His parents said that because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
When the Lamb broke open the fifth seal, under the altar I saw the souls of people who had been killed because of God’s word and their faithful witness.
However, many did believe in him, even among the Jewish leaders. But because of the Pharisees, they wouldn’t admit openly that they believed. They were afraid that they’d be thrown out of the synagogue.
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they have nothing to do with you, when they say bad things about you, and when they treat your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
Then the Pharisees replied, “Your parents were living in sin when you were born! You know what that makes you. So how dare you talk to us like that?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
As for being strict about the law, I’m a Pharisee. As for zeal, I opposed and attacked the church. As far as keeping the law is concerned, I kept it perfectly.
But a time is coming—in fact, it’s already here—when true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth. Those are the kind of worshipers the Father is looking for.
“A time is coming when you’ll be scattered and you’ll go to your own homes. In fact, that time is already here. You’ll leave me all alone. But I’m not really alone, because my Father is with me.