Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
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When the wise men came to King Herod to ask where the new-born king of the Jews was, the wily old king sent for the chief priests and scribes of Israel to find out. "And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, 'In Bethlehem of Judah, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel'" (Mt. 2:4-6).
It is remarkable that Israel's scholars and religious leaders knew the Scriptures well enough to tell Herod where the Messiah would be born, but what is more amazing is that they did not seem to know when he would be born. The Scriptures are, if anything, clearer concerning the time the Messiah would come than they are concerning the place of his coming. The prophecy from Micah 5:2, referred to in Matthew (above), tells that the Governor of Israel would come from Bethlehem. Now, the Messiah would be Israel's Governor, but throughout Israel's history, there were many other "governors" over the nation, some of them foreigners. But Daniel foretold specifically of the time when "the Messiah" would come to Israel. And concerning who was intended by Daniel's prophecy, there could not possibly be any confusion; there was never but one Messiah.
In chapter 9 of his book, Daniel was told by God's angel that 483 years (69 "weeks" of years) after Cyrus commanded the Jews to return from captivity to their homeland, the Messiah would come (Dan. 9:25). This is sure knowledge, easy to understand. It can hardly be missed.
The leaders of Israel should have been expecting the Messiah at the precise time that Jesus came, preaching the gospel of God. Daniel's prophecy is so definite and clear that it should not have surprised anyone who studied the Scriptures. That is what is amazing about the elders of Jesus' time: not that they knew the name of the city from which the Messiah would come, but that they seemed not to know when he would show up. They knew Micah, chapter 5, well. Why not Daniel, chapter 9?