Luke 22:66

ὡς ἐγένετο ἡμέρα. The Oral Law decided that the Sanhedrin could only meet by daylight. Sanhedrin 9. 1.

τὸ πρεσβυτέριον. Literally, “the presbytery of the people,” as in Acts 22:5.

πρεσβυτέριον … ἀρχιερεῖς … γραμματεῖς. See Mark 15:1. The three constituent parts of the Sanhedrin, 1Ma 14:28. The Sanhedrin was the successor of the Great Synagogue, which ended with Simon the Just. Where they met is uncertain. It was either in the Paved Hall, or ‘Hall of Squares’ (Lischath haggazzith); or in the Beth Midrash (Temple Synagogue), a chamber which abutted on the “middle wall of partition” (Chêl), or in the Chanujoth ‘shops’ or ‘booths’ founded by the house of Hanan to sell doves, &c. for the temple.

ἀπήγαγον. Some MSS. read ἀνήγαγον, which would mean ‘led Him up.’

συνέδριον. From which the word Sanhedrin (mistakenly spelt Sanhedrim) is derived. Polybius uses the word of the Amphictyonic Council, the Roman Senate, &c.; but it is first applied to the Jewish Presbytery on the occasion when they summoned before them Hyrcanus II., son of Alexander Jannaeus. It gloried in being a mild tribunal, but was now an extremely degenerate body, and unworthy of its earlier traditions (Jos. Antt. XIII. 10, § 6; B. J. II. 8, § 14). The Jewish authorities had lost the power of inflicting death; they could only pass sentence of excommunication, and hand over to the secular arm.

εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστός. The object of the Sanhedrin was somewhat different from that of the Priests in the house of Caiaphas. They had only succeeded in establishing (by a most illegal personal appeal) a charge of constructive blasphemy. But ‘blasphemy’ was not a charge on which a Roman could pronounce capital sentence. Hence, in order to get Christ crucified, they needed a charge of treason, which might be constructed out of His claim to be the Messiah.