I usually start each post with Scripture.  In this case, the Scripture will give away the answers.  All the answers to the questions will come from Luke 2.  Some will be very easy.  Others should be easy, except they cross over into the Christmas Myths.  I wrote a post on Christmas Myths two years ago.  You can use the link here (LINK to Christmas Myths).

There will not be a Bible Reference section this week, or next (Matthew 2).  If you read the chapter that the quiz is based upon, you should get a perfect score. But beware, the white, red, and black bars are immediately after the questions.

The Questions:

	Question
1	Who issued a decree to have a census of all lands controlled by the Romans? Luke 2:1
2	Who was the governor of Syria when this decree was issued? Luke 2:2
3	In what manner is the baby boy described in the first part of Luke 2:6?  In other words, what was His relation to Mary?
4	The baby is placed in a manger, because there was no available room in the what (NIV only)? Luke 2:7
5	How many angels appear at first to the shepherds? Luke 2:9
6	What does the angel first say?  Hint:  They almost always say it. Luke 2:10
7	When the angel that is talking in the beginning speaks of the baby that is born, the angel mentions three titles (offices) to be held by the baby.  What are they? Luke 2:10
8	When the original messenger (angel) makes his proclamation, how many angels appear praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven…”? Note: the answer is the words given, not a specific number. Luke 2:13-14
9	Who obtains peace on earth according to the angelic proclamation? Luke 2:14
10	How many animals are mentioned that are with Jesus at His birth?  Only list those that are mentioned when the shepherds find the baby. Luke 2:16-18
11	Is the word “stable” ever mentioned? Luke 2
12	What did the shepherds do first? Luke 2:16-18
13	After the shepherds did that, leaving people amazed, what did the shepherds do next? Luke 2:20
14	When was the baby officially given the name Jesus? Luke 2: 21
15	When the baby was presented at the temple with the appropriate sacrifice to consecrate the child, who was the devout and righteous man waiting there who praised God? Luke 2:25
16	Who was the prophet who is next mentioned, daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher? Luke 2:36

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The Answers:

