Warning. This post is not meant to cause division. It is being written in the name of historical accuracy and therefore truth. If you find yourself initially offended by the title of this article, I hope your sentiments will cause you to take a step back, cast aside your emotions, and research my claims for yourself.
In recent years, during the Christmas season, it has become increasingly popular to declare that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were refugees.
The underlying aim of this assertion is designed to tug on heartstrings to compel us to become more compassionate towards the millions of people who have slipped into America without proper documentation. Such evidence legally includes a birth certificate, a medical exam and obtaining required vaccinations, an analysis of any immigration or criminal history, as well as proof demonstrating that the immigrant will not become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence. These are regulations put in place by Congress. Anyone who subverts these rules has entered the country illegally.
It should be noted, as of this writing, the United States grants up to 675,000 permanent immigrant visas each year. In addition to that number, there is no limit on the annual admission of U.S. citizens’ spouses, parents, and children under the age of 21.
The mantra that Jesus was a refugee contends his parents were being persecuted by King Herod and were forced to flee their home in Bethlehem, Judea for Egypt. They are portrayed as poor, destitute, and forced to live in another country where they were treated with shame. However, the Biblical account simply tell us this:
…an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.” Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt. (Matt. 2:13-14)
Some popular memes used to set the stage for this bogus refugee theory actually illustrate Jesus, Mary, and Joseph imprisoned like animal in separate cages.
While Merriam-Webster defines refugee as “a person who flees to a foreign country or power to escape danger or persecution.” Refugees are typically forced to leave their country because of some type of impending violence or doom. For example, my grandfather, on my dad’s side of the family, was sent to America from the eastern Russian Empire in the early 1900’s. Antisemitic persecution was on the rise, as were the winds of communism, and my great-grandparent’s made the decision to scrape together the funds to send their 13-year-old eldest son to America in order to give their family line a chance to thrive. He was sent with the admonition, “Get a job, learn English, send for your brother.” We know Grandpa arrived legally in Philadelphia, but we have no idea who he stayed with. The rest of the family never made it to America; we only know that his brother, Jacob, was murdered by Hitler’s Nazi regime in Auschwitz.
Certainly, my grandpa David was refugee.
Now, back to Jesus.
I’m personally no fan of the United Nations, but for the sake of this discussion, the UN defines refugees as “people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.” At face value, it might appear that the Holy Family fled persecution and went from Judea to Egypt, therefore, crossing an international border.
So, what’s the problem?
Despite how modern international borders look today, Mary, Joseph and Jesus never fled the Roman Empire. Instead, they left the Roman province of Judea to seek temporary sanctuary in the Roman province of Aegyptus. Their travel was perfectly legal.
Consider looking at it this way. Maria, Jose and Jesus live in an apartment in Aurora, Colorado. The apartment complex has been taken over by a violent gang from Venezuela, Tren de Aragua. The family is extorted by the gang and threatened, “If you call the police on us, we will kill you!”
The family leaves the apartment complex in the dark of night, fleeing to Kansas, but not before telling the authorities all they know.
Are Maria, Jose and Jesus refugees? No. They are US citizens who moved to another state.
You see, observing antiquity through a modern lens in order to make a popular political point is a bastardization of history.
Jesus and His family moved to Egypt in order to escape King Herod’s murderous intentions, but they had a plan. Their trip was entirely self-funded, due to the gifts of the magi, and their sojourn in Egypt was temporary, as intended. The family remained there until the death of Herod, at which time they returned home (Matthew 2:19–21).
Given these specific details, there’s no accurate parallel to the modern, indigent refugee who asks permission to enter a new country to avoid some calamity, let alone the migrant who enters a country without permission.
So, what’s driving this Jesus was a refugee storyline?
It’s all about being “woke.”
Woke is a recent term that has come to mean “conscious of injustice in society.” A “woke” person is especially attentive to racial discrimination and the issues surrounding it. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with that.
However, Christians should understand that while laws and legislation guard the principle of equal rights for all Americans, no law can change the human heart. The person filled with prejudice and racial hatred will not suddenly be filled with unwavering love simply because a new law is passed by their representatives. Christians know the authentic evil which resides in the human heart (Jeremiah 17:9). Real justice is possible only when individuals have been justified (just as if I never sinned) in Christ Jesus through repentance and receiving Jesus as Lord. Only when we are saved by His blood can we live out the mandate, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).
Too many Christians have allowed “wokeness” to alter and water down Biblical accuracy in an effort to not offend anyone. The problem is, the Word of God can be quite offensive as it is naturally in conflict with our sinful human nature. As such, and tragically, not everyone is going to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven.
During this Christmas season it would be wise to recall something profoundly said by the Apostle Paul: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptations, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15).