What did Jesus think or say about "the sin of homosexuality?"
Nothing. This word sums up Jesus's thoughts about the "sin of homosexuality" within the Bible. Jesus never chastises someone for being homosexual, never condemns homosexuality, never supports homosexuality, and never mentions homosexuality in his teachings. Obviously, homosexuals existed in Jesus's time. Granted, any Jews who had homosexual feelings would have probably felt oppressed, and they most likely would not have come forward or even dreamed of following their true sexuality for fear of being killed and/or ostracized by society, as stated in Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV.. However, Jesus, who knew the thoughts and feelings of everyone, never condemns the "sin of homosexuality."
Jesus encountered Gentiles during his travels, and they may have been more likely then Jews to practice homosexuality. In fact, in Luke 7:2-10 and Matt. 8:5-13 Jesus encounters a centurion, who was a Roman officer most likely in charge of about a hundred soldiers.1 The centurion was a Gentile, although he monetarily supported Jews. Suprisingly, Jesus rarely speaks out against fornication in general, although he does condemn adultery. If the "sin of homosexuality" was such a huge evil for Christians to avoid and "speak out against," then why didn't Jesus ever address it?
Jesus is silent about His support or condemnation of the sin of homosexuality. What can we make of this? Homosexuality was fervently disallowed in the Jewish law, and, thus, there were most likely no homosexuals for Jesus to address. A Jew would most likely not admit to being a homosexual for fear of being ostracized from society or put to death, as in Lev. 20:13"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them" Lev. 20:13 ESV.. Jesus teachings resulted from questions asked of Him or circumstances that he encountered, and Jesus was never presented with the question of whether or not homosexuality is a sin, since it was rare for a Jew to be a homosexual during Jesus's time. Thus, even though Jesus is silent on the matter of whether or not homosexuality is a sin, we know that Jesus's silence does not include acceptance of homosexuality.
We know that Jesus addressed issues of sexual immorality and lust between married men and women, as stated in Matt. 5:27-30"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.
For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell" Matt. 5:27-30 ESV., Matt. 19:4-6"He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate" Matt. 19:4-6 ESV., and Matt. 19:9"And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery" Matt. 19:9 ESV.. His interpretation of the moral code was actually stricter than the Old Testament interpretation of the code, such as when Jesus instructs married men who look lustfully at another woman to pluck out their right eye if their eye is causing them to sin (Matt. 5:27-30"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell" Matt. 5:27-30 ESV.). Thus, one can imagine that if that topic of homosexuality had been mentioned to Jesus, he would have condemned it as well.
Furthermore, even though Jesus doesn't explicitly condemn same-sex marriages, He supports marriage between a man and a woman (not marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman). In Matt. 19:4-6"He answered, 'Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?" So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate'" Matt. 19:4-6 ESV., Jesus states recognizes that God made Adam and Eve for each other and that it is only natural for men and women to marry each other in order to create children. Jesus also upholds the importance of children, as He states in Matt. 19:14"(B)ut Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" Matt. 19:14 ESV. that children belong in heaven. Thus, through Jesus's inference, we know that only marriage between a man and a woman is sanctioned within the Bible, and, since Jesus's interpretation of the Torah's moral code was very strict, we know that Jesus would not have accepted homosexuality.
Jesus states in his second greatest commandment in Matt. 22:37-40"And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets" Matt. 22:37-40 ESV. that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. When we, as Christians, promote discrimination and prejudice against a certain group of people who do not present a threat to society, unlike rapists, thieves, murderers, and pedophiles who do pose a threat, we are not fulfilling Jesus's second greatest commandment, and we are most certainly not bringing anyone closer to Christ. Furthermore, when we, as Christians, promote discrimination and prejudice against fellow monogamous homosexual Christians who live an alternative, but holy, lifestyle, we are promoting intolerance among ourselves. We face God's harsh judgment as stated in Matt. 5:22"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire" Matt. 5:22 ESV., and we are not following Jesus's second greatest commandment.
