We have already pointed out that Jesus' upbringing took place in Nazareth, a small, isolated town. The absence of major educational institutions nearby led us to assert that nothing predisposed Jesus to learn Greek, a language reserved mainly for the elites of Jerusalem.
However, one question remains: how could Jesus the Messiah converse with the Roman authorities without an interpreter? The Gospels report several dialogues between Jesus the Messiah and Pilate, given that these spoke Greek.
Did the conversation with the Roman officer mentioned in Matthew 8.5) take place in Greek? On several occasions, Jesus the Messiah spoke with foreigners. Did he use Greek in those exchanges?
Pilate, invested with Roman authority and showing little affection for the Jewish people, the main holder of power in this region, would probably not have used Aramaic to communicate with Jesus the Messiah. He would rather have preferred to call on an interpreter to mark the distinction between his world and that of Jesus the Messiah. Yet the presence of a translator is never mentioned in the texts of the Gospels.
Is it possible that a teacher passed on the basics of Greek in Nazareth? We know that Jesus possessed remarkable intelligence, and it is entirely plausible that he mastered this language.
To answer the question of whether Jesus spoke Greek, no formal evidence states it, but the events of the Gospels we have just mentioned strongly suggest that it was probable. It is also conceivable that the trade of carpenter, probably practiced in the city of Sepphoris, required Joseph and his sons to use Greek. We will return to this hypothesis.