40 Fun Facts About Easter Bible

What 'separated and came to rest on each' of the believers at Pentecost, the event that ends the Easter season?

Tongues of fire came after 'a sound like the blowing of a violent wind' filled the house, and the believers began speaking in languages they had never learned.

How did Judas identify Jesus to the armed crowd in the garden, a signal he had arranged in advance?

With a kiss and the words 'Greetings, Rabbi!' Judas marked his man, and Luke has Jesus ask whether he would betray the Son of Man with that greeting.

What did Pilate do in front of the crowd to declare himself innocent of Jesus's death, in Matthew alone?

He washed his hands, a Jewish rite from Deuteronomy for a town disowning an unsolved killing, so the Roman was borrowing his accusers' own ritual.

Which last words from the cross, a single Greek word in the original, does John record before Jesus bowed his head?

'It is finished' is tetelestai in Greek, a word also stamped on paid-up bills, and John says Jesus spoke it after taking the drink and then 'gave up his spirit'.

Which Hebrew cry from Psalm 118, meaning 'save, we pray', did the crowds shout as Jesus rode into Jerusalem?

Hosanna had turned from a plea into a shout of jubilation, and the crowd added 'to the Son of David', a royal title the priests found alarming.

What flowed from Jesus's side when a soldier pierced it with a spear, a detail only John records?

Blood and water came out in 'a sudden flow', John says an eyewitness saw it, and later legend named the soldier Longinus and made him a saint.

How many people, roughly, were baptised after Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, according to Acts 2?

About 3,000 were 'added to their number that day', a crowd swelled by pilgrims in Jerusalem from 'every nation under heaven' for the festival.

At which village, reached as Jesus approached Jerusalem, did he send two disciples to fetch a tethered colt?

Bethphage appears in the Bible only in this scene, and Matthew alone has the disciples bring back both the mother donkey and her colt.

Which prophet wrote 'See, your king comes to you... riding on a donkey', the verse Matthew says the entry fulfilled?

Zechariah's verse promised a king 'righteous and victorious' whose rule would stretch 'from sea to sea', and Matthew quotes it as fulfilled that morning.

Whose tables did Jesus overturn in the temple courts in Holy Week, calling the place 'a den of robbers'?

The money changers swapped pilgrims' Roman coins for the Tyrian shekels the temple tax required, and Jesus also tipped over the benches of the dove sellers.

Which tree did Jesus curse on the road from Bethany for bearing nothing but leaves, so that it withered?

A fig tree in leaf should carry early fruit, and Mark splits the story so the disciples find it withered 'from the roots' the next morning.

For what did Jesus say the woman who poured perfume on his head at Bethany had prepared him, in Matthew 26?

His burial was what the perfume prepared him for, and he promised that 'wherever this gospel is preached' her act would be told 'in memory of her'.

Which festival meal, prepared at 'a certain man's house', did Jesus eat with his disciples as the Last Supper?

Passover commemorates the exodus from Egypt, and the Synoptics set the supper on its first evening while John dates the crucifixion to the afternoon the lambs were killed.

How many demons does Mark 16 say Jesus had driven out of Mary Magdalene, the first to see him risen?

Seven demons are also mentioned by Luke 8, where Mary Magdalene is among the women funding Jesus's travels 'out of their own means'.

Where did Jesus and the disciples go after singing a hymn at the end of the Last Supper, per Matthew 26?

The Mount of Olives faces the temple across the Kidron Valley, and the hymn was probably the Hallel psalms that close the festival meal.

What did Jesus ask his Father to 'take from me' in Gethsemane, adding 'yet not as I will, but as you will'?

'This cup' echoes the prophets' cup of God's wrath, and Luke adds that a visitor from heaven strengthened him as he prayed.

Which Aramaic word for 'father' does Mark alone record Jesus using as he prayed in Gethsemane?

Abba is the intimate family word, and Paul later writes that the Spirit lets believers cry 'Abba, Father' too, in Romans and Galatians.

How many legions of angels did Jesus say his Father could send him at the arrest, in Matthew 26?

'More than twelve legions' would top 60,000 at Roman strength, and Jesus said he would not call them so that 'the Scriptures' could be fulfilled.

How did a young man following Jesus escape the arresting party in Mark 14, once they seized his linen garment?

Naked, 'leaving his garment behind', he fled, and since no other Gospel has the episode many readers since antiquity have guessed he was Mark himself.

What did the high priest do when Jesus said he would be seen 'sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One'?

He tore his clothes and cried 'He has spoken blasphemy!', although Leviticus forbids the high priest to tear his garments.

