The religious leaders asked John the Baptist who he was, because there were many ideas about who would come on the scene at the end of the world. Many thought Elijah would come again, before the end. The leaders also knew that John was preaching a bold message of repentance, that certainly challenged some of their lax attitudes. The "Prophet" is most likely the one spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. It also indicated to other people that maybe God was up to something new.
The Messiah was supposed to take his place as King, and lead their armies in victorious battle over the nations of the Earth. Most probably did not think John was the Messiah, but he was interesting enough that they had to ask.
John denied it, but the way he answered the question showed that God really was up to something new. John is not the Messiah, but he says he is the one to announce him. He quotes a prophecy from Isaiah, (Isaiah 40:3) and everyone should know that it will get very interesting from here.
One traditional view of John the Baptist is that he was the last prophet of the Old Testament. Therefore, when he is receiving messages from God about who Jesus is, he is fulfilling the last parts of his role as that prophet.
St. John also gives us some new information about the Messiah: he will also be the only Son of God the Father. We are also introduced to the Holy Spirit. Often in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit is called, "the Spirit of God," and we don't get a lot of details about who He is, but we do know that the Holy Spirit would always come to the aid of the anointed kings and prophets in Israel. So, one thing we can reasonably conclude is that the author St. John believes Jesus to be a prophet and a king.
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