The Sanhedrin was composed of 70 members, with a leader (originally the high Priest). It was the "supreme" authority for Jew's, and was the composition of member's who brought Jesus before Pontius Pilate, which ultimately led to his death. It is very important, in understanding the falling of the Jewish people in the Bible, to know a little about the Sanhedrin.
FIRST MENTION of the Elders (forerunner of the Sanhedrin)
Exodus Chapter 18:
{18:1} When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, [and] that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt;
{18:2} Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,
{18:3} And her two sons; of which the name of the one [was] Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land:
{18:4} And the name of the other [was] Eliezer; for the God of my father, [said he, was] mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
{18:5} And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
{18:6} And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
{18:7} And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other of [their] welfare; and they came into the tent.
{18:8} And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for
Israel's sake, [and] all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and [how] the LORD delivered them.
{18:9} And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had
delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
The Advice that would change the course of history:
{18:10} And Jethro said, Blessed [be] the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
{18:11} Now I know that the LORD [is] greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they
dealt proudly [he was] above them.
{18:12} And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and
all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.
{18:13} And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
{18:14} And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What [is] this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? [questioning Mose's duty to the people]
{18:15} And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
{18:16} When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make [them] know the statutes of God, and his laws. [Moses alone was allowed to talk directly, face - to - face with God. Mose's was Israel's Judge, and we know God never places a burden on someone that's heavier than they can bear. It was MOSES who was to judge the people]
{18:17} And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest [is] not good.
The Temptation:
{18:18} Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that [is] with thee: for this thing [is] too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
{18:19} Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
{18:20} And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
{18:21} Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [such] over them, [to be] rulers of thousands, [and] rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
{18:22} And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, [that] every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear [the
burden] with thee.
{18:23} If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee [so,] then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
{18:24} So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
[NOTE that the Bible does not say Moses went to God and asked if he could do this...he took the advice of Jethro, a Midianite Priest (the Midianite's would soon vex the Jew's and God will deal with them) and instituted something that was not from God.]
{18:25} And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
[this became a form of central government, and will allow the abominable practices to occur later on]
{18:26} And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
[Much, much later (during Christ's time), this group of 70 elders which were the heads over the people would be called the Sanhedrin, and they would claim that God gave them separate instructions that Moses did not receive. This they would formulate into a book called the Talmud; this book would then become the authority over the people, and not the Torah (Old Testament). This book would be the source of all types of "traditions", and would be referenced by Christ in his rebuke to them:]
From John, Chapter 8:44
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of [your] father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
{18:27} And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Second mention of the Sanhedrin:
In Numbers, chapter 11, the people rebel against God and begin to cry and moan about only having Manna to eat. They remembered all the good food they had in Egypt. Moses goes to God and laments that he shouldn't have to bear all of the peoples burdens. Here we take up what happens next:
{11:16} And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. {11:17} And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which [is] upon thee, and will put [it] upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. {11:18} And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for [it was] well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. {11:19} Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; {11:20} [But] even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which [is] among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? {11:21} And Moses said, he people, among whom I [am, are] six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. {11:22} Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to
suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them? {11:23} And the LORD said unto Moses, Is the LORD'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not. {11:24} And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the
LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. {11:25} And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him, and gave [it] unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, [that,] when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
We shall see how these seventy elders are part of the conspiracy against Moses, and ultimately, those who judged Jesus and sentenced him to death.
The Golden Calf
Exodus, Chapter 24: Moses, Aaron, Joshua and the 70 elders are called to the foot of the Mountain by God.
{24:1} And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
{24:2} And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
{24:3} And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
{24:9} Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
{24:10} And they saw the God of Israel: and [there was] under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in [his] clearness.
{24:12} And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
{24:13}And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.
{24:14} And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur [are] with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
{24:15} And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
While God is giving the Ten Commandments and instructions for the Ark of the Testament, the Elders and Aaron create the Golden Calf:
{32:1} And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for [as for]
this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
{32:2} And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which [are] in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring [them] unto me.
{32:3} And all the people brake off the golden earrings which [were] in their ears, and brought [them] unto Aaron.
{32:4} And he received [them] at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a
molten calf: and they said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
{32:5} And when Aaron saw [it,] he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow [is] a feast to the LORD.
{32:6} And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
