Mark 14:58

14:58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with hands and in three days build another not made with hands.’”

Acts 7:48

7:48 Yet the Most High ¹  does not live in houses made by human hands, ²  as the prophet says,

Acts 17:24

17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, ³  who is ⁴  Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, ⁵ 

Acts 17:2

17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, ⁶  as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed ⁷  them from the scriptures,

Colossians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁸  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Ephesians 2:11

New Life Corporately

2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body ⁹  by human hands –

Hebrews 9:11

Christ’s Service in the Heavenly Sanctuary

9:11 But now Christ has come ¹⁰  as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation,

Hebrews 9:24

9:24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands – the representation ¹¹  of the true sanctuary ¹²  – but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us.

¹ sn The title the Most High points to God’s majesty (Heb 7:1; Luke 1:32, 35; Acts 16:7).

² sn The phrase made by human hands is negative in the NT: Mark 14:58; Acts 17:24; Eph 2:11; Heb 9:11, 24. It suggests “man-made” or “impermanent.” The rebuke is like parts of the Hebrew scripture where the rebuke is not of the temple, but for making too much of it (1 Kgs 8:27; Isa 57:15; 1 Chr 6:8; Jer 7:1-34).

³ tn Grk “all the things that are in it.” The speech starts with God as Creator, like 14:15.

⁴ tn Or “because he is.” The participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) could be either adjectival, modifying οὗτος (Joutos, “who is Lord…”) or adverbial of cause (“because he is Lord…”). Since the participle διδούς (didou") in v. 25 appears to be clearly causal in force, it is preferable to understand ὑπάρχων as adjectival in this context.

⁵ sn On the statement does not live in temples made by human hands compare Acts 7:48. This has implications for idols as well. God cannot be represented by them or, as the following clause also suggests, served by human hands.

⁶ tn Grk “he went in to them”; the referent (the Jews in the synagogue) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Although the word διελέξατο (dielexato; from διαλέγομαι, dialegomai) is frequently translated “reasoned,” “disputed,” or “argued,” this sense comes from its classical meaning where it was used of philosophical disputation, including the Socratic method of questions and answers. However, there does not seem to be contextual evidence for this kind of debate in Acts 17:2. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21.

⁸ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

⁹ tn Grk “in the flesh.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “But Christ, when he came,” introducing a sentence that includes all of Heb 9:11-12. The main construction is “Christ, having come…, entered…, having secured…,” and everything else describes his entrance.

¹¹ tn Or “prefiguration.”

¹² tn The word “sanctuary” is not in the Greek text at this point, but has been supplied for clarity.