What is the Sanhedrin?

So, what is the Sanhedrin? In the New Testament context, the Sanhedrin is not explained specifically, but it appears to be the highest court of the

Jews which met in Jerusalem and consisted of a council of leaders. In Luke 22, 66, we see

Jesus being tried before the council of elders, which consisted of both chief priests and scribes.

The term comes from the Greek sunedrion, and the word occurs over 20 times in the

New Testament. In Mark 15, verse 1, Jesus is before the elders and scribes and the whole council, the

Sanhedrin, before being delivered to Pilate. In Acts 4, the Sanhedrin sat in judgment of the preaching of Peter and John.

And in Acts 23, both Pharisees and Sadducees sat on the Sanhedrin. The Harper's Bible Dictionary says that, quote, a variety of theories have developed concerning the

Sanhedrin of the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem. The three most prevalent are that the Sanhedrin was composed of political leaders, including some priests and aristocrats, that the

Sanhedrin was composed of religious leaders, knowledgeable in the law, including priests and Pharisees and scribes, and third, that there were two