Catholic Bible Study – Lectio The Case for Jesus: The Early Church Fathers

Host: Augustine Institute
Date: February 15, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Augustine Institute’s Dr. Brant Pitre (referred to as "A") dives into the external evidence for the authorship and reliability of the Gospels by focusing on the testimony of the Early Church Fathers. Building on the previous session’s analysis of the internal evidence from within the Gospels, this discussion explores what the earliest post-apostolic Christian writers—those just one or two generations removed from Jesus—actually said about who wrote the Gospels, why that matters, and addresses challenges from skeptics about "lost" or "apocryphal" gospels. The episode highlights the unequivocal and geographically widespread consensus of these early Christian leaders and how even ancient critics and heretics confirmed the traditional four-fold Gospel authorship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why the Early Church Fathers Matter (00:02–06:50)

• Many assume the only ancient Christian writings available are in the New Testament; Dr. Pitre introduces the Fathers—writers like Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian—who lived in the generations immediately after the apostles.
• The Church Fathers’ proximity to the apostolic era gives their testimony strong historical value regarding which texts are considered reliable.
• Skeptical theories claim the Gospels are “anonymous” or evolved like a game of telephone—Dr. Pitre challenges this by highlighting the Fathers’ unanimous testimony.

2. The Unanimous Testimony of the Fathers (06:50–16:10)

• The geographic diversity of early testimonies (spanning Turkey, Palestine, France, Egypt) is emphasized as evidence for widespread agreement in an era plagued with many controversies but not this one.
• Quote (Dr. Pitre, 07:22):
  “They are completely unanimous in attributing Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John … it’s very crucial because everything else we’re going to do in this Bible study about who Jesus is … has to first rest on the foundation of the principal witnesses to him in those four Gospels.”

3. Direct Quotes from Early Church Fathers (16:10–31:58)

• Papias of Hierapolis (c. 130 AD, Asia Minor) (16:37):

  • Describes Mark as “Peter’s interpreter” who “wrote down accurately everything he remembered,” not as an eyewitness but as Peter’s scribe.
  • Quote (16:53):
    “Mark, having become Peter’s interpreter, wrote down accurately everything he remembered, though not in order of the things either said or done by Christ … he made it his one concern not to omit anything that he heard or make any false statement in them.”

• Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (late 2nd century, France) (21:25):

  • Outlines the order and circumstances of the Gospel writings: Matthew among the Hebrews, Mark as Peter’s disciple in Rome, Luke with Paul, John in Ephesus.
  • Quote (23:10):
    “Matthew also issued a written gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect … Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter … John, the disciple of the Lord, … did himself publish a gospel during his residence at Ephesus.”

• Clement of Alexandria (Egypt, late 2nd–early 3rd century) (27:45):

  • Provides context for Mark’s Gospel emerging from community demand for a written record of Peter’s teachings, with Peter’s approval.
  • Quote (27:54):
    “With all kinds of exhortations, they begged Mark, whose Gospel is extant since he was Peter’s follower, to leave behind a written record of the teaching given to them verbally … Thus they became the immediate cause of the Scripture entitled the Gospel according to Mark.”
  • On Matthew and John:
    “Of all those who had been with the Lord, only Matthew and John left us their recollections … John was asked to relate in his own Gospel the period passed over in silence by the former evangelists.” (30:48)

4. Explaining the Differences Among Gospels (31:58–37:58)

• John’s Gospel contains “new” material to supplement the synoptics, as the Fathers explain—e.g., the Wedding at Cana, Woman at the Well, Bread of Life discourse.
• Addressing skeptical claims about discrepancies, the Church Fathers saw them as complementary, not contradictory.
• The order of the Gospels in the New Testament canon reflects the traditional sequence the Fathers held regarding their composition.

5. Skepticism & Ancient Pagan Critics (37:58–43:22)

• Even hostile pagan critics like Celsus (quoted via Origen) accepted that the Gospels were written by Jesus’ disciples, but accused them of fabricating claims, not of anonymity.
• Quote from Celsus (as read by Origen, 40:15):
  “The disciples of Jesus … devised the fiction that he foreknew everything before it happened. The disciples of Jesus wrote such accounts … by way of extenuating the charges that told against him.”

6. The “Lost Gospels”: What About Thomas, Judas, Mary Magdalene? (43:22–57:10)

• Dr. Pitre discusses so-called “apocryphal” or “lost” gospels, such as Thomas, Judas, and others, clarifying:
  • They were written centuries after the apostolic era—e.g., Gospel of Judas (~180 AD), Gospel of Thomas (2nd century).
  • Even secular scholars see them as forgeries, not genuine apostolic testimony.
  • Their contents are often theologically and historically absurd or fantastical.
• Notable Moment (51:00): Dr. Pitre humorously reads from the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, describing a wrathful boy Jesus with magical powers, highlighting why such tales failed to be received by the Church or serious scholars.

7. How Did the Church Respond to These “Lost” Gospels? (57:10–60:55)

• Ancient Christians were already aware of these writings and uniformly rejected them.
• Quote from Eusebius (4th century, Church History Book 3) (58:45):
  “There are writings which are put forward by heretics under the name of apostles, containing gospels such as those of Peter and Thomas. To none of these has any who ever belonged to the ecclesiastical teachers ever thought it right to refer in his writings … [they are] the forgeries of heretics.”

Memorable Quotes

• On modern skepticism:
  “Do the early church fathers sound to you like the Gospels were written anonymously … a telephone game …? Is there any external evidence for that theory? Well, no.” (36:35)
• On the "Infancy Gospel of Thomas":
  “Don’t mess with Jesus on the playground, right? That’s the message of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas.” (51:48)
• On the purpose of showing these sources:
  “It’s important for you to see the evidence for yourself. I don’t want you to just take my word for it. I want you to actually hear the voices, the testimony of these ancient Christian writers.” (14:35)

Key Timestamps

• 00:02–06:50: Introduction & overview of internal vs external evidence, introducing the early Fathers
• 16:10–31:58: Direct reading and discussion of quotes from Papias, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria
• 37:58–43:22: Refuting the escape-hatch: “Of course Christians would say that!”—Examining heretic and pagan perspectives
• 43:22–57:10: Examination of apocryphal/lost gospels, their origins, content, and reasons for rejection
• 58:45–60:55: Eusebius on why these gospels never gained traction in the Church

Conclusion

Dr. Pitre wraps up by affirming that both internal and external evidence—anchored in the unanimous voice of the earliest Christian witnesses—support the traditional claims about the four Gospels’ authorship. None of the alternative or apocryphal gospels can bear the same historical scrutiny, either in dating or content, and both ancient Christians and critics alike confirmed the canonical four were composed by eyewitnesses or their direct companions. The next session will address whether the Gospels are “fact or fiction.”

This episode offers a clear, thorough, and engaging defense of the historical reliability of the Gospel authors based on the testimony of both Christian and non-Christian sources from antiquity.