After the great miracles of the Decapolis (the deaf-mute, the demoniac), a crowd of four thousand had followed Christ for three days into the Gentile country east of the Galilee, and had nothing to eat. Christ told the disciples: 'I have compassion on the crowd; if I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way; some have come a great distance.'
The disciples asked: 'Where could anyone get bread to feed these here in this desert place?' Christ asked: 'How many loaves do you have?' 'Seven, and a few small fish.' He commanded the crowd to sit on the ground, took the loaves, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute. All ate and were satisfied. Seven baskets of fragments were gathered. The episode is distinct from the better-known feeding of the five thousand — it is told in two separate Gospel locations (Matthew 15 and Mark 8) and Christ Himself refers to both feedings in Mark 8:19–20 to chide the apostles for their slowness.