Acts 7:50 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Did not my hand make all these things?’

NIV: Has not my hand made all these things?'

NASB: WAS IT NOT MY HAND THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’

CSB: Did not my hand make all these things?

NLT: Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’

KJV: Hath not my hand made all these things?

NKJV: Has My hand not made all these things?’

Stephen is defending himself against charges that he blasphemed God, Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). He is continuing a quote from Isaiah 66:1–2, which points out that God gave the Jews the temple as the location to worship, not the object of worship.

The temple itself had started as the building Zerubbabel and Ezra had built after the Jews returned from exile in Babylon (Ezra 1). Around 20 BC, Herod the Great started a massive renovation that lasted until AD 63. Even the top of the temple mount was enlarged. But the mount and the temple were still made of things—stone, dirt, bronze, gold, wood, and cloth—which were all God-made.

In fact, God made everything Stephen's accusers are "defending." He made Moses and called him to lead His people (Exodus 2—4). He made the Law and gave it to Moses. And it is His presence, not the stone and gold and linen, that makes the temple a place of worship.

This verse quotes the first line of Isaiah 66:2, but the last half of the verse is important for Stephen's defense, and it's possible he stopped where he did to challenge his audience. Heaven is God's throne, and the earth is His footstool—the house is not significant (Isaiah 66:1). "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). Stephen will finish his defense by reminding his accusers just how much their forebearers failed in being humble and contrite.

Acts 7:44–50 points out that while God accepted the temple, He never asked for it and it can't contain Him. Jews from northern Africa and modern Asia Minor have accused Jesus-follower Stephen of blaspheming Moses, the Mosaic law, and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). Stephen has already proved that the patriarchs worshiped God without a temple, the Law, or even a homeland (7:2–16). Even Solomon, who built the temple, knew it couldn't contain God. Moses, the Law, and the temple have effectively become idols to the Jews.

Stephen is a Greek-speaking Jewish Christian and one of the first deacons in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1–7). He's also a skilled apologist and has been debating Jews from outside Judea about the proper place of the Mosaic law and the temple (Acts 6:8–15). His opponents cannot counter his arguments so they resort to lies. They tell the Sanhedrin that Stephen wants to destroy the temple and repeal the Mosaic law. Stephen counters that his accusers don't respect Moses or the Law, and the temple isn't necessary to worship God. This enrages the mob, and Stephen is stoned, becoming the first Christian martyr.

Chapter 7 is one of the pivot points of the book of Acts. Until recently, the early church has seen favor from the people and indifference from the Sanhedrin. Now, the Sanhedrin has beaten the apostles and ordered them not to preach about Jesus (Acts 5:40), and the people are starting to realize how different Christianity is. In Jerusalem, a Hellenist Jewish Jesus-follower named Stephen has been in a debate with other foreign Jews who finally accuse him of wishing to destroy the temple, like Jesus (Acts 6:8–15). This is Stephen's defense, which leads to his death and the introduction of Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.