The Death Penalty: A Biblical and Historical Examination

Bible Believing Christian
Sep 10
10 min read

Updated: Oct 23

The Death Penalty: A Biblical and Historical Examination

A New Covenant Perspective on Life, Justice, and the Gospel

Few issues provoke sharper disagreement among Christians than capital punishment. Some argue that Scripture commands death for certain crimes and that justice requires it today. Others insist that the gospel of Jesus Christ abolishes the death penalty and replaces it with a radically new ethic. In order to reach a faithful conclusion, we must look closely at Scripture’s covenantal storyline, the teachings of Jesus, the practice of the apostolic church, and the historical witness of early Christianity. The core question is not social or political but deeply theological: under the New Covenant, are disciples of Jesus authorized to take a life in the name of divine justice?

The Covenant of Moses and Capital Punishment

There is no ambiguity that the Mosaic Law contained numerous death penalties. Murder demanded death (Exodus 21:12). Adultery, likewise, carried capital consequences (Leviticus 20:10). Idolatry required execution by stoning (Deuteronomy 13:6–10). Blasphemy was punishable by death (Leviticus 24:16). The legal system of ancient Israel included the principle often called lex talionis — “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Exodus 21:23–25; cf. Leviticus 24:19–20; Deuteronomy 19:21). This was not an invitation to private vengeance but the state’s legal authority to take life in response to certain sins.

But Scripture is equally clear that the Law, while holy and good, was temporary and specifically tied to the covenant of Israel. Paul writes that, “The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ… but now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:24–25). The same covenant that commanded executions also mandated temple sacrifices, dietary laws, and circumcision. The church rightly recognizes those categories have been fulfilled and set aside in Christ. If Christ fulfilled the ceremonies, He also fulfilled the civil penalties attached to them. The Law’s system of judicial death pointed beyond itself — to the One who would bear death for all.

Jesus and the End of “Eye for Eye” Justice

The decisive transformation comes not from later Christian reflection but from the lips of Jesus Himself. In the Sermon on the Mount, He addresses the exact Old Testament texts that undergird capital punishment. He says: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person” (Matthew 5:38–39). Jesus is not merely offering a moral ideal; He is issuing a covenantal command to His disciples.

The lex talionis did not simply address minor injury. In its primary legal context, it included “life for life” — literal execution for violent loss of life. By explicitly overturning this principle as normative for His followers, Jesus terminates retaliation — both personal and penal — as the hallmark of God’s kingdom people. Retaliatory justice is replaced with forgiveness. Capital punishment is replaced with the cross.

When Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person” (Matthew 5:38–39, NASB), He was not softening the Mosaic law — He was overriding its civil function. The lex talionis (“law of retaliation”) formed the backbone of Israel’s justice system, establishing proportionate retribution — and it unquestionably included the death penalty (life for life — Exodus 21:23). But in Matthew 5, Jesus sets Himself as the authority above Moses, completing the law’s purpose by introducing a new ethic: mercy instead of vengeance.

The context makes this clear. Each of Jesus’ “You have heard… but I say to you” statements dismantles a portion of the old civil-religious code — murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retribution — replacing it with a kingdom principle rooted in grace. He is not interpreting Moses; He is superseding him. Under the new covenant, personal vengeance and state-administered execution no longer define righteousness. The cross itself — where the innocent dies for the guilty — becomes the ultimate contradiction to “eye for eye.” The penalty of death is not enforced; it is absorbed.

To insist the death penalty remains divinely mandated after this teaching is to miss that Jesus fulfilled the law by bearing its penalty, not perpetuating it. The lex talionis was not wrong — it was preparatory, pointing to the One who would take every “eye for eye” upon Himself.

This is not a softening of righteousness but a fulfillment of divine judgment. Jesus absorbs the ultimate penalty. The death demanded by the Law falls upon Him. In His kingdom, justice does not arrive through execution but through redemption. Under the New Covenant, death is not inflicted by disciples — it is carried by their Lord.

