By Donald L. Hughes

A Christian friend of mine raises an eyebrow at every unmarried male over 30 she encounters and says, "He must be gay." It's not a very charitable remark, but one that crosses the minds of many in our culture.

Jesus passed through puberty during his earthly sojourn, and was 33 years old when he died on the cross. Undoubtedly, some raised their eyebrow at him wondering about his sexuality. After all, he wasn't married as most in his culture were at that time in their lives. He had some women friends who were allegedly known to be prostitutes, but more troubling to some perhaps was the fact that he seemed to hang out with guys all the time.

Was Jesus sexually active? The question is being asked again as a result of the popularity of the novel The Di Vinci Code, but it a very old question that has been debated over the past 2,000 years. The only reliable source of information we have is the Bible, and it records some interesting information about the kind of relationships Jesus had with various types of people. As we examine these relationships we'll try to come to some conclusions about his sexuality.