Memory Text: John 17:17 KJV “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Sunday, April 22 The Evidence
Matthew 5:17-18 NRSV “17 ¶ "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:18 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY The Jews had a tradition that if all the men in the world should attempt to abolish the least letter of the law, they could not possibly succeed. To do so would incur guilt so great, they reasoned, that the world would be destroyed.
Matthew 24:35 NRSV “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
John 10:34-35 NRSV “34 Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ —and the scripture cannot be annulled—”
1 Peter 1:25 NRSV “but the word of the Lord endures forever." That word is the good news that was announced to you.”

Monday, April 23 The Old Testament
The New Testament often refers to the Old Testament, quoting it as an authority.
Mark 15:28 NKJV “So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."”
Luke 4:21 NKJV “And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."”
John 13:18 NKJV “"I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’”
John 17:12 NKJV “"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”
John 19:24 NKJV “They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things.”
Galatians 3:22 KJ21 “But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”
2 Timothy 3:16 KJ21 “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
James 2:23 KJ21 “And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God.”

Tuesday, April 24 The New Testament
Revelation 22:18-19 MKJV “18 For I testify together [to] everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this Book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add on him the plagues that have been written in this Book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which have been written in this Book.”
Revelation 22:18 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Jesus is authenticating this book of the Revelation; He warns against deliberate changes in the message of the book.

Wednesday, April 25 Internal Evidence: Part 1
Romans 8:34 MKJV “Who [is] he condemning? [It is] Christ who has died, but rather also [who is] raised, who is also at [the] right [hand] of God, who also intercedes for us.”
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 MKJV “12 ¶ But if Christ is proclaimed, that He was raised from [the] dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation [is] worthless, and your faith [is] also worthless. 15 And we are also found [to be] false witnesses of God, because we testified of God that He raised Christ; whom He did not raise if the dead are not raised. 16 For if [the] dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised. 17 And if Christ is not raised, your faith [is] foolish; you are yet in your sins. 18 Then also those that fell asleep in Christ were lost. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
What do all these accounts have in common?
Matthew 27:51-28:20 MKJV “51 And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared, 52 and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, 53 and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection [they] went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 But the centurion and those guarding Jesus, seeing the earthquake, and the things that took place, [they] feared greatly, saying, Truly this One was Son of God. 55 And many of the women were there, watching from a distance, [those] who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, watching from a distance; 56 among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children. 57 ¶ When the evening had come, a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, came, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple. 58 He went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in clean linen, 60 and laid it in his new tomb, which he had cut out of the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, were sitting there across from the tomb. 62 And on the next day, which was after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered to Pilate, 63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was living, After three days I will rise again. 64 Then command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say to the people, He has risen from the dead. So the last error will be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said to them, You have a watch. Go and make [it] as secure as you can. 66 And going they made the tomb secure, sealing the stone along with the guard. 28:1 ¶ But late in the week, at the dawning into the first [day] of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, a great earthquake occurred! For coming down from Heaven, and coming up, an angel of [the] Lord rolled back the stone from the door and [was] sitting on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And the keepers shook for fear of him and became like dead [men]. 5 And the angel answered and said to the women, Do not fear, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead. And, behold, He goes before you into Galilee. There you shall see Him. Lo, I have told you. 8 And they quickly departed from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. 9 But as they were going to report to His disciples, behold, Jesus also met them, saying, Hail! And they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid; go tell My brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see Me. 11 ¶ And as they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and declared all the things that were done to the chief priests. 12 And being assembled with the elders, and taking counsel, [they] gave enough silver to the soldiers, 13 saying, Say that His disciples came by night [and] stole Him [away] while we slept. 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him and make you free from care. 15 And taking the silver, they did as they were taught. And this saying was spread among the Jews until today. 16 ¶ And the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him. But some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. 19 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world.”
Mark 16:9-14 KJ21 “9 ¶ Now when Jesus had risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, believed not. 12 After that, He appeared in another form unto two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the rest, but neither did they believe them. 14 ¶ Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat; and He upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not those who had seen Him after He had risen.”
Luke 24:35-53 God’s Word to the Nations “35 Then the two disciples told what had happened on the road and how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread. 36 ¶ While they were talking about what had happened, Jesus stood among them. He said to them, "Peace be with you!" 37 They were terrified, and thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 He asked them, "Why are you afraid? Why do you have doubts? 39 Look at my hands and feet, and see that it’s really me. Touch me, and see for yourselves. Ghosts don’t have flesh and bones, but you can see that I do." 40 As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 The disciples were overcome with joy and amazement because this seemed too good to be true. Then Jesus asked them, "Do you have anything to eat?" 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish. 43 He took it and ate it while they watched him. 44 Then he said to them, "These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you. I told you that everything written about me in Moses’ Teachings, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to come true." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He said to them, "Scripture says that the Messiah would suffer and that he would come back to life on the third day. 47 Scripture also says that by the authority of Jesus people would be told to turn to God and change the way they think and act so that their sins will be forgiven. This would be told to people from all nations, beginning in the city of Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to these things. 49 "I’m sending you what my Father promised. Wait here in the city until you receive power from heaven." 50 ¶ Then Jesus took them to a place near Bethany. There he raised his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken to heaven. 52 The disciples worshiped him and were overjoyed as they went back to Jerusalem. 53 They were always in the temple, where they praised God.”
John 20:19-31 ESV “19 ¶ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld." 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "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." 26 ¶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Thursday, April 26 Internal Evidence: Part 2
Notice what early Christians went through when they spoke about Jesus.
Luke 21:16-17 ESV “16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.”
John 16:2 ASV “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.”
Paul refers to other witnesses that helped established people in the faith.
1 Corinthians 15:6 NIV “After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.”

Friday, April 27 Further Study
SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, p. 33 – “While the Dead Sea scrolls contain numerous linguistic variants, such as in spelling or grammatical form, for example, these differences are of such a minor nature that they are hardly apparent in any English translation of the scrolls if one compares their text with that of any of the other English Bible translations. The scrolls thus bear an eloquent witness to the faithful transmission of the Hebrew text through the many centuries of copying the Bible by hand. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has provided us therefore with proof that in the Old Testament we still possess the Bible of Jesus Christ in the same form He knew and recommended.”