Sanhedrin, << SAN hih drihn, >> was the highest national governing council of the Jews in Roman times. According to some scholars, there were two Sanhedrins. The 23 members of the political and civil Sanhedrin came mostly from among the Sadducees. The 70 members of the religious Sanhedrin, which was presided over by the high priest, came largely from among the Pharisees. According to the Christian Bible in Matthew 26:57 and John 11:47, Jesus was tried before the religious Sanhedrin. Saints Peter, John, Stephen, and Paul appeared before it on charges of religious error. After Rome put down a Jewish revolt in Palestine in A.D. 70, the council declined and completely disappeared. See also Gamaliel .
