15 Bible Verses about Riots

Then everyone in the synagogue became extremely angry when they heard these things. They rose up and threw Jesus out of the city, leading Him to the top of the hill on which the city was built, in order to throw Him down [from a cliff]. But He [just] walked right through them and went on His way.

About that time a large disturbance arose [in Ephesus] concerning "the Way." [Here is what happened]: A certain manufacturer of silver objects named Demetrius, who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis [i.e., a Greek goddess], brought much business to his workmen. He called a meeting of his men and others involved in the same work and said to them, "Fellows, you know that we have made a good living from this work [of making temple replicas].read more.
And now you have seen and heard, not only here in Ephesus, but throughout almost all of [the province of] Asia, that this Paul has been convincing people, [even] to the point of turning many away [from idol worship]. [He is] saying that hand-made gods [like we make] are not real [gods at all]. And not only is there a [real] danger that our trade will be discredited but also that the temple of our great goddess Artemis will be considered worthless and that even she [herself] will be dethroned from her magnificent place of being adored by all [in the province of] Asia and the world." When they heard this they became extremely angry and shouted out, "Great is [the goddess] Artemis, of the Ephesians." The city became full of confusion; they grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's Macedonian traveling companions, and everyone together rushed into the amphitheater. And when Paul decided to go before the crowd [to talk with them], the disciples would not allow him. Some of his friends, who were officers in the province of Asia, sent word urging him not to take a chance by entering the amphitheater. Some [in the crowd] were shouting one thing and some another; there was mass confusion, with most of the people not [even] knowing why they had assembled. [It appears that] Alexander was appointed out of the crowd by the Jews [i.e., to be their spokesman in defending them from the charges being made against Paul]. He motioned with his hand [to get attention] and attempted to speak to the assembly in defense [of the Jewish viewpoint]. But when the crowd realized that he was a Jew, they all joined together for about two hours shouting, "Great is [the goddess] Artemis, of the Ephesians."

[We have been] beaten, jailed, and mobbed. [We have] worked hard, missed sleep and gone without food.

Now the leading priests and [Jewish] elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas [to be released] and for Jesus to be killed. But the governor asked them, "Which one of these two men do you want me to release to you?" And they answered, "Barabbas." Pilate replied, "Then what should I do to Jesus, who is called 'Christ'?" They all shouted, "Let him be crucified!"read more.
And he said, "Why [should he be]? What wrong has he done?" But they shouted out even louder, "Let him be crucified!" So, when Pilate saw that he was not convincing anyone, but that a riot was brewing instead, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd saying, "I am not responsible for this man's blood. [Note: Some ancient manuscripts say "righteous man's blood"]. You tend to the matter."

Now at the Passover Festival Pilate customarily released whatever prisoner the people asked him to. One prisoner, named Barabbas, was kept chained up in prison along with men who had committed murder during a rebellion. The crowd [then] went to Pilate and asked him to do what he was accustomed to doing for them [i.e., release a prisoner of their choosing during the Passover Festival].read more.
Pilate answered them, "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews [i.e., Jesus]?" For he perceived that the leading priests had turned Jesus over to him out of envy. But the leading priests stirred up the crowd to insist that Pilate release Barabbas to them instead. [So], Pilate again asked them, "Then what shall I do to this one you call the king of the Jews?" And they shouted out again, "Crucify him " And Pilate said to them, "Why [should we]; what wrong has he done?" But they shouted out even louder, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after he had Jesus flogged, he turned Him over to be crucified.

And Stephen [i.e., one of the seven men chosen to minister to widows, verse 5], who was full of [God's] favor and power, performed great wonders and [miraculous] signs in front of the [Jewish] people. But several men from the synagogue, made up of freed slaves from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, began arguing with Stephen. But they could not stand up to the wisdom and [power of] the Holy Spirit by which Stephen spoke.read more.
Then they enlisted men to say [i.e., to testify falsely against Stephen, verse 13], "We heard him criticizing Moses and [even] God." And they stirred up the people, the elders and the teachers of the law of Moses and searched for him, seized him and brought him before the Council. They had arranged for the false witnesses to say, "This man will not stop speaking against the Temple and the law of Moses, for we [ourselves] heard him saying that this Jesus from Nazareth would destroy the Temple and change the customs handed down to us by Moses."

