Ramon Arias | December 28, 2015
There’s no surprise that during the Christmas season the “Jesus was a refugee” card gets played to no end by politicians to push their agenda of America’s fundamental transformation. It would be laughable if it were not so serious with devastating consequences.
The American people are known for being compassionate. They are always willing to help nations that have been devastated by natural disasters, famines, epidemics, wars, civil wars and so much more. This is the very reason that unscrupulous politicians push down our throats the refugee crisis of the Middle East, appealing to Christians by misquoting the true historical facts of Joseph, Mary and the boy Jesus, when they were warned by God to go from Bethlehem to Egypt to be preserved.
I have written on this subject before. In July 28, 2014, I wrote about “Political Compassion or Anticipated Unkind Agenda Using Refugees?”, and in November 30, 2015 another article titled, “Don’t Be Deceived, The Pilgrims Were Not Refugees.”
So, if I have already written on this, why am I taking the time to write again on the subject? For three reasons: First, the political and elites of this nation really think we are all stupid and not privy to their agendas. For decades they’ve been emboldened in pushing their liberal / progressive / Marxist / socialist / communist ideology with the help of the “useful idiots” (term attributed to Vladimir Lenin). The only ones blocking their path to full control are the biblical Christians and true patriots, who believe in the original vision and purpose of this nation. Second, many “Christian religious leaders” and “Christian organizations” have jumped on the refugee wagon for the great financial benefits that come with that, and not because they’re compassionate towards the “refugees.” Third, it is amazing how many people fall for the historical inaccuracy that “Jesus was a refugee.”
Understanding historical facts removes not only our ignorance but allows us to see how the wolves in sheep’s clothing manipulate emotions to their advantage.
My next remarks are well known to biblical Christians, however, it will give me an opportunity to re-affirm once again who controls history; do not make the mistake in believing it is man.
Jesus is the historical central figure of the human race and the universe. He is the Creator/God of all things. This is how one of the early apostles, John, expresses his understanding of who Jesus is:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3). Years later, the apostle Paul said this, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).
Jesus’ coming to earth was a well-planned event; there was nothing random about it. In Genesis, we read about the reason for the human turmoil throughout history: it was, and still is, man’s rebellion against God. In Genesis 3:15, the conflict between God, Jesus Christ and Satan was revealed. This conflict would involve the human race embracing two worldviews, those who would follow God, and those who would follow Satan.
For approximately 4,000 years, before the coming of Jesus Christ to redeem the human race, it was announced that He was going to be born of a virgin; it was announced to the prophet Isaiah, a little over 700 years before Christ’s birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20, 23).
His place of birth was to be Bethlehem, as revealed to the prophet Micah centuries before his birth in Micah 5:2. Micah was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea.
Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, about 70 miles from Bethlehem. Joseph’s profession was that of a carpenter, this is contrary to the myth that he lived in poverty, much less that he was planning to move out of town. Joseph was clueless about the birthplace of Jesus as prophesied; as far as he was concerned the baby was going to be born in Nazareth.
The following is in keeping to the true fact that God is controlling history:
During that time the pagan Roman Empire dominated Israel. Unbeknown to the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, he was about to fulfill a significant part of God’s prophecy. He ordered a census of all the people living in the Roman world that required for everyone to go to their family’s place of origin. Joseph was a descendent of David, who was from Bethlehem; he had to comply with the Emperor’s orders and made the journey to register in Bethlehem. They were not the only couple that went to register; it must have been very crowded with limited room at the inn. There was no place for them there and Mary was ready to give birth. (Luke 2:1-7)
God had a very special way to let the world know that his only Son had been born; the first people that received the good news were some shepherds who were visited by an angelical being followed by a spectacular sight of an angelic choir that numbered as a multitude (Luke 2:8-14).
Joseph, Mary and Jesus remained in Bethlehem for over a year. During that time wise men from the east made the journey to Jerusalem to worship the newborn King. When they arrived at Jerusalem wise men went to King Herod’s palace, the most logical place to find the newborn King, wouldn’t you say? When Herod heard the news of what the wise men saw and an unusual star that led them to the region, he was shocked, along with all the people in Jerusalem, at the news that an alternative King had been born. Herod called upon the chief priests and Jewish religious leaders to tell him where the birthplace of the Christ was to be as the Scriptures foretold, they told him “in Bethlehem of Judea” as the prophet Micah wrote centuries before (Matthew 2:1-6).
King Herod told the wise men to go to Bethlehem and to search and find the child and to bring back news to him because he also wanted to go and worship Him. Evil politicians never change throughout history and lying is the best tool at their disposal to say what people want to hear, after all, the end justifies the means. (Matthew 2:7-8)
Now, the wise men had to look for a child that was no longer a baby; there were many houses in Bethlehem and they would have needed to do a lot of inquiring to find a family whose name they did not know; that would have been quite a task! But, He who controls times, seasons and history, was guiding those men. From the very beginning they had been led by a star, and now God allowed the star to appear once again to lead them to the right house so there would be no mistake. The light of the star stopped to illuminate the place where the family was and the wise men rejoiced greatly (Matthew 2:9-10). Here’s a question for the astronomers: forget the story about a comet or any other alignment of planets, explain how is it possible for a single star to travel in such a way, and stop in a specific place to illuminate one house? Mind-boggling isn’t it? The light was a very special act of God and nothing about Jesus’ human life was common, because He was, and is, God.
