Common Objection #25- "Jesus never said anything about homosexuality."

The person who makes this objection most often is implying that because Jesus didn't specifically address homosexuality, then it must be okay.  There are a number of problems with this assertion.

First, Jesus never specifically mentioned bestiality or incest either.  Are people who use the "only if Jesus specifically addressed it" standard prepared to say that bestiality and incest are okay as well?

Second, as Melinda Penner of Stand to Reason points out, Jesus has plenty to say about homosexuality:

"...Jesus said something in Leviticus 18:22-23, 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9, and 1 Timothy 1:10.

The Bible’s view of the Bible is that it is God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, 'All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.' Jesus is God, therefore all of the Bible is His Word, not just the parts in red in the four Gospels.

Jesus spoke about everything from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21. And that includes anything in the 66 books about homosexuality." [1]

Finally, it is important to understand that Jesus did not address every single immoral behavior.  He addressed the issues that He was asked about or that came up in conversation.  However, we can be confident about what Jesus would have said if He would have been asked directly about homosexuality because we know He was an observant Jew living under the Old Covenant and was therefore bound by the Mosaic Law.  As speaker and apologist Alan Shlemon notes:

"...He often referenced it (e.g. Jesus references the two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:37, 39). Therefore, if He was asked what He thought about homosexuality, He would have cited the Levitical prohibitions (Leviticus 18:20 and 20:13) that unequivocally state that homosexual behavior is a sin." [2]

So it seems that the claim "Jesus never said anything about homosexuality" at best proves nothing and at worst is simply false.

Checkout our other "Common Objection" responses here.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Footnote:
1. Melinda Penner, What Jesus Said about Homosexuality, April 7, 2015.
2. Alan Shlemon, Jesus Didn't Say Anything about Homosexuality, May 5, 2013.

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