They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”
Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”John 1:22 NIV
He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”John 1:20 NIV