1. Caesar Augustus
2. Quirinius.  I had a quiz on the men of the Bible and I stated that Quartus was the only “Q”.  Quirinius is mentioned here, as governor of Syria.  Through other documents, mainly the history of Flavius Josephus, the birth of Jesus is placed in the range of 2-3 BC.   Josephus was published in 1544 with the date of Herod’s death in error, 5 BC, a publishing error.  All manuscripts older than 1544 have Herod passing away in 1 BC.  The key from the biblical perspective is that Caesar Augustus must be emperor, while Quirinius is governor and Herod the Great is king.
3. Mary’s firstborn son.  Mary was a virgin, thus Jesus must be firstborn. Also, the Passover Lamb was sacrificed in ancient Egypt so that the angel of death would not kill the firstborn of humans and livestock in the house. Jesus will become the perfect Passover Lamb, without blemish (without blemish required in Exodus 12:5).  Note: in the time of Jesus, the shepherds for the temple would carefully baby the lambs that would be destined for Passover sacrifice.  It is said that they wrapped them in cloths and laid them in a manger.  They took no risk that could lead to the lamb being injured, thus blemished, thus unfit for the Passover.  Sound familiar?  And what do you think went through the minds of the shepherds when they arrived to see the baby thus protected?
4. Guest room.  Almost every other translation uses the mythological “inn” that was misinterpreted by the translators of the KJV.  The Greek word for “inn” is only used twice.  The other use is the location for the Last Supper, the “Upper Room” or guest room.  The “common” home for a humble family with a little extra means was a three-level home.  The lowest level was for the livestock.  The floor of the main living area was at the appropriate height for the livestock to eat from the mangers.  Thus, the “mangers” were carved bowls in the floor of the main living area.  Depending on how much livestock, there may be several of the mangers.  But if the family had a little extra means, there was another room, built a little higher than the main living area and usually walled off for privacy – an Upper Room, used to entertain guests.  The Upper Room might have an exterior door so that the guests could come and go without upsetting the hosts.  It is most likely one of these homes where Jesus was born and another home of the same type where Jesus spent the last night before being betrayed and crucified.  On the night Jesus was born, the guest room was filled with cousins and Joseph and Mary, probably arriving late due to Mary’s pregnancy slowing them down, shared the main living quarters with the cousin who lived in Bethlehem permanently.  Since this is a house, the Matthew story could be at the same location – no invented moving required.
5. Unless the insane changers of words are at it again, there was ONE angel.  The Scripture says “An Angel.”  The shepherds were scared enough with just the one.
6. “Do not be afraid.”  These words, spoken by the Lord, angels, and leaders such as Moses and Joshua and prophets, were spoken 58 times (NIV) in the Old Testament.  There were 16 times (NIV) that these words were spoken in the New Testament, mostly by angels and Jesus.
7. The angel calls the baby the “Savior,” the “Messiah,” and the “Lord.”  Jesus will save those who are lost and call upon Him.  In accepting Jesus as Savior, we accept Him as Lord, the full master of those who truly believe.  He is also the promised Messiah that is foretold in the Old Testament, fulfilling God’s promises to His people.
8. I hope no one looked for a number.  “Heavenly host” may be a specific number, or it may just be “a whole bunch of them,” as we used to say when I was growing up. I am sure they filled the night sky.
9. Those on whom God’s favor rests.  In this proclamation, the angels are not proclaiming “peace on earth” as a universal construct, but, on earth, peace to God’s elect, those who believe in Him.  We too often get too busy to keep our eyes on Jesus, who is willing to grant us that peace.
10. None.  Not a one.  Did the shepherds leave their flocks in the fields to go investigate?  You would not know from what the text says.  Saint Francis of Assisi loved animals.  He described the nativity scene in 1260.  We have been stuck with animals ever since.  Now logic would have it that if there was an area for livestock and mangers, there was probably some animal or two.
11. See the discussion of the “common” home under question 4.  If you want to divide a first century family’s home into three dwellings and call it a stable, a home, and a guest house, you have full right in calling it those things, although there was probably only one roof over the entire thing.  And there is a reason for the animals to be on the lower level, actually two or more: 1) The heat emitted from the animals helps to heat the home in the winter.  In the late 70s, I drove down back roads in Germany, trying the ‘shortest’ route to construction sites, but they were not the fastest when the farmer released his cattle down main street in the mountainside village and herded them to the pasture.  I might be stuck without moving for thirty minutes or more – without a camera to take pictures.  In the farmer’s home, the human living quarters was directly above the animal living quarters to maximize the emitted heat. 2) Sanity reasons.  You don’t want animal excrement mixing with human food preparation or with where you might sleep for the night.  Note: Shepherds were the lowest of the low, because they smelled like their sheep.  The farmers could not be more than a step above them.
12. They spread the word to almost everyone.  Can you imagine a smelly shepherd knocking on your door in the middle of the night to ask you to go see the newborn baby Jesus?  All were ‘amazed’, but you wonder how many shook their heads and went back to sleep, after all it was a holiday, the first of its kind!!!!  (Sorry, I could not resist the holiday line.)
13. The Scripture even hints that they did not wake up everyone in Bethlehem, “those that heard were amazed,” leaving you to think some did not hear, or maybe did not answer the door.  But once they were finished spreading the news, the shepherds returned, glorifying and worshipping, praising God.
14. When Jesus was taken to the temple to be circumcised.
15. Simeon
16. Anna

Since you did so well or even if you did not do too well, let’s see what happens when the myths overtake reality.  Away in a Manger is a wonderful Christmas Carol, but hardly accurate.  Unless Jesus started talking at birth, I am sure He cried.  He wept when Lazarus died.  Why not a birth?

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.