The Sanhedrin and the Church, Part I

The Sanhedrin has quite a reputation in Christian circles that is sadly negative. Its role in the death of Jesus has left a seemingly irremovable stain on its name and the Hebrew people have endured much grief because of it – to the shame of the Church. At the heart of this tragedy is a lack of understanding concerning the Sanhedrin’s origins and role – as well as its impact on the Church. As the Church begins to understand its importance in the past, so it will see also its vitality in the future.

“Then the LORD said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. […] So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.” (Numbers 11:16-17, 24-25, ESV)

In the days of Israel’s wanderings, when they had complained and spoken once more against Moses, Moses turned to God asking for relief, for could one man be the sole judge of millions? In answer, the Holy One instituted the first Sanhedrin – 70 elders of Israel under the authority of Moses, Rosh haYeshiva. In the generations following, the offices were passed on by ordination from generation to generation – holding still to the Law and acting as the beit Din of Israel. It was composed of men from every tribe in Israel – all of them knowledgeable in the Law and holding faithfully to the commands of God.

In the days of Jesus, they continued in this role although some things had changed. The Hebrew people had been divided into various parties and sects – Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, and Cananaeans. The Sadducees, the Levitical priesthood and nobility among the Jews formed a large part of the Sanhedrin yet remained a minority in religious thought, holding only to the Torah while rejecting the words of the prophets, as well as the doctrines of the resurrection and the World-to-come. The Pharisees, accepting all of these, as well as the oral law that had been passed down from generation to generation, according tradition, from Moses himself. They were the religious guard of the Jewish people – believing that by their obeisance to the Law, God might one day bring freedom for Israel. The Essenes were quite different – believing themselves to be the true sons of Zadok (from where the Sadducees took their name), they awaited the day when the Temple would be purified and the Zadok priesthood restored. Besides the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, they also accepted some other mystical works and wisdom literature, along with apocalyptic visions. Yet, among all of these groups, one stood quite apart from the rest: the Cananaeans. Commonly known as the Zealots, they were a radical activist group devoted to fighting for Israel’s political freedom. They, in essence, believed they were fighting a holy war against the heathen in order to free the Holy Land.

Of these, the Pharisees and Sadducees alone held seats in the Sanhedrin, as the Essenes rejected the leadership as corrupt and impure and the Zealots, as commoners, had no right to leadership. The majority of the Sanhedrin, however, was in the hands of the Sadducees and it has been indicated that the Kohen haGadol, the High Priest worked closely with Rome to have their own appointed to the Sanhedrin, in the seat of Moses. Jesus, during His own ministry, noted their authority, as well as how far they had fallen:

Then Yeshua addressed the crowds and his talmidim: "The Torah-teachers and the P'rushim," he said, "sit in the seat of Moshe. So whatever they tell you, take care to do it. But don't do what they do, because they talk but don't act! They tie heavy loads onto people's shoulders but won't lift a finger to help carry them. Everything they do is done to be seen by others; for they make their t'fillin broad and their tzitziyot long, they love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and they love being greeted deferentially in the marketplaces and being called `Rabbi.' "But you are not to let yourselves be called `Rabbi'; because you have one Rabbi, and you are all each other's brothers. And do not call anyone on earth `Father.' because you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to let yourselves be called `leaders,' because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah! The greatest among you must be your servant, for whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted. (Matthew 23:1-12, CJB)

Yet, the nascent Sanhedrin, too, notes their abuse of power:

The Sadducees could not tolerate the raising of the Sages from the Pharisee camp to positions of power and control and sought ways to regain their lost power and influence. The Sadducees quickly realized that the office of High Priest held the best promise to acheive [sic] this aim. The Roman rulers followed Herod's example of bestowing this sacred office upon the highest bidder. As the Sadducees had no lack of money, the offered huge personal bribes to the procurators, and a candidate of their choice became High Priest. The Roman officials soon realized that the office of High Priest was an infallible source of income. At frequent intervals, they would dismiss the current Kohen Gadol and auction off the position to the highest bidder. The […] Kohen Gadol came to be regarded as a petty politician who was appointed by the secular government and cared only about his own glory and enrichment. In the course of time, with their numbers growing, they became a domineering aristocracy and […] they abused the people […] [bringing] the Destruction of the Temple.

What is interesting about Jesus’ recognition of their authority is that He commanded his disciples to listen to what they say! With the loss of a true and holy high priest from the sons of Aaron, the Sanhedrin formed the last remaining legitimate authority in Israel. Yet, even they were to give that authority up soon after. In the days following, the Sadducees hijacked the Sanhedrin, tried Jesus illegally under the rules of procedure, and declared Him to be guilty of blasphemy. Due to their alliance with Rome, they handed him over to them to be tried for treason and subversion of Roman authority. From the night of the that trial, the Sanhedrin, officially, had been lost to those who had no trust in the Scriptures.

The Pharisees, ever the defenders of the righteous, stood up for the followers of Jesus. In Acts 5:34-39, Gamaliel, a famous rabbi that is still revered for his wisdom by Orthodox Jews today, declared:

But one of the members of the Sanhedrin rose to his feet, a Parush named Gamli'el, a teacher of the Torah highly respected by all the people. He ordered the men put outside for a little while and then addressed the court: "Men of Isra'el, take care what you do to these people. Some time ago, there was a rebellion under Todah, who claimed to be somebody special; and a number of men, maybe four hundred, rallied behind him. But upon his being put to death, his whole following was broken up and came to nothing. After this, Y'hudah HaG'lili led another uprising, back at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax; and he got some people to defect to him. But he was killed, and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, my advice to you is not to interfere with these people, but to leave them alone. For if this idea or this movement has a human origin, it will collapse. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them; you might even find yourselves fighting God!" They heeded his advice. (CJB)

Gamaliel played an influential role, himself, in the development of the Church. He was the teacher of Saul of Tarsus – later known as the Apostle Paul. Although some traditions state that he later became a follower of Jesus, the fact that he is still remembered and honored by the Jews would indicate that he did not. However, many members of the Sanhedrin soon became “Followers of the Way” before and after this order by the Sadducees of the council. Among them are Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea. The Scriptures tell us that others soon joined through the ministry of the Apostles.