Interesting note-
When Jesus showed up the religious leaders considered him the opposite (anti) of what he was. They based their perspective on their understanding of the scriptures.
Did they not know the scriptures? They did— backwards and forwards.... but mostly backwards.
I'm just trying to help. If by "religious leaders" you mean those blind scribes and Pharisees that sought something against Jesus in order to have Him crucified, then yes, they understood the Scriptures somewhat, but not well. That because many of them were actually not born of the seed of Israel. Not all of them, but just the ones that had crept in among Israel back in Israel's earlier history.
You can do some research into the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus (100 A.D.) and learn how even the high priest office had become corrupted with foreigners by the time of Lord Jesus' 1st coming. 1 Chronicles 2:55 reveals that a foreign peoples known as Kenites were the scribes of Israel in charge of keeping copies of God's Word from generation to generation. The Kenites were actually a people of the land of Canaan, per Genesis 15.
This is an important Bible study, because Lord Jesus explained it in Matthew 13 in His parable of the tares of the field. Early on, when God through Joshua led the children of Israel into the lands of Canaan, God told them to literally destroy 7 specific Canaanite nations (Deuteronomy 20). Back 430 years before, God had told Abraham that the iniquity of the Amorites (one of those nations of Canaan) was not yet full. So by the time of Joshua, God had given those Canaanites 430 years to repent. Further, the Rephaim (giant hybrids) lived in those Canaanite nations, and that was another reason why God wanted those 7 nations wiped out.
But the children of Israel failed in destroying them all, so in Judges 2 & 3 God said He would leave those pagans dwelling among Israel to TEST them with, to see if Israel would follow Him or not. Thus began the tares creeping in among the children of Israel. One group of Canaanites disguised themselves as if they were a foreign people traveling from afar and were starving. They asked to make a pact with Joshua to come into and live with the children of Israel. Joshua agreed. Then Joshua found out those were actually Canaanites disguised as being from afar because those Canaanites heard of the destructions by Israel and feared for their lives. Thus Joshua made those Canaanites 'bondservants' to Israel. In 1 Kings 9:19-22, those leftovers of the Canaanites are still dwelling among Israel as bondservants.
Those also went into captivity with the house of Judah to Babylon, and many of them returned as priests and Nethinims (given to temple service). See Ezra 2. And in Ezra 8, the Israelite scribe Ezra sees none of the sons of Levi returning to Jerusalem after the Babylon captivity, so Ezra sends the Iddo, the head Nethinim (foreigner) back to Babylon to get Levite priests. In Ezra 9, he is told that the Israelite elders had taken wives of the Canaanites while captive in Babylon, and had children by them. Then a great assembly was held, and they all agreed to put away their Canaanite wives and children, but then it started raining and broke up the meeting. The last verse of Zechariah 14 reveals that only once Jesus returns to reign will there no more be the Canaanite in the house of God.
This reveals they are still dwelling among today's leaders of Israel. Thus no wonder so many of the unbelieving Jews today are still being misled, and also to fulfill what Paul said that God placed the 'spirit of stupor' upon the unbelieving Jews so The Gospel would go to the Gentiles (Romans 11).
Many brethren don't get that Bible history because of lack of Old Testament study. It's very important though, because it explains how the world and its power structure got to where it is today.
