6 Names You Keep Mixing Up | Bible Trivia Quiz | Digging Deeper

Question 1. Besides Judas Iscariot, there was another apostle named Judas among the Twelve. By what other name is he also known?

Answer: Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13 call him "Judas the brother of James." Matthew 10:3 calls him "Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus."

Context & Exhortation: If you compare the four lists of the twelve apostles: Matthew 10:2–4, Mark 3:16–19, Luke 6:14–16, and Acts 1:13, you'll notice a few small differences in naming. 

This is one of the most interesting ones. The man Matthew and Mark call Thaddaeus shows up in Luke and Acts simply as "Judas the brother of James." It's not hard to guess why an alternate name might have been useful. 

The other apostle named Judas ended up betraying Jesus. Scripture never states this reason directly, but it's easy to see why the early church, or even this Judas himself, might prefer a different name.

John 14:22 gives us one small window into who this man was. At the Last Supper, he asks Jesus a sincere question: "Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" Jesus answers him patiently, about the Father and Son making their home with those who love and obey Him (14:23).

This apostle carried a name forever linked to betrayal in people's minds, through no fault of his own. And Scripture makes sure we know the truth: this Judas loved Jesus, asked honest questions, and stayed faithful.

Sometimes, Family, we get unfairly linked to something bad, just by a shared name or a category we didn't choose. This apostle's quiet, faithful life proves that an unwanted association doesn't have to define us. At least, not if our own walk with Christ tells a different story.

Question 2. How many different women named Mary appear in the New Testament, and can you name them all?

Answer: At least six: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus), Mary the mother of James and Joses, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary the mother of John Mark.

Context & Exhortation: "Mary" — Miriam, in Hebrew — was clearly one of the most common female names in that time and place. This can genuinely confuse readers. 

John 19:25 names three different Marys in a single verse, all standing at the crucifixion: "his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene."

Mary Magdalene was delivered from seven demons (Luke 8:2). She became the first witness of the risen Christ, and the one He sent to tell the other disciples (John 20:16–18), often remembered as "the apostle to the apostles."

Mary of Bethany sat at Jesus's feet to learn, while her sister Martha stayed busy serving. Jesus gently defended her choice: "Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:42). This same Mary later anointed Jesus's feet with expensive perfume before His death (John 12:3).

Mary, the mother of John Mark, hosted a prayer meeting in her own home while Peter was in prison. The gathering was so large and excited that when Peter was freed and knocked on the door, the servant girl was too thrilled to even let him in at first (Acts 12:12–16).

Six women. One shared name. Six completely different stories of courage, devotion, and hospitality. A common name and an ordinary background never limit what God can do through a life. Every Mary in the New Testament still gets her own story, remembered on its own terms.

Question 3. There were several rulers named Herod in the New Testament. Name at least two, and what each one did.

Answer: Herod the Great ordered the killing of infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). His son, Herod Antipas, beheaded John the Baptist (Mark 6:17–28) and later mocked Jesus before His crucifixion (Luke 23:11). Herod Agrippa I executed the apostle James and imprisoned Peter (Acts 12:1–3). Herod Agrippa II heard Paul's defense in Acts 25–26.

Context & Exhortation: This family tree is genuinely confusing, but worth untangling, because each Herod matters to the story.

Herod the Great was a brutal, paranoid king under Rome. When he hears of a newborn "King of the Jews," he orders the killing of all boys age two and under in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16). He was so suspicious of losing power that he had several of his own sons executed.

His son, Herod Antipas, ruled Galilee during Jesus's ministry. He imprisoned and eventually beheaded John the Baptist at his stepdaughter's request (Mark 6:21–28). Later, during Jesus's trial, he mocked Him, dressing Him in a "gorgeous robe" and sending Him back to Pilate (Luke 23:6–12).

A grandson of Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa I, executed James the apostle "with the sword" and imprisoned Peter. He later died gruesomely, "eaten of worms," after letting a crowd worship him as a god (Acts 12:21–23).

His son, Herod Agrippa II, shows up near the end of Acts. He listens to Paul's defense with real interest, and says, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:28).

Four generations of one family. Each one opposed God's messengers in some way. But Scripture never treats any of them as simply a product of their family line. Each Herod is held responsible for his own choices. Family patterns of hostility toward God can repeat — but you are still accountable for your own response to Him.

