The Sanhedrin usually refers to the supreme Jewish council and highest court of justice at Jerusalem in New Testament times. The supreme council consists of seventy-one members. Less frequently the rabbis also used the term to refer for the lesser tribunals of twenty-three. The Sanhedrin is mentioned 20x in the NT: 1x in Matt, 2x in Mk, absent in Luke, 1x in Jn, and the rest in Acts. Which of these two tribunals is meant in each case cannot be ascertained.
The origins and early development of the Sanhedrin is obscure, but may have begun with the election of Simon to the high-priesthood in 142 BC. It was the body that made the decision to have Jesus cruxified (Matt 26:59-66, Mk 15:1) as well as to jail the apostles in the early days of the Church (e.g., Acts 4:15; 5:21-41; 6:12-15). The Sanhedrin ceased to exist with the sack and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD during the First Jewish Revolt.
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