Catholic Bible Study Augustine Institute

The early church is not silent on the authorship of the Gospels. From the earliest members of the Christian faith, the early Church Fathers, we learn how well-attested it was that the Gospels are in fact written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Can we trust the Gospels? Were these accounts written by individuals with firsthand knowledge of Jesus Christ? Dr. Brant Pitre begins this series by examining why the Gospels are reliable sources of information about Jesus and by looking at the historical evidence that backs up this claim.

As the study comes to the end, we pause to reflect on some questions that have arisen during our journey through Mark's Gospel.

Those mocking Jesus at the foot of the Cross are silenced when he utters a single sentence. As Jesus breathes his last and the Temple veil is torn, Mark records the words uttered by the Roman centurion, words which signal that God's people will finally see, hear and understand.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus's hour finally arrives—the hour of betrayal and suffering, but also the hour of salvation and glory. Christ the King will be falsely accused, mocked, and tortured, but he will ascend the throne of the Cross and draw the whole world into his reign of love.

The Temple in Jerusalem was God's glorious dwelling with his chosen people, but it was only a house made by human hands. Jesus proclaims a new Temple, not made with hands, that surpasses the stone building in Jerusalem. Jesus gives himself to us and to dwell in our hearts, anticipating the day that we will dwell with him in Heaven.