Martin Luther’s Deuteronomy: Perspectives on Law, Punishment, and Faith

A version of this paper was presented as a lectio praecursoria, an opening lecture before the defense of Dr. Leinonen’s dissertation Martin Luther and the Theology of Moses: Examining the Lectures and Sermons on Deuteronomy on December 18, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/604312

Introduction

[1] The year 1525 was a busy one for Martin Luther and the Lutheran Reformation. Many important historical events and notable moments with crucial consequences took place during that tumultuous twelve-months 500 years ago.  In the spring of 1525, Luther had traveled to Erfurt, where he witnessed the destruction and violence caused by the German Peasants’ War. Luther immediately reacted to the destruction by writing a pamphlet, Against the Murdering and Thieving Hordes of Peasants, where he famously encouraged princes to carry on their task as governmental rulers and strike the rebelling peasants down to protect the innocent and punish the wicked.[i] A few months later, Luther and Katharina von Bora, a monk and a nun, were married in June 1525, only a month after his protector and secular ruler, Elector Frederic the Wise of Saxony, passed away in May 1525. Six months later, one of his most famous theological treatises, De servo arbitrio, On the Bondage of the Will, was published in December 1525. The treatise is Luther’s response to Erasmus of Rotterdam on the theological debate about human free will. De servo arbitrio is often referred in scholarship as Luther’s magnum opus.

[2] These are all important and well-explored events and matters in Luther’s life during the formative year of the theological, political, and personal turning points in 1525. Important as they may be, I wish to focus on Luther’s far lesser-known and scarcely explored theological formulations and their effect on political, spiritual, and personal spheres of life from the very same era. In February 1525, Martin Luther published a biblical commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomion Mosi cum annotationibus, the Lectures on Deuteronomy.  The work is a thorough commentary, where Luther examines chapter by chapter how Moses teaches the Ten Commandments and the various detailed laws and statutes based on the Commandments. This teaching of the law comes after Moses reminds his people, the ancient Israelites, how they had escaped from the slavery of Egypt and through miraculous events and God’s caretaking had arrived on the verge of the promised land after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

[3] Moses was considered as the author and narrator of the five books under his name – or perhaps a co-author with God, of course. Deuteronomy means the second law, for this was the second time Moses taught God’s Law to his people – the first audience, having heard it when Moses got the stone tablets, had perished during the 40 years in the desert for they had distrusted God’s promises all those years ago.

[4] What people often remember about Martin Luther’s theology is that he built his theological teaching on the proclamation of the Gospel as the foundation for justifying faith, fiercely opposing self-righteousness and criticizing the unbiblical customs of his contemporary church. Following the Ten Commandments successfully is impossible for the sinful humans, hence the need of grace through the works of Christ. Theology should be based on the teaching traceable in the Bible, sola Scriptura, and salvation brought to the believer through grace, sola gratia, by faith alone, sola fide, for only the merits of Christ can bring salvation rather than what humans can achieve through their own power, solus Christus. Considering this, a commentary on Deuteronomy consisting of Moses’s teaching of the Law appears an odd choice for Luther to write and a contemporary Luther scholar to explore. But in 1542, Luther discussed in an informal speech, recorded in the Table Talks, that he considered most of his writing interesting mainly as a documentation of his developing thought. However, he mentioned three of his books as significant for their doctrinal teaching: Sermons on John, Commentary on the Epistle to Galatians, and Lectures on Deuteronomy.[ii]

[5] The printed edition I examine is written personally by Luther himself, and it is based on actual university lectures Luther delivered in Wittenberg during 1523–1524. Four years later in 1529, Luther preached on Deuteronomy for 18 Sunday afternoons.[iii] The preface to the Lectures on Deuteronomy reveals immediately an important context and a reason for Luther’s scholarly work. Luther dedicates his book to Bishop Georg von Polentz of Samland, who was the second-in-command of the Teutonic Knights and who had converted to Luther’s Evangelical faith in 1523.

[6] Luther does not shy his enthusiasm in praising the example of the bishop, who had already established Lutheran teaching in his diocese. Moses, the first among the prophets, is a prime example for the first Lutheran bishop, in his obedience to God’s Word. The other bishops, whom Luther heavily criticizes, were not eager to embrace Luther’s teaching for his critique to their wealth, secular power, and unbiblical customs.

