At the Mass on the Mountain (Matt. 5) when Jesus turned bread into more bread, did He speak Latin or Aramaic?

Question

Just wondered, because Benedict XVI is bringing back Roman tradition.

Greek was the language of the educated. Remember how surprised when Paul spoke it to the Roman soldier. Aramaic was the common language; in fact, it is a known fact that Matthew wrote in Aramaic

The Mass was recorded in John 6:3
"And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.
6:4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.
6:5 When Jesus then lifted up [his] eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
6:6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
6:7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,
6:9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
6:10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.
6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to...

Answer 1

First, this is the "Sermon on the Mount", not "Mass on the Mountain". The first "Mass" Jesus celebrated w/ His disciples was "The Last Supper", right before His crucifixion. There was no breaking of bread or any ceremony involved here, so it would be inappropriate to call this a "Mass".

Second, this begins in Matt Ch5, but continues all the way through Ch7, so it is best to refer to the passage as "Mathew Ch 5-7".

Third, at this time Jesus did not "turn bread into more bread". This passage quoted a long, significant, and outstanding sermon made by Jesus, with some of his best-known and best-loved teachings. But at no time did he break or multiply bread in this passage.

I checked, and in Mathew there are two accounts of Jesus miraculously breaking small amounts of bread and producing enough to feed thousands of people:
(1) Math 14:13-21 (aka "The Feeding of the 5000")
(2) Math 15:30-38 (aka "The Feeding of the 4000")

And finally, to answer your original question, Jesus spoke Aramaic. He did not speak Latin at any time, to my knowledge. His teachings were translated into Latin by men at a later time.

Hope this is helpful.

Answer 2

During the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus did not perform any miracles so he did not turn bread into more bread. Jesus' language would have consisted of mostly Aramaic with some Hebrew and Greek.
And there is a huge difference between the Sermon on the Mount and a Mass.

Answer 3

I assume you are refering to the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000, which is in Matthew, Chapter 14: vv 16-21, or the miracle of the Feeding of the 4,000, which is in Matthew, Chapter 15: vv 32-38.
Matthew Chapter 5 is the start of the Sermon on the Mount, which runs from Chapter 5 v 1 through to Chapter 7 v 28. During the Sermon on the Mount there was no recorded event to do with bread. However there was a lot of excellent advice on how to live a good life. More people should read it through, in full, and try to live up to it.
As to being in Latin or Aramaic, the answer is obvious, at least to me. The chances of Jesus knowing some Latin, living in an occupied land, is plausible, but for everyday use, talking to fellow Israelites, what would you think is likely???
Since you wrote in English, I feel obligated to point out that the correct spelling of SAVIOUR is with an OUR at the end, since that is the truth. Only the Americans, who never learn anything properly, spell it the way you did. NOTE: savior is the WRONG way to spell SAVIOUR.
Just a thought occurs to me. Since you are NOT a Catholic, why does it matter to you what the Pope does. The only reason for the encouragement of Latin is to have a language that the whole Catholic Church can use to talk around the whole world. I would suggest that you, after learning English correctly, study Latin and Greek, then read the Bible and get your quotes correct as well. GOD bless you.

Answer 4

Matt. 5 contains the Sermon on the Mount, not the "multiplication of loaves." Neither of these events would be referred to as a "Mass." Their would be considered "pre-figures" of the Mass. The first Mass is considered to be the Last Supper and Crucifixion as continuous event.

FYI: the term "Mass" comes from the closing of the liturgy in Latin.

Answer 5

Ah, nice question. I guess He spoke in Aramaic , since He liked to speak directly to people and in the way they knew. That's why He spoke much in parables. I guess He also knew Greek . When He was lost during the Passover when He went to the temple with His *parents* , those who He was talking with were amazed at His knowlege. Secrets of the Book were all written in Greek.

Good Luck!!

Answer 6

Jesus' spoke Aramaic, the common language of Galilee during his lifetime. Aramaic was an ancient Semitic language related to Hebrew much as French is related to Spanish or as Cantonese is related to Mandarin

Answer 7

Jesus doesn't turn bread into more bread in Matthew 5.

Edit: I believe I would argue that John 6 and Matthew 5 are not the same event.

Answer 8

I would place money on Aramaic. In my opinion, the attendants at the sermon were mostly Aramaic speakers so it would make sense that Jesus spoke that language.

Answer 9

No way of knowing for sure. Some in his audience would have spoken Hebrew, some may have understood Greek, Jesus being aware of those in his audience, may have spoken to them in Greek so that they all could understand.
The Christian Greek Scriptures are recorded for us in Greek for the benefit of the known world at that time.

Answer 10

No idea what language he spoke but it wouldn't have been Latin. Ordinary people in those days (apart from Romans, of course) would not have spoken Latin.