<p>15:31&nbsp;<em>So much so that the crowd wondered</em>- They had struggled to carry those sick and handicapped folk up a mountainside, casting them down in exhaustion at the Lord&rsquo;s feet (see on :30). Surely they did so because they believed. Precisely what they hoped and prayed for was given- hence the record labours the point that the dumb&nbsp;<em>spoke</em>, the blind&nbsp;<em>saw</em>, the lame&nbsp;<em>walked</em>, the maimed were&nbsp;<em>made whole</em>. And yet when they saw the fulfilment of what they had hoped and prayed for, they &ldquo;wondered&rdquo;. Rather like the believers praying for Peter&rsquo;s release and then being amazed when he appeared at the door. We can genuinely believe and even act according to that faith, and yet not have the faith which calmly envisages the answer as having effectively been already given.&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>When they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel</em>- The implication is therefore that these were Gentiles. The Lord therefore broke His bread with non-Jews; see digression on 14:20.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The account of the feeding of the 4000 is very similar to that of the feeding of the 5000. Therefore see notes on 14:14-21.</p>