While Jesus was tired and grieving, he had compassion on the crowd. Not only did this compassion lead him to speak good news to them, but his compassion led to feeding and nourishing their bodies as well as their souls. But Jesus chose to do this in a powerful way, by inviting the people into the miracle. The food came from among the crowd, the act of service and distribution from the disciples, and the power from God.
In Matthew 14 we look at an iconic scene where Jesus walks on water to meet his disciples as they rowed across the sea in a storm. How could he defy physics in such a way? Jesus was displaying the full power of the Creator, in the flesh of a man. And what’s perhaps even crazier is that he invites a regular human to come and follow him out there.
In Matthew 9 we get a highlight reel of Jesus performing miracles, and the faith of the people who come to him for it. The people recorded are diverse and come from different places in society, but one thing they have in common is they have a great need and they recognize Jesus as the one who can meet it.
