To the Pharisees and rulers this claim seemed an arrogant assumption. That a man like themselves should make such pretensions they could not tolerate. Seeming to ignore His words, they demanded, "Who art Thou?" They were bent upon forcing Him to declare Himself the Christ. His appearance and His work were so at variance with the expectations of the people, that, as His wily enemies believed, a direct announcement of Himself as the Messiah would cause Him to be rejected as an impostor.

For farisæerne og rådsherrerne forekom denne hævdelse at være en hovmodig anmasselse. At et menneske som de selv skulle optræde med den slags fordringer det var mere, end de kunne tolerere. Under foregivende af ikke at have hørt, hvad han sagde, spurgte de: Hvem er du? De var fast besluttede på at tvinge ham til at erklære sig selv for Kristus. Hans ydre fremtræden og hans gerning var så vidt forskellige fra, hvad folket ventede, at som hans snedige fjender troede en direkte forkyndelse af, at han var Messias, ville forårsage, at han blev forkastet som en bedrager.