[7] Luther mentions one more exemplar leader: Grandmaster Albrecht of the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order ruled over Prussia and the Baltic area, originally established during the Crusades in Jerusalem, and relocated to Christianize areas in northern Europe, south of the Baltic Sea. Grandmaster Albrecht had led an unsuccessful war against the Kingdom of Poland, ending in a temporary truce. The Pope and the Emperor had appealed to him with a request to renew his order, for inter-European wars weakened the Christendom against the rising threat of the Ottoman Turks. Albrecht did follow the request to reform the order; two months after the Lectures were published, in April 1525, Grandmaster Albrecht kneeled before King Sigismund of Poland and stood up as the Duke of Prussia. In December 1525, with the leadership of Bishop von Polentz and his colleague, Bishop von Queis, the evangelical church order of Prussia was established.

[8] Before the year 1525 was over, Early Modern Europe had witnessed the birth of the first Lutheran duchy, the Ducal Prussia, with the first Lutheran governmental ruler, Duke Albrecht. This was probably not what the pope expected when he requested a reform.

[9] So, Luther intentionally finished a full volume of biblical commentary on the Law of Moses and dedicated it to the first Lutheran ecclesial and societal leaders as an early modern Lutheran leadership tutorial. What kind of theology of the use of the Law did Martin Luther teach to these first Lutheran leaders?

Trinitarian Moses

[10] The exemplarity of Moses, the first among the prophets, is crucial to Luther. Moses, the narrator and writer of the book, taught only what God told him to say. In Luther’s understanding, Moses never added or removed anything, but persistently, even tediously, repeated God’s promises and taught how to apply them.

[11] Luther holds a Trinitarian framework in his understanding of the theology of Moses. Moses builds his proclamation on repeating God’s promises, culminating in the First Commandment: I am the Lord your God, you should not keep other gods. Repeating the importance of having trust in God as the foundation for life, enables a person to follow the other commandments. Not through one’s own power does one follow the Law, but through faith established in one’s heart through the First Commandment.

[12] In Luther’s view, the proclamation of the word of the Law creates a yearning in those who heard Moses in Spirit. This creates an urge to follow the Law in deeds. Realizing that one cannot achieve what Moses and his Law demand, the Holy Spirit sighs in the faithful and causes this yearn for relief. The Israelites asked Moses to stand in between them and God, but Moses could not be the one bringing the relief. Thus, he points towards a new prophet who comes after him and speaks with a similar authority. Moses provided the best explanation of the Law, the new prophet must teach something different: the Gospel. Christ delivers what Moses demands.

[13] The difference between the effect of the word of Law and Gospel can be noted on a conceptual level. Luther highlights that a believer must cling to God’s Word and to trust God’s promises – this is what following the First Commandment means. Clinging is what the word of Law effects, pendere or adhaerere in Latin. The connotation is very concrete and telling: the Word of Law creates the yearning through the Holy Spirit, which makes one thrive to hang onto God. Like hanging from a rope, or from a cliff. Eventually, one’s strength and effort fail, and one will fall. The word of the Gospel, however, allows one to grasp faith, to apprehend, apprehendere in Latin. This is a deeper connection that happens in the heart of the believer, on an intellectual level, where Christ becomes present in the believer though faith. In faith, the believer can follow the Law without self-interest or will-power.

[14] According to Luther, the theology of Moses has the Trinitarian ingredients, but without the relieving word of Gospel, Moses leaves the reader hanging. It’s like starting a car with an empty battery, it’s all there but one needs an external boost to get it going.

Extracting Ethical Guidelines: the Importance of Fairness in Good Governance

[15] Moses’ persistent proclamation and repetition of having trust in God’s promises takes away confidence in one’s own works and lays the foundation for the ethical dimension of Luther’s interpretation of the Law. The first part, of course, requires committed faith. Luther warns that faith can be transgressed by placing one’s trust on other, temporal matters, like wealth, power, favor, or self-righteousness. Rulers may have wealth and power, but they should not place their trust in them. Temporal goods will disappear, but God’s Word remains.

