In the fourth place, among the miracles of Jesus we see some that were intended to teach us his power to—­PROTECT—­his people.

And there is no lesson that we more need to be taught than this; because we are exposed to many dangers, from which we are too weak to protect ourselves.

One day, Jesus went into the house of the apostle Peter, and found the family in great distress, because the mother of Peter’s wife was very ill and in danger of dying.  We judge from the history that she was the head of the family.  Her death would have been a great loss to them all, and yet it seemed as if no human power could protect them from that loss.  But Jesus performed a miracle to save them from this threatened danger.  He went into the room where she lay.  He put his healing hands upon her, and at once she was well.  Immediately she rose up from that sick bed, and took her place in the family and waited on Jesus.

On another occasion he was crossing the sea of Galilee with his disciples.  Weary with the work of love in which he had been engaged, he laid down in the hinder part of the ship and fell asleep.  While he was lying there a sudden storm burst upon the sea.  The wind howled in its fury.  The angry waves rose in their might and dashed against the vessel in hissing foam.  The ship was full of water, and in danger of sinking.  The terrified disciples came to their sleeping Master with the earnest cry:—­“Lord save us:  we perish.”  He heard their cry.  He rose at once.  Quietly he took his stand by the side of the storm-tossed vessel.  He rebuked the winds, and said unto the sea:—­” Peace:  be still.”  They recognized their Master’s voice and obeyed.  “The wind ceased, and immediately there was a great calm.”

As long as those disciples lived they never would forget the lesson he taught them by that miracle of his power to protect in danger.

And then many of the miracles of our Saviour were performed for the purpose of showing what power he had to protect his people from Satan, and the evil spirits that serve him.  It pleased God to allow these evil spirits to have more power over men during the time when Jesus was on earth than they had before, or than they have now.  We often read in the gospels of men who were “possessed of devils.”  This means that the evil spirits entered into the bodies of these men, and used them as their own; just as you, or I, might go into an empty house, and use it as if it belonged to us.  But Jesus performed a number of miracles to show that he was able to control those spirits; to cast them out of the bodies of men and to protect his people from their power.  We have an account of one of these miracles in St. Matt, viii:  28, 34; of another in St. Mark v:  1-20; and of another in St. Luke viii:  26-39.