From the time Jesus entered Jerusalem challenging the compromise and pride of the religious elite in Judaism, the people in power rejected Jesus of Nazareth as anything but a troublemaker.  The chief priests, scribes, elders, and other elite religious leaders were completely mystified as to who this Jesus was, but they rejected the idea that He was the Messiah.  So, they probed and questioned Him, observed and tried to find fault with Him, but they came up short each time they tried to defame Him.