John Gill Bible Commentary

For they that dwelt at Jerusalem, and their rulers,.... The inhabitants of that city, and the great sanhedrim which sat there: because they knew him not; that is, either Jesus the Saviour, whom God had raised of the seed of David, and to whom John bore witness; and which must be understood, not of all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and members of the sanhedrim; for though some were ignorant, yet there were others that knew that Jesus was the Messiah, and notwithstanding rejected him; but the apostle chooses to take no notice of these, because he would not irritate and provoke, but rather of others, that were really ignorant of Christ: or else this may be understood of the Gospel, the word of salvation, that the Jews knew not "that"; and so the Syriac version renders it; and to which agrees the Ethiopic version, which reads thus, "they knew not this word of the prophets", joining the word of salvation, and what follows, together: nor yet the voices of the prophets: "or the writings of the prophets", as the Syriac version, and some copies read; their prophecies concerning the Messiah, particularly in Psa 22:1 which are read every sabbath day; See Gill on Act 13:15. they have fulfilled them; the word, of the prophets: in condemning him; Jesus Christ, for these prophets testified, in the places referred to, of the sufferings and death of Christ, to which he was condemned by them.