In recasting his life from the meagre data at hand his biographers ascribed to him all of the miracles told of Elijah and Elisha--feeding the multitude with a few loaves, curing the sick, reviving the dead and being transported to heaven. _Teachings of Jesus_: He taught nothing heretical or startlingly new; he preferred to emphasize the old. The phrases of "the Lord's Prayer" are biblical; the Beatitudes (a group of Blessings in the New Testament) are rabbinic; his communistic views, those of the Essene school. The chief source of his teachings was the _Didache_, i.e., a summary of the Faith used by the Synagogue for proselytes. It contained the _Shema_ followed by "Thou shalt love the Lord God, etc.;" love thy neighbor as thyself--Hillel's Golden Rule; the Ten Commandments; a disquisition on "the two ways"--right and wrong. He followed the rabbis in teaching largely by _Mashal_--parable. Even the form "Ye have heard, etc., but I will go further yet, etc.," is rabbinic. _The Crucifixion_: The reasons why the death of Jesus should not be attributed to the Jews, may be summarized as follows. (See _Jewish Encyclopedia_, vol. iv.) Crucifixion was not a Jewish, but a Roman method of capital punishment. Prior to the open rebellion against Rome, 30-66 C. E., many Jews were crucified as rebels, and on very meagre evidence. A Messiah in its eyes was a rebel; the inscription placed on the cross was "King of the Jews." "The mode and manner of Jesus' death undoubtedly point to Roman custom and law as the directive power," though Jews may have administered a soothing cup to lessen the suffering. None of the well established measures of precaution were taken that always preceded a Jewish execution. It is very doubtful whether Jewish law would tolerate a three-fold execution at one time. A Jewish execution on Friday is almost impossible. If Jesus died on Nissan 14, the execution on the eve of a festival would be irregular. If on Nissan 15 (Passover), the execution could not be held. There is no corroboration of the custom to liberate a condemned person on account of a holiday. Read _As Others Saw Him_, Joseph Jacobs; Macmillan. _Jesus of Nazareth_, Schlesinger. Albany. _Cradle of the Christ_, Frothingham. _The Religious Teaching of Jesus_, C. G. Montefiore, Macmillan, 1910. Matthew, Mark and Luke are called Synoptic Gospels as distinct from the Gospel of John, a later and more doctrinal work. _Theme for discussion_: Why cannot Jesus be accepted by the Synagogue to-day? CHAPTER XVI. THE ALEXANDRIAN SCHOOL. Jew and Greek.