The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10).  It is right to have an awesome respect for our Maker and for His Word.  Whatever He says is right and true, and all those who submit to Him are blessed.  However, being afraid of people who hate Jesus is not good.  The parents in today's passage had just experienced a life-changing event.  Their son, who had been born blind, could now see.  His joy was not hidden from them.  They knew that Jesus had healed him.
 
But they were very afraid of the Pharisees - the social-rulers and power-holders in the synagogues.  Those religious leaders had threatened that anybody who believed in Jesus as God's Messiah would be excluded from worship.  That threat struck to the core of Jewish identity.  To be thrown out of the synagogue was social and cultural death.  Nobody would ever speak to them again.

The Pharisees who had interrogated the once-blind man (John 9:13-17), now sent for his parents.  They were unwillingly caught up in the drama.  They felt trapped.  They were willing to admit that the healed man was their son and that he had been born blind, but refused to speak about Jesus - even though they must have known that it was He who healed their boy.  Eventually, they almost disowned their son saying that if more information was needed, they should ask him.
 
Today, more than ever before, many believers are under threat of social isolation and unemployment because they believe in Jesus.  It is a cruel indirect means of punishing people for their faith.  Perhaps, understandably, many choose to stay quiet rather than risk a confrontation; whereas others know that announcing Jesus will bring some people to salvation - even their persecutors.  Fear is one of Satan's weapons.  He lies to us about the future (although he does not know the truth about the future) and he urges us to be silent about Jesus in case trouble comes our way.  What is the answer?  Surely the answer is to be open about Jesus anyway and always be prepared to have an answer when people ask us about our faith (1 Peter 3:15).