It has been asserted by some that the Bible account of a centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant shows that Jesus accepted homosexuality. The story is recorded in two gospels, Matthew and Luke.
Matthew 8:5 doesn’t give any description of how the centurion felt about his servant, but simply says, “there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lies in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.”
Luke 7:2 adds that the servant was dear to him, “And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick and at the point of death.”
The idea of a homosexual relationship is inferred by some people from the Greek word translated as “dear,” so this word “entimos,” deserves further study. It is an adjective meaning “held in honor, prized, or precious.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance #1784)
Paul used a similar word in Philippians 2:29 to describe Epaphroditus, whom he called “my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier.” Peter used it in 1 Peter 2:4-6 in quoting the Isaiah 28:16 description of Christ as the chief cornerstone. Jesus used the same word in Luke 14:8 in telling the religious leaders not to exalt themselves and take the best places, lest a more honorable man come along.
None of these usages indicate anything other than friendship. History does tell us that many Romans practiced homosexuality, but there is no indication that this centurion was one of them. But supposing that he and his servant were, in fact, homosexual, would Christ healing him indicate an acceptance of homosexuality? That would also mean that Christ accepted slavery, that He accepted adultery and other sins of people with whom He interacted. Christ healed and blessed many sinners (because everyone is a sinner). He loved every sinner, but He never approved of their sins.
An even more outrageous claim by people seeking to justify homosexuality is that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of hospitality (or lack thereof), not homosexuality. This conclusion can only be reached by someone who seeks their own conclusions, not the truth of Scripture.
Sodom is mentioned repeatedly throughout the Scriptures as an example of a very sinful place. Anyone who honestly reads the account of Genesis 19 cannot reach any conclusion other than that the men of Sodom wanted to forcefully have sex with the male angels. Jude 7 makes clear that perverted sexual immorality was the sin of Sodom.
Sexual purity is important because it represents our relationship with God. The church is called the bride of Christ. A bride is expected to remain pure and faithful to her spouse, just as Christians should strive to be pure and faithful to God. Jesus reiterated God’s expectations in Matthew 19:4-6, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
All sin is rebellion against God, whether it is a sin of the flesh, a sin of covetousness, or a sin of pride. Satan is the father of lies and the author of confusion. He constantly uses those things to try to make people think that evil is good and good is evil.