[16] The other part of Luther’s teaching focuses on how to follow and interpret the Law – on how to rule and judge in a godly way. For this, Luther established a conceptual tool that borrows the concept of fairness or evenhandedness from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. This concept, epieikeia in Greek becomes aequitas in Latin and Billigkeit in German. Luther uses the concept as an interpretive means to understand laws and statues with the goal of a just and equitable outcome. Importantly, Luther uses the concept of charitas (love) synonymously with epieikeia.[iv]

[17] Using this concept, elected leaders, magistrates, should be chosen from among the people. They must be trusted, and they must be familiar with the lived reality of the people they serve. Luther praises Moses’ instructions of gathering tithes to provide for the priests, enabling them to focus on preaching and proclaiming God’s Word for people to have faith and freely obey the Law. Also, tithing is for the social benefit of the poor, orphans, and widows – people without voice in the weakest of positions. Fair taxing through tithes would provide necessities of life for everyone. A person with smaller harvest pays less than the one who has plenty of fertile land. This way the ones with less fortune are not losing all of the little they have, and the wealthier are obliged to participate more. Luther endorses a system where people have what they need for a living, but won’t gain more than is enough. This is both fair and loving.

[18] A good ruler should be prudent and kind, according to Luther. Yet, if one must choose between these two characteristics, it’s better to be prudent and equitable. A strict rule is equally strict for everyone, while kindness can lead to favoritism or even misuse of power. Importantly, together, prudence and kindness are a winning combination.

[19] For Luther, Moses’ Law is the best commentary on the natural law built inside every human being, a law common to all humanity.[v] In Deuteronomy Moses explains the Law thoroughly and clearly in the best order and provides a book full of examples of how the laws were applied in his time. The application is key for Moses in order to provide prudent and kind ruling. For example, if the law demands that a person must be punished by death for stealing, but as result there would be orphan children, the punishment must be adjusted for a more just outcome that avoids unnecessary suffering. Punishments should also be based on witness statements to protect the reputation of the innocent and evildoer alike. Severe crimes must have strict punishments, for severe administration punishes the evil and supports the pious. Also, Luther endorses pardoning or adjusting moderation in judgments for accidental, non-intentional tragedies. Strict and fair judgment and good administration. promotes love in a society. A penalty is not a matter of joy or vengeance, but a ruler’s duty as a legal procedure to punish those who are evil to protect the innocent. Luther teaches that people need to be governed through the governmental sword of the legal authorities, but violence and punishments must not make people grow numb to them.

[20] Another example considers Moses’ instructions to avoid unnecessary destruction in war, like commanding not to cut fruit trees when invading the Promised Land from the tribes inhabiting it. The fair application of the law resists unnecessary violence in war and punishment for crimes.

[21] A contemporary reader, thus, looking at Moses law through Luther’s Aristotelian interpretative lens cannot justify any kind of violence including attacking a neighboring country or justifying an attack with devastating casualties to innocent people. What Luther finds important is the prince’s responsibility to primarily seek peaceful solutions.

[22] A fair commonwealth does not operate by vengeance but promotes justice and peace. Epieikeia (fairness), or charitas (love), can guide us in interpreting and applying the laws.

Lutheran Ethics Today? Contemporary Parallels in Finland.

[23] As stated earlier, Luther considered Lectures on Deuteronomy one of his significant doctrinal writings. Thus, his theological insight in his teaching on Deuteronomy is an important framework when evaluating the essential Lutheran doctrinal teaching.  Luther considered these lectures to contain lessons applicable for faithful Lutherans interpreting the law.

[24] Indeed, two years after the publishing the Lectures, and two years before preaching the Sermons, the Diet of Västerås converted the kingdom of Sweden to Lutheranism. Finland, as part of the deal, became a Lutheran realm and has remained dominantly so until today.

[25] Consequently, the Lutheran church and Lutheran faith have influenced the Nordic societal and cultural customs and shared ethos for centuries. In the Finnish context, obedience to the secular government is part of Finns’ often-unconscious self-understanding. This was visible during the pandemic, when people obeyed the official guidelines of restriction, even if the officials often lacked ways of strict control of enforcing them. Moreover, Nordic Lutheranism, and the societies infused by it, are grounded in societal teachings of the importance of providing necessities of life for everyone, and collecting taxes to provide for the church, schools, and healthcare. Godly government is responsible for the welfare of those without voice or might.