Question 4. Which two apostles were nicknamed "Sons of Thunder" by Jesus?

Answer: James and John. Jesus calls them "Boanerges" in Mark 3:17.

Context & Exhortation: "And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). Two moments in the Gospels show us why this name fit.

In Luke 9:54, a Samaritan village refuses to welcome Jesus. James and John ask, "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?" Jesus rebukes them for it.

In Mark 10:35–37, the two brothers privately ask Jesus for the best seats, one on His right, one on His left, in His glory. It's a bold, ambitious request. 

When the other ten disciples hear about it, they're angry.

Fiery. Ambitious. Quick to anger. Quick to want status. That's the "thunder" in their nickname.

And yet this same John is remembered as the one who leaned on Jesus's chest at the Last Supper (John 13:23). He's the one Jesus entrusted with caring for His own mother, from the cross (John 19:26–27). 

His Gospel and letters use the word "love" more than any other New Testament writer. By tradition, he's also the one who wrote Revelation decades later, some of the most vivid, fiery visions in all of Scripture.

The thunder didn't disappear. It was refined. Years of walking with Christ turned destructive impulsiveness into something that could hold both tender love and prophetic fire. 

So let’s look at it this way: Whatever intensity is part of our own personality, it isn't automatically a disqualifier. It may just need time with Jesus to be shaped into something useful.

Question 5. Two disciples ran to the empty tomb on resurrection morning. Who were they, and which one arrived first?

Answer: Peter and John, in John 20:3–6. John outran Peter and got there first, but Peter went inside the tomb first.

Context & Exhortation: "So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre" (John 20:4). 

It's a small detail. But it's the kind of specific, eyewitness detail scholars point to as evidence that someone who was actually there wrote this down, not just that they ran, but who won.

Here's what happens next. John gets there first, stoops down, looks in, but doesn't go in (20:5). Peter arrives moments later and, true to form, goes straight in without hesitating (20:6). 

This is the same boldness that had Peter stepping out of a boat onto stormy water in Matthew 14:29. It's the same impulsiveness that got him into trouble denying Christ just days earlier.

John, more careful and reflective by nature, pauses to look first.

Two men. Two very different personalities. Running toward the same news, each responding exactly the way you'd expect from who they already were. 

Resurrection faith didn't erase their natural wiring and turn them into copies of each other. The same impulsive Peter who denied Jesus is the one who charges fearlessly into an unknown tomb. The same thoughtful John who leaned on Jesus's chest is the one who pauses first.

Family, God doesn't need us to become someone else to respond faithfully to Him. He can use exactly how we’re wired: impulsive or careful, fast or slow, just as it is.

Question 6. The name "Simon" belongs to several different people in the Gospels. Name all of them.

Answer: Simon Peter, Simon the Zealot (also called "Simon the 

Canaanite" in Matthew 10:4 — the same title, just rewritten from Aramaic), Simon of Cyrene, Simon the leper, Simon the Pharisee, and Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8) are all separate people.

Context & Exhortation: It's genuinely easy to lose track of which Simon is which. Each one plays a very different role.

Simon Peter is the most well-known — impulsive, prominent, eventually the leading voice of the early church.

Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:15) belonged to a radical political movement that wanted to overthrow Rome by force. That means Jesus's twelve included both a Zealot and Matthew — a former tax collector who had worked for Rome. Politically, these two should have been enemies. But Scripture records no conflict between them at all.

Simon of Cyrene (Mark 15:21) was pulled from the crowd and forced to carry Jesus's cross after Jesus, weakened from the beating He'd endured, couldn't carry it any further Himself. He never asked to be part of the most important event in human history. He was thrown into it.

Simon the leper (Matthew 26:6) hosted Jesus at his home in Bethany. That's where a woman anointed Jesus with expensive perfume before His death.

Simon the sorcerer, in Acts 8:9–24, professes belief and is baptized, but then tries to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money. Peter rebukes him sharply for it.

A former zealot. A former tax collector's unlikely companion. An unwilling cross-bearer. A generous host. A corrupted convert. Five men who shared nothing but a name — each one showing something different about how people respond to being near to Jesus. 

What are we noticing here? Sharing a name, or even sharing physical closeness to Christ, guarantees nothing about the real condition of someone's heart.

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