Bible Verses About Self-Defense

Meanwhile, Yeshua was brought before the governor, and the governor put this question to him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Yeshua answered, "The words are yours."

But when he was accused by the head cohanim and elders, he gave no answer.

Then Pilate said to him, "Don't you hear all these charges they are making against you?"

But to the governor's great amazement, he did not say a single word in reply to the accusations.

Pilate put this question to him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" He answered him, "The words are yours."

The head cohanim too made accusations against him,

and Pilate again inquired of him, "Aren't you going to answer? Look how many charges they are making against you!"

But Yeshua made no further response, to Pilate's amazement.

Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” And he answered him, “The words are yours.”

“Our Torah doesn’t condemn a man — does it? — until after hearing from him and finding out what he’s doing.”

On hearing this, they were stung in their hearts; and they said to Kefa and the other emissaries, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Kefa answered them, “Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed on the authority of Yeshua the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh!

For the promise is for you, for your children, and for those far away — as many as Adonai our God may call!”

He pressed his case with many other arguments and kept pleading with them, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!”

When the governor motioned for Sha’ul to speak, he replied, “I know that you have been judge over this nation for a number of years, so I am glad to make my defense.

As you can verify for yourself, it has not been more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Yerushalayim;

and neither in the Temple nor in the synagogues nor anywhere else in the city did they find me either arguing with anyone or collecting a crowd.

Nor can they give any proof of the things of which they are accusing me.

“But this I do admit to you: I worship the God of our fathers in accordance with the Way (which they call a sect). I continue to believe everything that accords with the Torah and everything written in the Prophets.

And I continue to have a hope in God — which they too accept — that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.

Indeed, it is because of this that I make a point of always having a clear conscience in the sight of both God and man.

“After an absence of several years, I came to Yerushalayim to bring a charitable gift to my nation and to offer sacrifices.

It was in connection with the latter that they found me in the Temple. I had been ceremonially purified, I was not with a crowd, and I was not causing a disturbance.

But some Jews from the province of Asia — they ought to be here before you to make a charge if they have anything against me!

Or else, let these men themselves say what crime they found me guilty of when I stood in front of the Sanhedrin,