“Then why were all the death penalties in Leviticus and Deuteronomy?”
That’s a bunch of old testament stuff. There is a new covenant now. Who did Jesus say to kill? Adultery was a stoning offense in the old testament. Jesus asked he without sin to throw the first stone.
Pretty damned clear.
So were the 10 Commandments, of which he is speaking.
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
“There is a new covenant now. Who did Jesus say to kill?”
Well, it is the Apostle Paul, but:
“3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” - Romans 13
Or Peter:
“13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”
And of course, the God of the Old Testament IS the God of the New Testament. Civil authority included the right to kill, as acknowledged by Jesus:
“10 So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Pilate’s authority was not his own, but from God - as a ruler who “who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer”. That the wrath was not justified in this case does not negate the fact that Jesus recognized it.
Those still lost in sin are under the law. The law still applies.
Go tell your story to a judge they cant give you the death penalty because we are under a new covenant. Or to a police officer that they cant shoot you for something because they too are sinners.
It was to expose those folks’ own hypocrisy. That doesnt mean nobody can enforce any laws on anyone else because we are sinners and saints at the same time.