When the wise men saw the infant Jesus, they worshipped Him and opened their treasures, offering the gifts they brought for Him of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Bible does not say how many wise men came to worship Jesus; it only mentions the three types of gifts they brought for Him (Matthew 2:11). This brings a question to mind; why then, in all the representations of the wise men are there three of them? You tell me! My conclusion is that if it is not in the Bible, then for sure it’s folklore.
Besides the traditional meaning of gold, frankincense and myrrh, as it relates to Jesus, let us focus on the gifts. The Bible says that the wise men opened their treasures. Notice that the word “treasures” is in the plural. What comes to your mind when you hear the word treasures? If you know something about history and the gifts brought to kings in antiquity, even the recorded ones in the Bible, they were very excessive. I know that what we see in greeting cards, postcards, dramas and other representations are skimpy little gift boxes that are presented to the infant Jesus, but is that accurate? Hardly! But, more on that subject later.
After the visit with the infant Jesus, the wise men were warned in a dream not to go back to King Herod with the details about where to find the new King. They avoided going back through Jerusalem and took another route. (Matthew 2:12)
What followed after the wise men’s departure is of great interest. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream giving him immediate instructions to take his family and escape to Egypt; they were to remain there until further notice. The angel told Joseph the reason: Herod was going to come to Bethlehem to search for the infant child and kill him. Joseph, Mary and Jesus made their way to Egypt and remained there until Herod’s death (Matthew 2:13-15).
From God’s historical perspective, their escape to Egypt was the fulfillment of the prophecy given by God to the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Hosea11:1)
Do you think Joseph left the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh behind? I truly hope you don’t think that. The Bible does not have to tell us a specific amount of each gift, but one thing is certain, they were going to need financial resources to live in Egypt until Herod’s death, God not only knew this but He provided ahead of time. The frankincense and myrrh are commodities that could be sold as needed. Gold has always been valuable; we do not need to explain it further. God sent His Son, Joseph and Mary with financial resources, and those are the facts.
Were Joseph, Mary and Jesus refugees? Egypt was part of the Roman Empire so the people were free to travel unrestricted from one region to another. Some mistakenly say borders with checkpoints for travelers were nonexistent within the Roman Empire, just like what became of the European Union. Even though that is changing, some European nations are beginning to bring back their borders and checkpoints since the invasion of refugees from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.
So do not fall for the lie that borders were none existent. Since the earliest accounts of recorded human history, nations with their borders and checkpoints have existed, for obvious reasons until liberals and progressives had this “great idea” of nations without borders. Their idea of a global happy family is crumbling, ask the Europeans, how that is working for them? And even here at home, how is that idea working for us?
The answer to the question: Were Joseph, Mary and Jesus refugees? No they were not, but those who twist historical and biblical facts to make their case don’t hesitate in using the Jesus refugee card to fit their purposes.
Joseph, Mary and Jesus were not to stay in Egypt, and when the time came Joseph received instructions to go back to the land of Israel; Herod, who wanted to kill Jesus, was dead. They made their residence in Nazareth for the fulfillment of prophecy that Jesus was to be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:19-23).
Understanding the Scriptures is important, and that can only happen when we daily become diligent students comparing the Bible with the Bible to get accurate answers to be able to discern the falsehoods coming from the camp of those with evil agendas.
Of Great Concern
Wars, famines, natural disasters, pandemics, poverty, sicknesses, and all the ills of humanity are of great concern. Of the over 7 billion people upon the earth today, the majority live in terrible conditions. If we are honest, for the most part, we will find that those terrible conditions are the outcome of man’s actions. It is the result of the sinful nature and man needs to understand the good news of Jesus Christ for all of humanity and what they can do to better their life here and now.
In the meantime, it is the moral responsibility of all nations to work together, as best as they can and alleviate human misery. It is impossible for one society, such as the United States of America to solve the problems of the world, especially when the nation is also in a deep need of restoration.
One Final Point
Beware of all politicians, Christian religious leaders and the holier-than-thou individuals who use Jesus and the Bible to further their ungodly agendas by quoting only what fits their worldview, but in reality they are enemies of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, just like Herod the King was.
Those who misinterpret Joseph, Mary and Jesus’ trip to Egypt have lied to us. They were not refugees at the expense of their host country, they were being protected and provided for, and would be returning to their country of origin.
Herod killed the male babies, two years and under to preserve his rule and the rule of his descendants (Matthew 2:16-18). Herod’s order to massacre the children is no different than what the U.S. Supreme Court did by legalizing the murder of innocent children in their mother’s womb, male and female. All the administrations and U.S. Congress since 1973 have not been willing to stop the extermination of close to 60 million aborted babies. Are they the Herods of our time? Those innocent lives and blood continuously cry out before God Almighty for justice and justice will be served, no doubt about that. At the time of writing this editorial, over 1.3 billion babies have been “aborted” in the world and the count grows every second.
Do Democrats and most Republicans show the same compassion for those babies that have no way to defend themselves? The statistics say they don’t and they continue to fund the murder of those babies because it is man’s law.
As a nation, if we don’t turn from our wicked ways, just like God brought judicial negative sanctions to the nation of Israel in the year 70 A.D. so it will be for the U.S. and the world.
God already provided the remedy for all the evil in the heart of humanity. In His public life, Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God, the true world order. Jesus lived without sin, suffered the death on the cross for the sins of humanity and the restoration of the world. He resurrected and defeated the works and power of the devil (1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14). It is up to God’s people to make the difference by continuing the will of Almighty God here on earth as it is in heaven as His representatives. Proclaiming the Good News in Christ and discipling the nations with biblical principles applied to all areas of life is our task to make the world a better place.