How many times does Mark say the rooster would crow before Peter disowned Jesus three times, unlike the other Gospels?

Twice is Mark's count, and 'the rooster crowed the second time' as Peter broke down and wept, a detail the other three Gospels trim to one crow.

How long did Jesus ask Peter, James and John to 'keep watch' with him in the garden, only to find them sleeping?

One hour was all he asked, and three times he came back to find them asleep, 'exhausted from sorrow' as Luke puts it.

Where did Jesus tell Pilate his kingdom was from, adding that otherwise 'my servants would fight' to prevent his arrest?

'Not of this world' is how Jesus described his kingdom, and John alone stages this private exchange inside the palace the priests refused to enter.

Which Aramaic name does John give the 'Stone Pavement' where Pilate sat on the judge's seat to sentence Jesus?

Gabbatha is one of several Aramaic place-names John glosses for Greek readers, and a Roman pavement under Jerusalem's Sisters of Zion convent has long been claimed as it.

What did Pilate's soldiers twist together and set on Jesus's head while mocking him with a scarlet robe and a staff?

A crown of thorns parodied the radiate crowns on Roman coins, and the soldiers knelt and hailed him before spitting on him and striking him with the staff.

Which title, abbreviated INRI on crucifixes, did Pilate's notice above the cross give Jesus of Nazareth?

King of the Jews was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek, and when the chief priests asked for a rewrite Pilate answered 'What I have written, I have written'.

Which prophet did bystanders think Jesus was calling when he cried 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani' from the cross?

Elijah was expected to return before the Messiah, and the cry is actually the opening line of Psalm 22 in Aramaic.

What was soaked into a sponge and lifted to Jesus's lips on a hyssop stalk after he said 'I am thirsty'?

Wine vinegar was the cheap sour wine Roman soldiers drank, and the hyssop recalls the plant used to mark doorposts at the exodus from Egypt.

Which name does the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus give the penitent thief crucified beside Jesus?

Dismas is the Good Thief of Catholic tradition, commemorated on 25 March, while the same text calls the mocking thief Gestas.

Who does Matthew say rolled back the stone from the tomb and sat on it, with a face 'like lightning'?

An angel of the Lord arrived with an earthquake, and the guards 'shook and became like dead men' while the women were told not to be afraid.

How far into its final chapter does Mark's Gospel run in the oldest manuscripts, the women telling no one?

Eight verses in, the two oldest manuscripts stop, and the dozen that follow in most Bibles were added later and are bracketed in modern translations.

Which Aramaic word, meaning 'Teacher', did Mary Magdalene cry out when the risen Jesus said her name in the garden?

Rabboni came the moment he said 'Mary', after she had taken him for the gardener, and she was sent to the others with the news.

How long after the first Easter appearance did Jesus return to the locked room with Thomas present, per John 20?

The following Sunday, 'a week later' in John's words, he invited Thomas to put his finger in the nail marks, and that day became Low Sunday or Thomas Sunday in church calendars.

What did Thomas exclaim on seeing the risen Jesus's wounds, the Gospels' clearest confession of his divinity?

'My Lord and my God' drew the reply 'blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed', and tradition sent Thomas on to preach in India.

Where did the women at the empty tomb hear the risen Jesus was 'going ahead of' his followers, per Matthew 28?

Galilee, where Matthew then sets the final meeting on a mountain, is the region where the disciples had first been called from their fishing nets.

In whose name does the Great Commission at the end of Matthew tell the disciples to baptise 'all nations'?

Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the only three-fold baptismal formula in the Gospels, and Acts reports the early baptisms simply 'in the name of Jesus Christ'.

What did the risen Jesus tell Peter after asking 'Do you love me?' three times on the lakeshore, in John 21?

Feed my sheep was the third charge after 'Feed my lambs' and 'Take care of my sheep', three commissions to undo three denials.

Which greeting did the risen Jesus give on appearing among the disciples behind locked doors on Easter evening?

'Peace be with you' he said again that evening, then showed them his wounds, and Luke adds that they thought they were seeing a ghost.

To how many 'brothers and sisters at the same time' did Paul say the risen Christ appeared, in 1 Corinthians 15?

More than 500 saw him at once, Paul wrote around AD 55, 'most of whom are still living', an invitation to go and ask them.

How far from Jerusalem does Acts 1 put the hill from which the disciples returned after watching Jesus ascend?

A Sabbath day's walk was about 2,000 cubits, under a mile, the limit rabbinic law set for travel on the day of rest.