The Sanhedrin

 

What Was the Sanhedrin? By What Authority Did It Act?

“Appoint judges and enforcement officers in all your cities.”—Deuteronomy 16:18

Nine Groups That Made Up The Great Sanhedrin Council

Elders   -   Essenes   -   Herodians

John's Disciples   -   Pharisees   -   Priests

Sadducees   -   Scribes   -   Zealots

Who were the members of the Great Sanhedrin? What kind of power did they possess? Where did they meet? Were they the driving force that got Jesus crucified?

 

The Great Sanhedrin (which in Greek means 'a sitting together' or 'council') was the supreme council of the Jews who met within Jerusalem's temple in a place known as the chamber of hewn stones (although they sometimes met in the house of the High Priest). The Sanhedrin was like the U.S. Supreme court in that they were the final authority on decisions that affected the religious and political life of all Jews.

 

The council convened each day of the week except the Sabbath and the annual Biblical Holy Days. In New Testament times, the Sanhedrin was composed of seventy-one members (the High Priest, a vice chief justice and sixty-nine lower courts). The Pharisees (e.g. Nicodemus, John 3:1 - 10) as well as the Sadducees, scribes, elders and possibly others, were represented on the council. The High Priest always wore a black robe. 

The United States Supreme Court is made up of eight Justices and one Chief Justice (High Priest)  and operate the same way as the Sanhedrin did. These nine judges render opinions based on their interpretation of "legal and illegal" and "politically correct" rather than the common sense law of right and wrong.

 

The simple black robe has quite a tradition as the "uniform" of justice in the United States dating back to the book of Deuteronomy. The black robe links judges together as they interpret and apply the law in hundreds of courtrooms throughout the United States. Learn More

 

The purpose of Renew Your Strength Bible Study Group is to get people to think about what they believe and why they believe it, not debate who's right or wrong.

 

Over the years, as Renew Your Strength has continued to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have recognized that some of the things we once held as true, in fact, are not; and therefore we will not “cast in stone” a statement of our beliefs. We reserve the right to be wrong and to repent of such error when we discover it.  

 

To learn the revealed truth of God we must know and understand the true meaning of the words God inspired to be written. Use Strong's Concordance to check the original word before it was translated. Do your own research, make up your own mind, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you.