Tag: Torah

The Sanhedrin

Neal Pollard

Did they trace their origin to the time of the wilderness wandering, where God tells Moses to appoint 70 elders to help in a specific situation (Num. 11:16-25)? Throughout the Old Testament, we find elders in Israel gathered for specific purposes, but the formal body of administrators, civic and religious instructors, arbitrators, and rulers are not found until less than a century before the birth of Christ. Josephus records friction and hostility between Herod and the Sanhedrin (Antiq. 14:167-180; see more information in the Mishnah, Mishnah). They are a fully-formed authoritative body during the ministry of Jesus. Most English translations do not have the word “Sanhedrin,” but translate the word “Council” (the Greek word is SYNEDRION). 

After Jesus begins His public ministry, teaching and performing miracles and clashing with the religious rulers throughout the nation, they convene to determine how to handle His mounting influence and popularity. In John 11:47-53, they enumerate their concerns: (1) This man is performing many signs, (2) If we let Him go on, all men will believe in Him, and (3) the Romans will take away their place and their nation. Their solution was destined to be unjust, since their conclusion was that “from that day on they planned together to kill Him” (53). Sure enough, they arrest and try Jesus (Matthew 26:47,57-27:2), actively try to pin guilt on Him (Mark 14:55), and bring Him to Pilate (Luke 22:66). Their hands are stained with the guilt of His blood! Later, they will use their influence to try and stop His church from growing (Acts 4-5). They are kindred spirits with all the scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers, chief priests, and elders, and they certainly work together with a single purpose to try to discredit and destroy Jesus. Ironically, it was all in the name of pious religion.

While they were Jewish, practitioners of the Old Law, and first century contemporaries, human nature is not restricted to one race, religion, or realm. Their spirit lives on today. What lessons do they teach us? What warnings do they give us?

  • If you have to do wrong to “do right,” you have missed it somewhere. Whether it was false witnesses, deceitfulness, entrapment, lying, or any other sin, they broke their beloved law in their blind hatred of Jesus. 
  • Bible knowledge does not equate to true faithfulness. These men were considered experts, caretakers of God’s Word. Yet, Jesus lays out their wickedness in great detail (Matthew 23). 
  • Pride can blind us to the truth. Pride can’t be corrected, taught, reasoned with, open-minded, fair, or circumspect. All of these dispositions are necessary for the discovery of truth.
  • Religious position and status can become more important than honest character and humble study. The end of John 11 shows that their overriding concern was losing their influence and sway. This mindset was infectious (John 12:42-43). 
  • Never let your love of tradition outweigh your reverence for God and proper treatment of your brethren. Jesus’ answer about the greatest commandments, applauded even by one of their law experts (Mark 12:28-34), is contrasted with their own conduct and character. 
  • Envy yields ironic, yet destructive, results. Even a profane pagan like Pilate could see this (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10)
  • Don’t choose the superficial (appearances, men’s praise, etc.) over godly ethics and righteousness. Jesus warned against the shallow righteousness of these men (Matthew 5:18) and even illustrated it (Matthew 6:1-18) in teaching like the Sermon on the Mount. He will condemn it later, in Matthew 23. 
  • Do not begin with a desired outcome and look for evidence to support it. It is a tendency, in and out of the church, to arrive at a position and then hunt down, manipulate, twist, and dishonestly handle Scripture to defend it (cf. 2 Peter 3:16). That is not only backward; it is immoral!
  • We can back ourselves into a corner. How hardhearted were these men? They ignored Jesus’ teaching, His miracles, and the empty tomb. Despite overwhelming evidence, they tried to suppress incontrovertible evidence (Matthew 28:11-15). 

The Split Rock Of Horeb

Rising stark and solemn from the barren Saudi wilderness, the Split Rock of Horeb stands like a silent sentinel of ancient power. Towering nearly 60 feet high, the colossal granite monolith looms over the desolate plain, its weathered and tan flanks are etched by wind and time. But what sets it apart, what seizes the imagination…

Dale Pollard

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It’s not just a rock. 

It’s a rock surrounded by empty silence and scorched earth. It appears, not as a mere geological feature, but a thunderstruck altar where the desert drank. A place where a miracle met stone. 

Rising stark and solemn from the barren Saudi wilderness, the Split Rock of Horeb stands like a silent sentinel of ancient power. Towering nearly 60 feet high, the colossal granite monolith looms over the desolate plain, its weathered and tan flanks are etched by wind and time. But what sets it apart, what seizes the imagination—is the cleft. A prodigious vertical split that is so unnaturally straight it’s as though it were torn by an invisible hand. 

The two halves, still joined at the base, are separated by a gap so wide a man could walk between them. Where is the magic sword from heaven that must have struck it so cleanly? 

At its base, the rock bears smooth channels and grooves—as if torrents of water once burst forth, carving trails into the stone that in wild obedience submit itself to divine command. Light filters through the divide, casting shadows that whisper about that day even to this day.

Yes, the rock still stands. 

Despite centuries of exposure to harsh desert winds, sand, and temperature extremes, the massive split rock remains tall and intact. It has an imposing presence, seemingly sliced vertically in a way that defies typical erosion patterns. The site receives occasional attention, but not too much and rarely up close. 

It’s in a remote, restricted area which is often under military control, and access has historically been limited or even outright prohibited by Saudi powers. 

NO TRESPASSING?

Many of the widely circulated photos and videos of the rock come from unauthorized expeditions, but here’s a couple  stand outs (Ron Wyatt won’t get any attention here). 

Jim and Penny Caldwell

 (1992) 

They were just the average American oil workers living in Saudi Arabia, but with a neat twist.

On numerous occasions they took considerable personal risk by sneaking into restricted areas to document the rock and other sites, including:

  • The Split Rock 
  • The blackened peak of Sinai 
  • Altar-like structures and petroglyphs of bulls (linked to the golden calf story)

Oh, and they had to smuggle all  pictures and footage out of the country. 

Bob Cornuke 

(Late 1990s-Early 2000s)

He was just your average former police investigator, but with a neat twist! 

He collaborated with the Caldwells and visited the site to gather photographic and testimonial evidence. His trips were perfectly reasonable, just slightly (ok, entirely) unauthorized and clandestine.

Other explorers have faced interrogation, arrest, or deportation by Saudi authorities and the government has since built a fence around Split Rock. Access is now heavily restricted or off-limits to the public. 

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Bonus Neat 

Local Bedouins have called it the “Rock of Moses” for generations and their oral traditions speak of how water once flowed from it. Some Bedouins avoid the site entirely. 

Bread Facts 

“And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, and the people will drink.’ And Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

Exodus 17:6-7 

(see also, Numbers 20:1–13)