The converts were gradually being excluded from participating in all activities at the Temple and treated socially as being worse than the Gentiles because they were recanting from what the normal Jewish citizenry, in many cases sincerely believed was the one and only true way of worshipping, and given faith. The converts were being forced to pretty much give up cleaving to the promises within the Scriptures if they accepted the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. That is what they were being persecuted for. Recant! These were the questions that were going through their minds? Was the Sanhedrin and priesthood wrong? Had the converts been prospered since declaring their belief in Jesus Christ? And they were no doubt asking themselves, how soon is Christ going to return? They knew about those things. Everywhere they looked in family and community life, they were being told and shown by outright painful physical persecutions that believing in Jesus as Messiah was a tragic mistake, a delusion, a sin of the highest order. What was literally happening was that by remaining faithful to Jesus as Messiah, they were civilly and socially being banished from what they held as important before their conversion. The persecution was primarily happening within family units. But still they were being persecuted by being excluded from family units and persecuted within their families. They were pretty much excluded from out of the family.

Persecution often manifests as ostracism, a severe form of social exclusion that isolates individuals from community and relationships. This can occur within our own homes and families, where differences in belief create division and hostility. On the job, some face ostracism for adhering to their convictions, such as observing the Sabbath. Socially, within communities, believers may be excluded from friendships that others readily form, and children can experience this isolation more acutely in school settings. Historically, religious leaders like the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees sought to ostracize Jesus, aiming to undermine the validity of His teachings. This pattern of exclusion, driven by a clash of irreconcilable value systems, is an inevitable challenge for those who live godly lives, testing their resolve and commitment.