Apostles trivia, with the verses that named them.

Which apostle is traditionally remembered as "the doubter"?

1. Peter
2. Thomas
3. Philip
4. Bartholomew

"Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."John 20:25

Thomas refused to accept the Resurrection on second-hand testimony. A week later Jesus appeared to him directly and invited the very inspection Thomas had asked for. "My Lord and my God!" is the confession Thomas gives back — one of the clearest statements of Christ's divinity in the Gospels.

Which apostle denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed?

1. Peter
2. John
3. Andrew
4. James

"And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.' And he went out and wept bitterly."Matthew 26:74–75

Peter's denial is one of the most pastorally important moments in the Gospels. The same disciple who confessed Jesus as the Christ collapses under pressure from a servant girl. After the Resurrection, Jesus restores Peter with a threefold question — "Do you love me?" — one for each denial, before commissioning him to feed the flock.

Which two apostles were brothers and sons of Zebedee?

1. Peter and Andrew
2. James and John
3. Philip and Bartholomew
4. Matthew and Thomas

"And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them."Matthew 4:21

Jesus nicknamed the brothers "Boanerges" — Sons of Thunder — likely for their fiery temperaments (recall their request to call down fire on a Samaritan village). James became the first apostle martyred, executed by Herod Agrippa in Acts 12. John, the longest-lived, is traditionally credited with the fourth Gospel, three letters, and Revelation.

Which apostle betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver?

1. Judas Maccabeus
2. Simon the Zealot
3. Judas Iscariot
4. Thaddaeus

"And said, 'What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?' And they paid him thirty pieces of silver."Matthew 26:15

The price echoes Zechariah 11:12, where thirty pieces of silver is the wage paid for a worthless shepherd. Matthew explicitly cites the fulfillment when Judas later flings the coins into the temple. Iscariot is likely "from Kerioth," distinguishing him from the other Judas (Thaddaeus) among the Twelve.

Who was chosen by lot to replace Judas Iscariot among the Twelve?

1. Barnabas
2. Justus
3. Matthias
4. Stephen

"And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."Acts 1:26

The criterion in Acts 1 was strict: the replacement had to have followed Jesus from John's baptism through the Resurrection. Two men qualified — Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. The Eleven prayed and cast lots, the last instance of this Old Testament method before the Spirit arrives at Pentecost a few verses later.

Which apostle was a former tax collector?

1. Andrew
2. Bartholomew
3. Simon the Zealot
4. Matthew

"As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, 'Follow me.' And he rose and followed him."Matthew 9:9

Tax collectors were despised as collaborators with Rome and notorious for extortion. By calling Matthew, Jesus made the point dramatically that he came "not to call the righteous, but sinners." Notably, the Twelve also included Simon the Zealot — a member of the anti-Roman resistance — at the same table.

On the road to Damascus, what did the voice from heaven say to Saul?

1. "Why have you forsaken me?"
2. "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
3. "Repent and be baptized."
4. "Come, follow me."

"And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'"Acts 9:4

The question identifies Christ with his church: to persecute believers is to persecute him. Saul was on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus; he arrived blind and converted. Paul recounts the experience three separate times in Acts, marking it as the hinge on which his whole ministry turns.

What was the original name of Peter before Jesus renamed him?

1. Cephas
2. Simon
3. Levi
4. Joses

"He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)."John 1:42

"Cephas" is Aramaic for rock; "Peter" is the Greek translation. Both names appear in the New Testament — Paul uses "Cephas" frequently in his letters. The renaming carries weight: in Matthew 16, Jesus declares that on this "rock" he will build his church, echoing the new identity given on first meeting.

According to early tradition, how did the apostle Peter die?

1. By the sword in Jerusalem
2. Boiled in oil
3. Crucified upside down in Rome
4. Stoned by a mob in Antioch

"'Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.' (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.)"John 21:18–19

The earliest tradition (Tertullian, Origen, Eusebius) holds that Peter was crucified during Nero's persecution around AD 64, asking to be hung head-down because he was unworthy to die in the same posture as his Lord. Jesus' cryptic prediction in John 21 — "stretch out your hands" — was understood by the early church as a reference to crucifixion.

In Romans 16, which woman does Paul describe as "outstanding among the apostles"?

1. Priscilla
2. Phoebe
3. Lydia
4. Junia

"Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me."Romans 16:7

The Greek is ambiguous and the translation contested: Junia (a feminine name) is described either as "well known to the apostles" or "outstanding among the apostles." Either way, the verse highlights that the term "apostle" extended beyond the Twelve in the early church — Barnabas, Andronicus, and Junia are all so named.