One of the most common arguments I hear is this: “Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, so how can Christians say it is wrong?” I understand why people ask the question. As someone who experiences same sex attraction myself, the conversation around Jesus and homosexuality is not theoretical for me. If I built my beliefs around feelings alone, some things might feel easier. But my calling as a Christian is not to ask only what feels right to me. It is to ask what Jesus actually taught and whether I trust Him enough to follow Him.
Simply put: Jesus and homosexuality is not a debate about whether Jesus used one specific word. It is about what Jesus taught concerning marriage, sexual holiness, truth, repentance, and love.
Jesus and Homosexuality in Scripture
When people say Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, they are technically right in one narrow sense. Jesus did not use the specific word. But that does not mean Jesus said nothing about sexual ethics.
In Matthew 19, Jesus was asked about marriage and immediately pointed back to Genesis. He said God made humanity male and female and that a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh.
This matters because Jesus defined God’s design for marriage and sex. He did not need to list every forbidden sexual behavior if He already explained what marriage and sexual union were for.
If sex belongs inside the covenant of male and female marriage, then every form of sex outside that covenant falls outside God’s design, whether adultery, pornography, sex outside marriage, or same sex sexual relationships.
Jesus Constantly Affirmed Scripture
Another argument I hear is, “Only what Jesus said matters.”
But Jesus constantly appealed to Scripture.
When discussing marriage, He quoted Genesis. When summarizing the greatest commandments, He quoted the Old Testament commands to love God and love neighbor. In Matthew 5, Jesus said He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.
Christians cannot separate Jesus from the rest of Scripture because Jesus Himself constantly affirmed Scripture and taught from it.
Some people respond by pointing out that passages discussing same sex sexual behavior in the New Testament come primarily from Paul’s letters, such as Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6, and then argue, “But Paul was not Jesus.” That objection misses something important. Christians have historically understood the apostles as speaking with Christ’s authority. Jesus commissioned His apostles to teach in His name, Paul’s calling came through Christ, and even Peter referred to Paul’s writings alongside Scripture. Christians do not place Jesus against the apostles. We understand apostolic teaching as part of the faith Jesus entrusted to the church.
The question is not simply, “Did Jesus say this exact sentence?” The better question is: What did Jesus affirm, teach, and uphold about God’s design?
What About Leviticus and Shellfish?
Another common objection is this: “Christians ignore laws about shellfish or ritual purity, so why treat sexual ethics differently?”
The answer is that the New Testament itself helps explain the difference.
Christians believe certain ceremonial and dietary laws pointed to Israel’s covenant system and were fulfilled in Christ. Jesus declared foods clean, Peter later received a vision concerning clean and unclean foods, and the New Testament repeatedly teaches that ceremonial observances no longer define God’s people.
Sexual ethics are different because they are repeatedly reaffirmed. Jesus defined marriage, warned against sexual immorality, and called people to holiness. The apostles continued that teaching.
Christians are not arbitrarily keeping one Old Testament law while ignoring another. We are trying to read Scripture consistently and understand what God’s moral design continues to teach.
Sexual Immorality Meant Something
Jesus repeatedly warned against sexual immorality.
In Matthew 15 and Mark 7, He listed sexual immorality among the sins that come from the heart and defile a person. In the Jewish world Jesus lived in, sexual immorality was not undefined. It referred to sexual behavior outside the moral boundaries God had already established.
Jesus did not loosen God’s standards. In many ways, He raised them.
In Matthew 5, Jesus taught that lust itself mattered, not only behavior. He moved the conversation from outward actions to inward desires and motives.
That is important because Jesus never taught, “If something feels loving or authentic, it must be good.” He consistently called people toward holiness.
Did Jesus Mean “Do Not Judge”?
Many people also quote Jesus saying, “Do not judge,” as though Christians should never speak about sin at all.
But that is not what Jesus taught.
In Matthew 7, Jesus warned against hypocritical judgment. He said to remove the log from our own eye before helping remove the speck from someone else’s. Notice He did not say ignore the speck. He said examine yourself first.
Jesus also said in John 7 to “judge with right judgment.”
That means Christians are not called to self righteous condemnation. We are called to humility, honesty, and truth, beginning with ourselves.
Jesus Loved Sinners Without Redefining Sin
People often point to the woman at the well or the woman caught in adultery to argue that Jesus only cared about love and acceptance.
But those stories actually reveal something deeper.
Jesus treated broken people with dignity and compassion. He moved toward outsiders. He spoke with the Samaritan woman when others rejected her, yet He also acknowledged the truth of her situation, that she had multiple husbands and was living with a man who was not her husband.
When Jesus protected the woman caught in adultery from public condemnation, He also told her to “go and sin no more.”
Jesus consistently brought compassion and truth together.
Love did not mean pretending sin was not sin.
Scripture says love rejoices with the truth. Real love cares about someone’s spiritual good, not simply what feels affirming in the moment.
Taking Up Our Cross
For me, this conversation is personal.
I know what same sex attraction feels like. I know what longing feels like. I know what it means to wrestle with desires I did not choose. But following Jesus has forced me to ask a difficult question: do I trust my feelings most, or do I trust Christ most?
Jesus said His followers must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him. Every Christian surrenders something. Some surrender pride. Some surrender greed. Some surrender sexual desires. None of us follow Jesus without sacrifice.
What gives me hope is this: Jesus never called people to holiness because He wanted less for them. He called people to holiness because He loved them enough to lead them into truth, freedom, and deeper life in Him.
The real question is not whether Jesus used one specific word. The real question is whether we are willing to let Jesus define love, truth, repentance, and holiness on His terms instead of our own.
Arch Kennedy
Bold, Unfiltered, and Unafraid
Who Disciples Christians Called to Lifelong Celibacy?
Very interesting. Look at ourselves first.
Well written Truth.