Why couldn't the Jews who thought they were righteous recognize who Jesus was?
They could not recognize Jesus because they were spiritually blind, trusting their physical descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rather than faith. Claiming they had no sin problem, they rejected His word, which had no place in them, and even sought to kill Him despite His telling them the truth from God.
Les teaches that when Jesus came and confronted them with their sin, they could not see it because they were relying on their genealogy. They claimed, "We're the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; we don't have a sin problem." As Abraham's sons who thought they were righteous, they should have been able to embrace Jesus and realize who He was, but they couldn't because they were blind. Jesus said His word had no place in them, and they sought to kill Him. He contrasted what He had seen with His Father with what they had seen with their father, and when they insisted Abraham was their father, Jesus said that if they were Abraham's children they would do the works of Abraham and be people of faith. Instead, they rejected the truth He had heard from God and did not do what Abraham did.