I received another good question this week.  This question is particularly timely considering the news that Arizona executed a man last week by lethal injection.  The two hours it took for the man to die has caused a lot of argument, finger-pointing, and rethinking of the death penalty.

The question I received is simple and straightforward, “What does the Bible teach about the death penalty?”

Let’s review some of the Biblical teachings:

First of all, human life is sacred.  Human beings are created by God in His image. Normally, this life is to be both celebrated and protected.

Secondly, the Old Testament calls for the death penalty in certain situations.  It wasn’t always carried out, but the death penalty applied to murder, kidnapping, bestiality, adultery, homosexuality, being a false prophet, rape, and several other crimes.

Thirdly, even in the Old Testament, God often offered grace and forgiveness rather than the death penalty.  David and Bathsheeba, for example, committed a series of sins (both adultery and murder) for which the death penalty could have been invoked.  They paid a price, but they were forgiven. David was even able to remain as the King.

In the New Testament, Jesus neither condemned nor promoted the death penalty.  He recognized it (Matthew 15:3-4) as the law, but did not promote it or condemn it. Paul, too, recognized that some crimes led to death (Acts 25:11) while arguing that he had done nothing worthy of death, but this seems to be a recognition of the law, not approval or disapproval.  

In the case of the adulterous woman (John 8), Jesus promoted grace rather than the death penalty for an adulterer.  He pointed out that we are all sinners, causing those who were ready to stone the woman to walk away quietly.  It wasn’t a blanket anti-death penalty statement, but it does show his preference for grace and forgiveness rather than strict judgment.  

Unfortunately, in the New Testament, the death penalty was used primarily as a political and religious tool against the enemies of Rome, especially believers.  Jesus Himself was innocent, but He was given the death penalty.  Stephen, James, and many others were killed for similar reasons.  At the very least, this should make us wary of a government with too much power using the death penalty indiscriminately.

So can we summarize what the Bible teaches?  It would be easy to take certain verses and proclaim that the Bible promotes and even commands the death penalty.  It would also be easy to take certain passages and show that the Bible promotes and even commands grace rather than capital punishment. On the whole, we can say that the Bible does not prohibit the death penalty, but neither can we honestly say that it promotes it.  There are too many examples when God Himself chose not to invoke it (David, adulterous woman) to say that it is promoted by God.  And the many examples of it being used incorrectly should be a great caution to us.

Politically, it is still a very hot topic  for which their is wide and deep disagreement. Historically, there is great evidence for caution, for most governments that have used it have had a tendency to use if for political, racial, or economic class reasons.  And ethically, it has to be seen as a very final and irreversible penalty, which should lead to great caution in using it.

But I’m not going to go deep into the politics or the history of the death penalty here. The question was, “What does the Bible say?”  The Bible certainly does not prohibit the death penalty.  The Bible does not promote it.  The Bible does, however, give us ample reason to be very cautious in it’s use.  And the overall message of the Bible has much more to do with grace than with death.