Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”  Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

• Matthew 3:13-17

A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.  When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

• Mark 14:51-52

This quiz is all about three people, the only people identified, in part, as having the name John.  One is John the Baptist (or Baptizer).  One is John the son of Zebedee, the apostle.  One is John Mark, who is rarely mentioned, but some of what is known is surmised by the few comments.

There are three answers for these questions:  The Baptist (or Baptizer), The Apostle, or Mark.

The Questions:

?	Bible Verse	Bible Verse(s)	Answer
1	What called the Pharisees a “Brood of Vipers?”
2	Who was a fisherman, partnered with Simon Peter?
3	Who wrote five books of the Bible?
4	Who is the only one of these three people named John to not write a Gospel?
5	Who leaped inside his mother’s womb when the unborn Jesus approached?
6	Who abandoned Paul and Barnabas in Perga of Pamphylia to return to Jerusalem?
7	Who sent some of his followers to inquire if Jesus was the Messiah?
8	While identified by another name, who was requested by Paul because he needed him?
9	Which John was the only John to be identified as “John” in Paul’s letters, then only once?
10	Who ate locusts and wild honey?
11	Again referred to by another name, who did Peter commend, as if he were his “son?”
12	Whose mother requested that this person and his brother sit at Jesus’ right and left hands?
13	And while we are mentioning mothers, whose mother’s house is where Peter came when the angel rescued him from prison and Rhoda answered the door, sort of?
14	Which of these people named John was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?
15	Who was, as prophesied by Isaiah, a voice calling out in the wilderness?

John Mark is a strange character in the Bible.  Possibly more is assumed or surmised than is actually known.  The Gospel of Mark, by most scholars’ ideas, is the Gospel of Peter as dictated to John Mark, but nothing in the Scriptures points to that for confirmation.  The reason why the Scripture from Mark in the arrest of Jesus is shown above is that the scholars again, with no other confirmation, think that the young man is John Mark.  The verse is insignificant to the story.  It only appears in Mark, but it is as if John Mark was trying to say that some of his Gospel was an eyewitness for the one taking the dictation, and not all what Peter was saying.

In Acts, we find that one of the places that the believers gathered was at Mary’s house, that is Mary mother of John Mark.  Then, by inference, biblical scholars think that it is at this house where the disciples had the Last Supper and gathered, awaiting the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  As for the Last Supper, this gives credibility to the idea that the naked young man running from those who arrested Jesus could be John Mark as the disciples would have been at his mother’s home before they went to the garden.

And for one hint:  There are six of the questions with the answer of Baptist, five with the answer of Apostle, and four with the answer of Mark.  And they are not in any particular order.

Bible References:

?	Bible Verse	Bible Verse(s)	Answer
1	What called the Pharisees a “Brood of Vipers?”	Matthew 3:7
2	Who was a fisherman, partnered with Simon Peter?	Luke 5:10
3	Who wrote five books of the Bible?	N/A
4	Who is the only one of these three people named John to not write a Gospel?	N/A
5	Who leaped inside his mother’s womb when the unborn Jesus approached?	Luke 1:39-41
6	Who abandoned Paul and Barnabas in Perga of Pamphylia to return to Jerusalem?	Acts 13:13
7	Who sent some of his followers to inquire if Jesus was the Messiah?	Luke 7:20
8	While identified by another name, who was requested by Paul because he needed him?	2 Timothy 4:11
9	Which John was the only John to be identified as “John” in Paul’s letters, then only once?	Galatians 2:9
10	Who ate locusts and wild honey?	Matthew 3:4
11	Again referred to by another name, who did Peter commend, as if he were his “son?”	1 Peter 5:13
12	Whose mother requested that this person and his brother sit at Jesus’ right and left hands?	Matthew 20:20-28
13	And while we are mentioning mothers, whose mother’s house is where Peter came when the angel rescued him from prison and Rhoda answered the door, sort of?	Acts 12:12-14
14	Which of these people named John was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?	Mark 9:2
15	Who was, as prophesied by Isaiah, a voice calling out in the wilderness?	Matthew 3:3

I hope this quiz is fairly easy.  There is one question that I think is obscure.  If you know the basic story of Jesus’ ministry and where each of the three men named John fit into the story, you should be able to figure out almost all the answers without needing the Bible references.  Then, the Bible references should give most of the answers away, since a logical timeline could be inferred.

I think my inspiration for this quiz stems from a comment made in Sunday school recently.  I was asked why so many Bible figures had multiple names.  Saul was called Paul.  Simon became Peter but also Cephas.  Joseph was Barnabas.  In the lists of the twelve, a couple of the names change: Levi – Matthew, Bartholomew – Nathanial, Jude (not Iscariot) – Thaddeus, Thomas – Didymus.  In some cases, there was the Jewish name and the Roman name: family name versus business name.  And the character from a coming of age movie comes to mind, Billy Joe Jim Bob (ah, Southern tradition).

But in looking for the name “John,” there are only these three, but each was significant.  Even when Paul distrusted John Mark, it caused Paul to go with Silas on the second mission trip while Barnabas went with John Mark.  In so doing, we do not hear the story of Barnabas, but with two missions commissioned by the apostles were creating churches, the Gospel spread faster.  It is odd how God uses those human foibles that lead to a group splitting and scattering to lead to God’s sovereign will being done, in this case, spreading the Gospel.

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The Answers:

?	Bible Verse	Bible Verse(s)	Answer
1	What called the Pharisees a “Brood of Vipers?”	Matthew 3:7	Baptist
2	Who was a fisherman, partnered with Simon Peter?	Luke 5:10	Apostle
3	Who wrote five books of the Bible?	N/A	Apostle
4	Who is the only one of these three people named John to not write a Gospel?	N/A	Baptist
5	Who leaped inside his mother’s womb when the unborn Jesus approached?	Luke 1:39-41	Baptist
6	Who abandoned Paul and Barnabas in Perga of Pamphylia to return to Jerusalem?	Acts 13:13	Mark
7	Who sent some of his followers to inquire if Jesus was the Messiah?	Luke 7:20	Baptist
8	While identified by another name, who was requested by Paul because he needed him?	2 Timothy 4:11	Mark
9	Which John was the only John to be identified as “John” in Paul’s letters, then only once?	Galatians 2:9	Apostle, along with James and Cephas (Peter)
10	Who ate locusts and wild honey?	Matthew 3:4	Baptist
11	Again referred to by another name, who did Peter commend, as if he were his “son?”	1 Peter 5:13	Mark, in a spiritual sense
12	Whose mother requested that this person and his brother sit at Jesus’ right and left hands?	Matthew 20:20-28	Apostle
13	And while we are mentioning mothers, whose mother’s house is where Peter came when the angel rescued him from prison and Rhoda answered the door, sort of?	Acts 12:12-14	Mark
14	Which of these people named John was with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?	Mark 9:2	Apostle
15	Who was, as prophesied by Isaiah, a voice calling out in the wilderness?	Matthew 3:3	Baptist

And regardless of how you did, let’s listen to music by people named John,  We will start with John Legend’s, All of Me video.

And a song that many may not know.  It was an obscure low-budget movie theme by John Williams, Star Wars.

And I cannot believe a list of the top ten singers named John would list two or three guitarists and John Williams, but omit John Denver.  I like Calypso.

Then there are people named John who were parts of groups, like John Phillips in the Mamas and Papas, California Dreamin’.

And while we are at it, why not John Fogarty in Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lookin’ Out my Back Door.

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.