[26] The Lutheran church has the theological roots and means to speak prophetically to the politicians on this responsibility. For example, when the current government of Finland published its Government Program in 2023, it raised plenty of discussion for its emphasis on the responsibility of an individual in their own success, without considering the structural inequality and different backgrounds individuals have. Archbishop Tapio Luoma expressed criticism on decisions to cut from people in vulnerable positions. “A society based on goodwill and charity is extremely fragile”, the archbishop stated. In the spring of 2024, Luoma criticized the harsh rhetoric of governmental representatives, posing with a pair of scissors and a smile while cutting from social security.[vi] Archbishop Luoma does not explicitly tell the government to practice epieikeia, but the principle of contextual and just evaluation in legal interpretation is present in his speech which urges both prudence and kindness

[27] Eight years previously in 2015, Luoma’s predecessor Archbishop Kari Mäkinen had a similar approach when the prime minister of Finland appealed that citizens with high incomes could voluntarily participate in charity. Archbishop Mäkinen, a person with relatively high incomes himself, strictly stated he would rather contribute through governmental taxation system and would be willing to pay even more taxes. Mäkinen stated: “A just society is not born out of charity, but through just decision-making.”[vii] Trusting the goodwill of people should not be the foundation for poor people to receive help. Contemporary taxation is far more developed than Moses’ teaching on tithing that Luther found exemplar, but so is the level of luxury and wealth in the society, while the questions of poverty and necessities of life remain relevant.

[28] On December 6 in 2025, Bishop Mari Leppänen delivered a sermon on the Ecumenical Service on Independence Day at the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki. The president, members of the government and the parliament were sitting in the pews. Bishop Leppänen preached: “In all times and seasons, this foundation remains: a good conscience and striving for what is right. Patiently and consistently, we must talk about peace and strive for it.” Bishop Leppänen continued and preached, how every human, regardless of their faith, has a conscience as a moral compass. Then she added a quote from Luther: “A wise but ungodly ruler is to be preferred to a devout but stupid one.”[viii]

[29] The three Finnish bishops echoed Martin Luther’s ethical teaching when preaching and communicating with the governmental rulers. Luther taught his contemporary rulers to trust God in their leadership, for they were carrying out a divine task in their rule. And also, the church must proclaim the Word for faith to grow in hearts, for God’s promises are trustworthy, and the Spirit sighs in those who hear it through faith, creating a yearning to participate in works of love.

[30] In the secular world, rules and laws are needed to protect the innocent and punish the wicked. The rulers have their responsibility to ensure a fair and just society. And also, the Lutheran church, for over five hundred years, is built on a theological tradition that requires preachers to remind the rulers about what is godly and for the good of people: patiently, consistently, persistently, even tediously. 500 years after Luther published his Lectures on Deuteronomy, we can learn again and anew from Luther’s understanding of the theology of Moses in Deuteronomy.

[i] For Luther’s political theology in his 1525 writings, see: Tapio Leinonen, “Promoting Faith, Order, and Peace behind the Polemics: Approaching Martin Luther’s Political Theology in 1525,” in The Renaissance Papacy’s Projects of Religious Reform between Ancient Christianity and “Catholic Orientalism, ed. Andrea Annese, Ludovico Battista & Antonio Gerace, (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2025) 243–262. https://doi.org/10.13109/9783666573651.243

[ii] WATr 5, 5511, 204, 34 – 205, 18

[iii] For a thorough examination on Luther’s teaching on Deuteronomy, see the dissertation this article is based on: Leinonen, Tapio, “Martin Luther and the Theology of Moses: Examination on the Lectures and Sermons on Deuteronomy.” Diss., University of Helsinki, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/604312

[iv] Luther’s use of epieikeia and charitas: WA 14, 549b, 30 – 552b, 33; WA 14, 611b, 37 – 612b, 24; WA 14, 686b, 17–28; WA 14, 714b, 19 – 715b, 3.

[v] For Luther and natural law, see for example:, Antti Raunio , “Natural Law in the Lutheran Tradition,” in  Christianity and Natural Law: An Introduction, ed. Norman Doe, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 77–97.

[vi] MTV3 News, “Archbishop Luoma considers Purra’s scissor picture a mistake”, https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/arkkipiispa-luoma-pitaa-purran-saksikuvaa-virheena/8907186 (accessed September 2, 2026)

[vii] YLE News, ”Archbishop Kari Mäkinen: My salary can be cut through taxation”, 1.6.2015, https://yle.fi/a/3-8034948 (accessed September 2, 2026)

[viii] Bishop Leppänen’s sermon, Ecumenical Service on Independence Day, December 6^th, 2025, (Jn 10.14–16), English translation, “Dog Tag”, https://www.piispamarileppanen.fi/puheet/dog-tag/ (accessed September 2, 2026)