third day was well known long before the invention of __________” (70). A. English cricket B. computers C. the wheel D. gravity

Question #2 And the Christian Church as always maintained that what happened on that Easter day was a kind of __________, the beginning of a new era for the world. The first fruit of God’s intention to recreate the whole cosmos according to his purpose. A. old trick B. illusion C. new creation D. eighth day

Question #3 The gospel message of the early Christians was first and foremost about the _________ of Jesus (71). A. lordship B. love C. death D. forgiveness

Question #4 In the Old Testament only particular individuals received this in order to equip them for a special task. In the New Testament, all of the people of God receive this. A. forgiveness B. training C. the Holy Spirit D. a magic wand

Question #5 The news about Jesus spread first among the Jews and then among the _________ (72). A. Egyptians B. poor C. Presbyterians D. Gentiles

Question #6 This man persecuted Jewish Christians until he was encountered by the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, and then he became Christianity’s greatest defender. His Greek name is _______, which rhymes with his Hebrew name, Saul (72). A. Paul B. Peter C. Orange D. Stephen

Question #7 Jewish Christians struggled over whether Gentiles must become Jews (that is, undergo circumcision and follow the food laws) in order to belong to the people of God. Paul said no by appealing to God’s covenant with __________ (75). A. Noah B. Moses C. David D. Abraham

Round Eight Future Revelation

Question #1 God has chosen Israel and Jesus to be the bearers of his _______ for the whole of creation and of the human race. A. image B. judgment C. purpose D. forgiveness

Question #2 The book of the Revelation concerns itself with Rome, “that mighty power which dominated the known world with its awesome military strength, its vast commercial networks stretching right across the known world, its propaganda machine constantly saturating the world with its own ideology of power and glory. »

Question #2 In Revelation a conflict rages between the empires of Rome and of God. From one side it is fought with all the weapons of military, commercial and ideological power, on the other side it is fought with the weapons of _______ (80). D. faith D. hope D. suffering D. sacrifice

Question #3 “At the beginning of this book I said that the Bible gives us the whole ________ of creation and of the human race and therefore enables us to understand our own lives as a part of that _______” (82). A. story B. scoop C. kit & kaboodle D. everything

Question #4 “That is what my Indian friend meant when he said that the Bible was not a book of religion but was a unique inter-pretation of universal history and . . . of the human person as a responsible ________ in history” (83). A. person B. being C. parent D. actor

Question #5 The Bible ends with “a vision that enables us to see the whole human story and each of our lives within that story as meaningful, and which there-fore invites us through Jesus Christ to become responsible actors in history, not to seek to run away from the responsibilities and the agonies of human life in its _______ dimension” (85). A. political B. public C. earthly D. historical

A Walk through the Bible II: The New Testament Story