But [other] Jews became jealous and, recruiting certain ungodly riffraff, they gathered a mob and brought the city to near-riot conditions. They [even] attacked Jason's house and attempted to bring Paul and Silas before the [assembly of] people. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials and shouted, "These men have turned the world upside down [i.e., disrupted society by their preaching] and have [now] come here also [i.e., to do the same thing in our community]. Jason has welcomed them and [now] all of them [i.e., Paul, Silas, Jason and the others] are going against the [Roman] laws of Caesar by saying that someone else is [our] king; that Jesus is [king]!"read more.
When they heard [these charges], the crowds and [even] the city officials became very disturbed [by the situation stirred up by the Jews]. They made Jason and the others post bail, then released them.

When the seven days [required by the vow] were almost completed, the Jews from Asia saw Paul in the Temple. They incited the whole crowd and took hold of him, shouting, "[You] Israelites, help [us]! This man is teaching people everywhere [to be] against our people [i.e., the Jews], the law of Moses and this place [i.e., the Temple]; and in addition to that he has also brought Greeks [i.e., Gentiles] into the Temple and has [thereby] contaminated this holy place." (For the Jews had previously seen him on a city street with Trophimus, the Ephesian, whom they assumed Paul had taken into the Temple [with him]).read more.
[So], the entire city was stirred up, and the mob rushed together and attacked Paul, dragging him out of the Temple. Immediately the [Temple] doors were closed [i.e., to secure it from further intrusion]. And as they were attempting to kill Paul, the commander of the military unit was informed that the entire city of Jerusalem was rioting. So, immediately he rushed down on the people with his soldiers and officers, and when the mob saw the commander and his soldiers [coming], they stopped beating Paul. Then the commanding officer approached Paul, took hold of him and ordered him to be secured with two chains. He then questioned him as to who he was and what he had done. From the crowd, some shouted one thing and some another. When the commander could not hear what was being said because of the noise, he ordered Paul to be taken into the battalion headquarters. When they got to the stairway [of the headquarters building] the soldiers had to carry Paul because of the [unrestrained] violence of the mob,

Then the leading priests and elders of the [Jewish] people were gathered in the courtroom of the head priest, named Caiaphas. They were taking counsel together as to how they might take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they reasoned, "We will not do it during the Festival because it might start a riot among the people."

Now the Passover Festival and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were held two days later. [Note: This was the annual Jewish Festival week commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership. The unleavened bread was specially baked bread containing no yeast, which was eaten for seven days as part of the celebration]. And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they reasoned, "We will not [take him] during the Festival, because it might start a riot among the people."

When the town clerk had quieted down the crowd, he said, "You people of Ephesus, who among you does not know that the city of Ephesus is caretaker of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell down from the sky? Since no one can [really] say anything against these things, just calm down and do not do anything foolish. For you have brought these men here --- [men] who have neither desecrated our temple nor defamed our goddess.read more.
If therefore Demetrius, and the workmen associated with him, have a charge against anyone, the courts are open and there are magistrates [to judge such cases]; let them file their charges against each other. But if you want to address other matters, they can be settled in the regular, scheduled assembly. For we are truly in danger of being accused of inciting a riot here today when there is [really] no reason for it to happen. Then concerning this problem, we will not be able to explain how it all came about." And after the town clerk had said all this, he dismissed the assembly.

We have found this man [i.e., Paul] to be extremely bothersome, and an instigator of strife among the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. We arrested him, for he attempted to desecrate [even] the Temple {{Some ancient manuscripts add verse and we would have judged him according to our law but commander Lysias came and forcibly took him out of our hands}}read more.
[and] you will be able to determine the nature of our accusations against him by questioning him yourself." Then the Jews also joined in [making] the charge, and confirmed all the facts that were being presented. And when the governor had motioned for him to speak, Paul answered [the charges, by saying], "I know [Your Excellency] that you have administered justice for this nation for many years, so I am glad to make my defense [before you]. [I know] you can verify that it has not been over twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. [While there] I was not observed arguing with anyone or trying to stir up a crowd [to riot] in the Temple or in the synagogues or [anywhere else] in the city.

We should be living properly, as in the daytime [i.e., when people normally behave themselves], not engaging in orgies and drunkenness; not practicing sexual immorality and indecent vices; not quarrelsome and jealous.

The night is almost over and the day is near. So, we should stop doing the deeds of darkness [i.e., sinful things] and we should arm ourselves with the weapons of light [i.e., virtues for right living].

They suffer wrong themselves for doing wrong to other people. They consider it [especially] pleasurable to carry on their drunken revellings, [even] during the daytime. They become blots and blemishes [i.e., like spoiled food] in your fellowship meal, as they revel in their deceitful behavior.