15 Bible Verses about Riots
Most Relevant Verses
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage; they rose up, put him out of the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, in order to hurl him down. But he made his way through them and went off.
It was about that time that a great commotion arose over the Way. This was how it happened. By making silver shrines of Artemis a silversmith called Demetrius was the means of bringing rich profit to his workmen. So he got them together, along with the workmen who belonged to similar trades, and said to them: "My men, you know this trade is the source of our wealth.read more.
You also see and hear that not only at Ephesus but almost all over Asia this fellow Paul has drawn off a considerable number of people by his persuasions. He declares that hand-made gods are not gods at all. Now the danger is not only that we will have our trade discredited but that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will fall into contempt and that she will be degraded from her majestic glory, she whom all Asia and the wide world worship." When they heard this they were filled with rage and raised the cry, "Great is Artemis of Ephesus!" So the city was filled with confusion. They rushed like one man into the amphitheatre, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were travelling with Paul. (Paul wanted to enter the popular assembly, but the disciples would not allow him. Some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, also sent to beg him not to venture into the amphitheatre.) Some were shouting one thing, some another; for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority had no idea why they had met. Some of the mob concluded it must be Alexander, as the Jews pushed him to the front. So Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to defend himself before the people; but when they discovered he was a Jew, a roar broke from them all, and for about two hours they shouted, "Great is Artemis of Ephesus! Great is Artemis of Ephesus!"
But the high priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask Bar-Abbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" "Bar-Abbas," they said. Pilate said, "Then what am I to do with Jesus the so-called 'Christ'?" They all said, "Have him crucified!"read more.
"Why," said the governor, "what has he done wrong?" But they shouted on more fiercely than ever, "Have him crucified!" Now when Pilate saw that instead of him doing any good a riot was rising, he took some water and washed his hands in presence of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this good man's blood. It is your affair!"
Now at festival time he used to release for them some prisoner whom they begged from him. (There was a man called Bar-Abbas in prison, among the rioters who had committed murder during the insurrection.) So the crowd pressed up and started to ask him for his usual boon.read more.
Pilate replied, "Would you like me to release the king of the Jews for you?" (For he knew the high priests had handed him over out of envy.) But the high priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release Bar-Abbas for them instead. Pilate asked them again, "And what am I to do with your so-called king of the Jews?" Whereupon they shouted again, "Crucify him." "Why," said Pilate, "what has he done wrong?" But they shouted more fiercely than ever, "Crucify him!" So, as Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, he released Bar-Abbas for them; Jesus he handed over to be crucified, after he had scourged him.
Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, performed great wonders and miracles among the people. Some of those who belonged to the so-called synagogue of the Libyans, the Cyrenians, and the Alexandrians, as well as to that of the Cilicians and Asiatics, started a dispute with Stephen, but they could not meet the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.read more.
They then instigated people to say, "We have heard him talking blasphemy against Moses and God." In this way they excited the people, the elders, and the scribes, who rushed on him, dragged him away, and took him before the Sanhedrin. They also brought forward false witnesses to say, "This fellow is never done talking against this holy Place and the Law! Why, we have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this Place and change the customs handed down to us by Moses!"
But the Jews were aroused to jealousy; they got hold of some idle rascals to form a mob and set the town in an uproar; they attacked Jason's house in the endeavour to bring them out before the populace, but as they failed to find Paul and Silas they haled Jason and some of the brothers before the politarchs, yelling, "These upsetters of the whole world have come here too! Jason has welcomed them! They all violate the decrees of Caesar by declaring someone else called Jesus is king."read more.
Both the crowd and the politarchs were disturbed when they heard this; however, they let Jason and the others go, after binding them over to keep the peace.
The seven days were almost over when the Asiatic Jews, catching sight of him in the temple, stirred up all the crowd and laid hands on him, shouting, "To the rescue, men of Israel! Here is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against the People and the Law and this Place! And he has actually brought Greeks inside the temple and defiled this holy Place!" (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian along with him in the city, and they supposed Paul had taken him inside the temple.)read more.
The whole city was thrown into turmoil. The people rushed together, seized Paul and dragged him outside the temple; whereupon the doors were immediately shut. They were attempting to kill him, when word reached the commander of the garrison that the whole of Jerusalem was in confusion. Taking some soldiers and officers, he at once rushed down to them, and when they saw the commander and the soldiers they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came up and seized him; he ordered him to be bound with a couple of chains, and asked "Who is he?" and "What has he done?" Some of the crowd roared one thing, some another, and as he could not learn the facts owing to the uproar, he ordered Paul to be taken to the barracks. By the time he reached the steps, he had actually to be carried by the soldiers on account of the violence of the crowd,
Then the high priests and the elders of the people met in the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas and took counsel together to get hold of Jesus by craft and have him put to death. "Only," they said, "it must not be during the festival, in case of a riot among the people."
The passover and the festival of unleavened bread fell two days later; so the high priests and scribes were trying how to get hold of him by craft and have him put to death. "Only," they said, "it must not be during the festival; that would mean a popular riot."
The secretary of state then got the mob calmed down, and said to them, "Men of Ephesus, who on earth does not know that the city of Ephesus is Warden of the temple of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven? All this is beyond question. So you should keep calm and do nothing reckless. Instead of that, you have brought these men here who are guilty neither of sacrilege nor of blasphemy against our goddess.read more.
If Demetrius and his fellow tradesmen have a grievance against anybody, let both parties state their charges; assizes are held and there are always the proconsuls. Any wider claim must be settled in the legal assembly of the citizens. Indeed there is a danger of our being charged with riot over to-day's meeting; there is not a single reason we can give for this disorderly gathering." With these words he dismissed the assembly.
The fact is, we have found this man is a perfect pest; he stirs up sedition among the Jews all over the world and he is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. He actually tried to desecrate the temple, but we got hold of him. --read more.
Examine him for yourself and you will be able to find out about all these charges of ours against him." The Jews joined in the attack, declaring that such were the facts of the case. Then at a nod from the governor Paul made his reply. "As I know you have administered justice in this nation for a number of years," he said, "I feel encouraged to make my defence, because it is not more than twelve days, as you can easily ascertain, since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. They never found me arguing with anyone in the temple or causing a riot either in the synagogues or in the city;
let us live decorously as in the open light of day ??no revelry or bouts of drinking, no debauchery or sensuality, no quarrelling or jealousy.
It is far on in the night, the day is almost here; so let us drop the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of the light;
done out of the profits of their evil-doing. Pleasure for them is revelling in open daylight ??spots and blots, with their dissipated revelling, as they carouse in your midst! ??14 their eyes are full of harlotry, insatiable for sin; their own hearts trained to lust, they beguile unsteady souls. Accursed generation!