Jesus in John 8 and the Refusal to Execute

The Law commanded death for adultery. Yet when the scribes and Pharisees bring the woman to Jesus and demand a stoning according to Moses, He refuses to authorize it. Instead, He states, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). One by one, the accusers withdraw under the weight of divine judgment upon themselves. Jesus then declares, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer” (8:11).

Here Jesus does more than extend mercy. He nullifies the authority of sinful humans to act as agents of divine execution. In Him, the kingdom ethic is revealed: judgment belongs to God, forgiveness belongs to Christ, and life — not death — becomes the sphere of Christian mission.

Critics often point to John 8:3-11 as proof that Jesus did not abolish the death penalty but merely refused to enforce it. Yet a closer reading shows something deeper.

First, the scene is a trap: “They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him.” (John 8:6) The accusers were not seeking justice; they were seeking to pit Jesus against Moses. If He upheld stoning, they could accuse Him before Rome (since Jews lacked legal authority to execute). If He refused, they could charge Him with breaking the Law.

Jesus’ response dismantles both. He stoops and writes — a gesture signaling divine judgment (cf. Jeremiah 17:13: “Those who turn away from You will be written in the dust.”). Then He says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone.” (John 8:7).

In that moment, He does not nullify the woman’s guilt — He nullifies their jurisdiction. Every one of them stood condemned under the same law they sought to wield. By sending them away, He exposes the hypocrisy of sinful men acting as arbiters of divine wrath.

When He finally stands and says, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11), Jesus demonstrates the new covenant order. The death penalty the Law demanded falls on Him instead. She walks free because He will not. Judgment is deferred to the cross.

It is true that some very early manuscripts omit John 7:53–8:11. However, the passage appears in the majority tradition, is cited or alluded to by several early Christian writers, is found in ancient lectionaries, and has been universally accepted by the Christian church as authentic to the life of Jesus.

More significantly — its theology is unmistakably Johannine.

The Apostolic Church and the Absence of Capital Punishment

If the death penalty still applied to Christians or within Christian community, the New Testament would demonstrate it. Instead, the opposite is evident.

The apostle Paul — formerly a persecutor responsible for innocent blood — was forgiven, not executed by believers. In 1 Corinthians 5, in a case of extreme immorality where – according to the Law of Moses, they should have been executed, Paul commands the church not to kill, but to discipline through exclusion for the sake of eventual salvation. “So that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5). The goal is restoration, not retribution.

James is murdered; Peter is imprisoned (Acts 12:1–5). The church does not retaliate with execution; it prays. Stephen is stoned; he responds with, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60). The first martyr’s dying words reject the very principle of lex talionis.

Nowhere — not once — does the apostolic church take a life. The church endures death but does not administer it.

Paul himself, once guilty of murder, was not executed by Christians. Instead, he became the foremost apostle. Had the church applied the death penalty, Paul would never have lived to preach Christ.

1 Corinthians 5 records a man in grievous sin with his father’s wife. Paul does not command his death but excommunication: removal from the community for the purpose of restoration. “So that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 5:5 NASB). Discipline aims at repentance, not death.

Philemon and Onesimus: Paul appeals to Philemon not to punish or enslave Onesimus but to receive him as a brother (Philemon 16). If Paul would not allow harsh punishment for a runaway slave, how much less would he call for execution?

James’ execution and Peter’s imprisonment (Acts 12:1–5) are endured, not avenged. The church does not fight back, does not kill Herod, does not form militias. Instead, they pray.

Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7) is received with forgiveness: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Had the church believed in the death penalty, they might have retaliated. Instead, they witness.

The Call of the New Covenant

Paul lays the principle bare in Romans 12:19 (NASB): “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” The Christian response to evil is not execution but trust in God’s justice.

Peter echoes the same: “For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example… while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:21–23 NASB).

To kill the sinner is to cut off repentance and forgiveness. To allow life is to allow the Spirit room to save. Jail may restrain, but execution eliminates hope of conversion. If the apostles would not kill within the body of Christ—where the offender already knew Jesus—how much less should we kill those outside, who may never have heard the gospel?

Addressing Objections

“But Romans 13 says the government bears the sword.”

