Mark 8:4

4 His disciples replied, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?"

Mark 8:4 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 8:4

And his disciples answered him
The Syriac version renders it, "say unto him"; and the Persic and Ethiopic, "said unto him"; forgetting the late miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, when they had now a less number, and more provisions:

from whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the
wilderness?
from what place, and by what ways and means can it be thought, that such a quantity of bread can be got at any rate in a desert, as to satisfy so large a number of hungry men? (See Gill on Matthew 15:33).

Mark 8:4 In-Context

2 "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance."
4 His disciples replied, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?"
5 He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven."
6 Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.