Jesus was not recognized by the religious leaders as the Messiah. The problem was not the prophetic picture painted by the Old Testament revelation, it was the inability of the scribes and pharisees to discern the true meaning. When the religious leaders asked Jesus to identify Himself, He told them He was who He had been claiming to be from the very beginning. Jesus was revealed as the Messiah, not by mystical or esoteric knowledge but by His fulfillment of the Scriptures. If we know Jesus, it will be through the revelation of the Scriptures.