Some cite Romans 13, arguing that the government “does not bear the sword for nothing.” But Paul’s point distinguishes the state from the church. The state restrains evil through coercive force; the church lives out the cross in self-giving love. Romans 12 forbids believers to seek vengeance — “Never take your own revenge… but leave room for the wrath of God” (12:19). Romans 13 describes what secular governing authorities may do, not what Christians must do. The call upon disciples remains: suffer rather than strike; forgive rather than avenge.

“But the Law demanded it, and God’s justice never changes.”

Some object that because the Law once required the death penalty, justice must still require it now. But this misunderstands how God’s justice has been fulfilled. The death demanded by the Law has already been rendered — at the cross. Scripture declares, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). To continue enforcing capital punishment as a divine mandate is, in effect, to declare Christ’s sacrifice incomplete. If God’s justice required the death of sinners, that justice has been satisfied in the substitutionary death of His Son. Execution is no longer a requirement of righteousness — it is a denial of the finished work of Christ.

“But without the death penalty, crime will flourish.

”This is an appeal to fear, not Scripture. The New Testament gives no command to kill offenders. Instead, it calls for forgiveness, prayer, discipline, and witness. Even in prison, men like Paul and Silas sang hymns and converted the jailer (Acts 16:25–34). Death never saved anyone; the gospel does.

The Burden of Proof Under the New Covenant

Here the debate reaches its logical tipping point:

There is not a single command in the New Testament authorizing Christians to take a life.

Not one example.

Not one instruction.

Not one encouragement.

For the death penalty to be a Christian mandate, advocates must show:

Jesus requires His followers to execute.
The apostles practiced execution.
The early churches endorsed execution.

None of these can be demonstrated. The absence is not silence — it is Scripture’s testimony. When Jesus abolished “eye for eye,” He abolished the principle underlying capital punishment. When He bore the death penalty, He exhausted its legitimacy. The Law’s demands ended at Calvary.

Therefore, theologically and biblically, the burden of proof lies entirely with those who argue that Christians — redeemed by blood — must shed blood.

The Witness of the Early Church

The generations closest to the apostles were remarkably consistent. Early Christian literature uniformly rejects killing — whether in war, abortion, or judicial execution. Tertullian wrote, “The Lord, in disarming Peter, disarmed every soldier thereafter.”

Hippolytus instructed that believers who held authority in executions must either resign or face excommunication. For the first three centuries, Christians refused participation in capital punishment, believing that vengeance belonged to God alone.

After Constantine, when the church became entangled with the state and power dynamics shifted, executions resurfaced in Christian lands. But this was not continuity — it was compromise. It reflected accommodation to empire, not obedience to Christ.

Theological Reflection and Christ-Centered Conclusion

The death penalty stands in tension with the heart of the gospel. Christ died for sinners while they were still enemies (Romans 5:8). He commands limitless forgiveness (Matthew 18:21–22). He prohibits retaliation (Matthew 5:38–39). He calls His disciples to love their enemies and pray for persecutors (Matthew 5:44). Every New Testament command points toward mercy, patience, and hope — never toward the taking of life.

Execution ends repentance. It eliminates the possibility of redemption. It presumes the church’s role is to enforce judgment rather than proclaim grace. The earliest Christians understood the difference between the weapons of Caesar and the cross of Christ.

The Old Covenant called for death.

The New Covenant calls for life.

Capital punishment was never the mission of the church. The mission is to preach resurrection — not enact retribution. Forgiveness triumphs over condemnation. Mercy triumphs over death. Judgment has already been carried out — not by us, but on Him.

Therefore, Christians do not bear the sword. We bear the cross.

Christ-Centered Conclusion

The Old Testament called for death; the New Covenant calls for life. Jesus set aside retaliation, bore the penalty Himself, and entrusted judgment to God. The apostles and early church followed His example, never once carrying out the death penalty but instead enduring it, forgiving, and praying for their persecutors.

The question of the death penalty is not political but theological. To execute is to align more with Caesar than with Christ. To forgive, to restrain without killing, to pray and to witness—this is the way of the cross. For the Christian, there is no death penalty left to administer. Christ has taken it, and He alone is Judge.

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