priestly house and
especially of the Sadducean nobility. But from the days of Queen
Alexandra (69-68 B.C.) onward, there were with these chief priests also
many Pharisees in it under the name of scribes and elders. These three
classes are found combined in Matt. 27:41; Mark 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1.
How such members were appointed is not entirely clear. The aristocratic
character of the body and the history of its origin forbid the belief
that it was by election. Its nucleus probably consisted of the members
of certain ancient families, to which, however, from time to time others
were added by the secular rulers. The presiding officer was the high
priest, who at first exercized in it more than the authority of a
member, claiming a voice equal to that of the rest of the body. But
after the reduction of the high priesthood from a hereditary office to
one bestowed by the political ruler according to his pleasure, and the
frequent changes in the office introduced by the new system, the high
priest naturally lost his prestige. Instead of holding in his hands the
'government of the nation,' he came to be but one of many to share this
power; those who had served as high priests being still in esteem among
their nation, and having lost their office not for any reason that could
be considered valid by the religious sense of the community, exerted a
large influence over the decisions of the assembly. In the New Testament
they are regarded as the rulers (Matt. 26:59; 27:41; Acts 4:5, 8; Luke
23:13, 35; John 7:26), and Josephus' testimony supports this view. The
functions of the Sanhedrin were religious and moral, and also political.
In the latter capacity they further exercized administrative as well as
judicial functions. As a religious tribunal, the Sanhedrin wielded a
potent influence over the whole of the Jewish world (Acts 9:2); but as a
court of justice, after the division of the country upon the death of
Herod, its jurisdiction was limited to Judea. Here, however, its power
was absolute even to the passing of sentence of death (Josephus, Ant.
xiv, 9:3, 4; Matt. 26:3; Acts 4:5; 6:12; 22:30), although it had no
authority to carry the sentence into execution except as approved and
ordered by the representative of the Roman government. The law by which
the Sanhedrin governed was naturally the Jewish, and in the execution of
it this tribunal had a police of its own, and made arrests at its
discretion (Matt 26:47).... While the gener