Was Jesus an immigrant?
Question:
About the immigration issues: I’m on the fence with some of it. I can’t help but think that Jesus was himself an immigrant, as Mary and Joseph fled King Herod. And they had to have Jesus in a manger. It just brings me back to the holocaust, how many people had to hide the Jews and feed them. I understand that many people came here with poor intentions. But there are so many good people as well. I think that Jesus loves all people. And it says in the end days, he will send his finest of angels to try and change the people’s hearts before they are condemned to hell. I know it’s a complicated subject because it’s political. But we have to love our neighbors and feed them.
Answer:
Some issues are complex to deal with because we allow our emotions to override our reason.
When Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt to avoid Herod's order to kill the newborn king, they went to Egypt. They left Palestine, a province of the Roman Empire at the time, to live in Egypt, another province. This would be similar to moving from Kentucky to Mississippi, or moving from Germany to Austria in the European Union. Thus, they did not immigrate. They only changed residence under the same governmental system.
Jesus' birth in a manager was not because Joseph and Mary were on the run. They were obeying the Roman Emperor's order to pay their taxes in the city of their birth. It was an awkward time for them because Mary was pregnant, and so many people were traveling to pay their taxes that there was limited space in Bethlehem at that time. See "Jesus Was Born in a House, Not a Barn."
I don't know of anyone who opposes immigration. What is opposed is entering a country in violation of its laws. If you don't like those laws, work to change them. People who are willing to break laws to benefit themselves are not "good" people (Romans 13:1-2). They may be nice in many ways, but that doesn't make what they are doing right.
Where a person lives does not change whether Jesus loves them or not. That someone is not able to move to their country of choice has nothing to do with Jesus' view of them.
No passage says Jesus will send angels to change people's hearts. This is a myth. God is spreading His message through people. See "'How Beautiful Are the Feet' (Romans 10:15)."
Response:
Good morning. I hope all is well.
After reading the passages you sent me, I realized it may not be a biblical issue that has me on the fence. I believe it has more to do with morals and understanding poverty myself. I lived many years in Mexico. I’ve worked with Russian and Ukrainian orphans through my church. I feel like the missions I went on as a teen are the reason I feel so strongly. I understand that people need to do it correctly. And I actually didn’t know that Jesus wasn’t an immigrant. So you did teach me something. I do agree that the other administration did let too many people into our country, and it has caused a huge national security issue. I still morally feel bad for the hard-working people who are doing things the correct way, who did not have the opportunity to get a work visa or to do what they should have. But you are right, and so is my husband, that rules in laws are in play for a reason. But thank you for taking the time to teach me all these things. I most definitely didn’t know all of this.
Thank you, and have a wonderful, blessed day.