At any rate, many Christians feel that it is their "Christian duty" to speak out against the "sin of homosexuality." They cite biblical sources, such as John 7:24"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment" John 7:24 ESV. and Matt. 18:15-18"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" Matt. 18:15-18 ESV., which encourage Christians to judge others. However, they not only speak out against their belief that homosexuality is a sin, but they support discrimination and prejudice against homosexuals, such as by promoting "conversion therapy" (a.k.a. reparative therapy) for minors who are often forced by their parents to undergo such therapy,2 and they support laws, such as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which discriminate against homosexuals and their civil rights, and they support businesses and organizations which discriminate against homosexuals by providing funding to anti-gay organizations.3 Unfortunately, when these Christians promote discrimination, they are failing to see their own hypocrisy: When did Jesus ever support discrimination against marginalized people?, and they fail to heed Jesus's warning in Matt. 7:1-5"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye" Matt. 7:1-5 ESV..
It is our Christian duty to speak out against injustice and sin, both of which are often tied together, as Jesus states in John 7:24"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment" John 7:24 ESV. and Matt. 18:15-18"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" Matt. 18:15-18 ESV.. However, we must do so in a loving way. Since homosexuality is a sin, Christians can't be silent about it and "just accept it." Instead, we must counsel and help those who are homosexual, and encourage them to follow a life of celibacy.
Moreover, just as Jesus promoted marriage exclusively between a man and woman in Matt. 19:4-6"He answered, 'Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?" So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate'" Matt. 19:4-6 ESV., we, as Christians, have a duty to uphold the sanctity of marriage as well. If Christians allow the sancity of marriage to become blemished by accepting same-sex marriages, then this indiscretion opens the door for other moral evils to creep into our lives. Next, Christians will be expected to accept polygamous marriages or bestiality. Thus, it is a Christian's duty to speak out against this sin in a loving manner, since we are to follow Jesus's example by hating the sin and not the sinner.
1Leske, 1998, p. 1283 Return
2Bryan, A. 2012, Dec. 23 Return
3In 2012, Chik-Fil-A's president, Dan Cathy, stated that Chik-Fil-A gives money to organizatios that support heterosexual marriages, and these organizations are considered "anti-gay." Homosexuals and people who disagreed with Chik-Fil-A's political stance boycotted the Chik-Fil-A franchise. The Christian community responded by organizing a specific day in which they flocked to Chik-Fil-A to buy their food, thereby showing their support for Chik-Fil-A's monetary donations to the groups which discriminate against LGBT people. A couple of months later, the media reported that Chik-Fil-A's president had agreed to stop funding these groups. However, at the time of this writing, it is currently unknown if Chik-Fil-A's president has honored this promise (Gray, 2012, Sep. 24). Return
4"ῥακα." A Greek-English Lexicon, 1940 & "ῥακα." An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, 1889 Return
5"ῥακα." Strong, 1995/1996, Greek section p. 78-79, entry 4469 Return
6"rêyq." Strong, 1995/1996, Hebrew section p. 132, entry 7386 Return
In Matt. 5:22 KJV, Jesus states, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Interestingly, Jesus uses the term "Raca" (ῥακά or rhaka) as a derogatory term in Matt. 5:22"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" Matt. 5:22 KJV., and the King James Bible Version retains the term in its scripture. Unfortunately, the true meaning of this word is unknown as it is not used anywhere else in the Bible or in ancient Greek writings (see ῥακά in A Greek-English Lexicon and see ῥακά in An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon).4 According to Strong's Concordance, ῥακά means "O empty one, that is, thou worthless (as a term of utter vilification): - Raca."5 It is believed to be of Chaldee origin related to the Hebrew word rake or rêyq, which means "empty; fig. worthless:-emptied (-ty), vain (fellow, man)."6 Some scholars try to tie ῥακά with Paul's usage of the word malakos, translated as "effeminate," in 1 Cor. 6:9"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind . . ." 1 Cor. 6:9 KJV., and they suggest that in Matt. 5:22"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" Matt. 5:22 KJV. Jesus was chastising Christians who refer to other Christians out of anger as "effeminate;" however, this connection is probably tangential, at best.
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By: L. Jelle