But when he came he found man
so low down in the darkness of ignorance, so stupid and slow to open
his eyes, so benumbed by the chilling power of the love of self, so
infested and possessed by evil spirits of hell, that but little
impression could be made upon him, except such as could be felt and
seen by means of his bodily senses.

These statements, which are true, account for the miracles wrought by
the Lord. In working them, however, he had a two-fold purpose. The
first was to arouse the people from their dormant state to one of
consciousness that a Being of superior power was among them. This they
were made to feel by his healing touch, his cleansing hand, and his
life-restoring virtue. And what was the effect of all this? It had
very much the same effect in one way that kindness toward children in
the way of giving them little presents, and gentleness and tenderness
in the way of gratifying their bodily desires and wishes, has upon
them. They love the one who treats them in such ways. Now, the Lord
healed the people. He healed all that came to him, of whatever bodily
ill they were suffering. He fed them, too, and did it all so lovingly
that they believed him to be the best and most powerful Friend they
had ever known. They followed him in throngs. They felt secure, bodily
secure and safe when they were with him. But we must not forget that
they followed him, not on account of the words he had spoken to them,
the instructions he had imparted, but "for the loaves and the fishes."
We almost instinctively say, in our meditations upon these things:
What a pity they could not discover in him something higher to believe
in and love than the mere power and will to heal their bodily ills and
minister to their bodily wants! This strong faith in his power and
readiness to minister in a miraculous way to their external, worldly
enjoyments and comforts is what led them to try to take him by force
and make him their king. Having now given you his first object in
working miracles, I turn to the second.

Here a great field for thought opens to our view, from which a volume
could be written. Every miracle the Lord wrought, just like every
parable he spoke, has a double line of truth, an inner and an outer
sense. These are related to each other as the soul and body are
related. Jesus says: "My words are spirit, and they are life." His
miracles, when rightly understood, are the same. "They are spirit and
they are life." Their spir