Jesus Was a Refugee
Jesus the refugee child in the Gospel of Matthew
Joan E. Taylor
March 10, 2026
77 Comments
67153 views
“Jesus Was a Refugee” was originally published on The Jesus Blog. It is republished here with permission.—Ed.
The unstoppable force of refugees fleeing to Europe has in various places hit the immovable object of an attitude that there is no room at the inn. Spaces are filled. Migrants should be kept out, in order to preserve jobs, health and welfare services. In an environment of austerity, where economic cuts have hit people hard, this cold-heartedness in part derives from a deep sense of insecurity.
At this time it is worth remembering that Jesus of Nazareth is in the Bible presented exactly as one that would be rejected by such European countries: a refugee child.
Woodcut from Die Bibel in Bildern (1860) by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ (adoptive) father, Joseph, and mother, Mary, live in Bethlehem, a town in Judaea near Jerusalem. It is assumed to be their home village. Certain magoi (“wise men”/astrologers) come from “the East” to Herod, the Roman client king of Judaea, looking to honor a new ruler they have determined by a “star,” and Jesus is identified as the one. All this is bad news to Herod, and Herod acts in a pre-emptive strike against the people of Bethlehem and its environs. He kills all boys under two years of age in an atrocity that is traditionally known as “the massacre of the innocents” (Matthew 2.16–18).
But Joseph has been warned beforehand in a dream of Herod’s intentions to kill little Jesus, and the family flees to Egypt. It is not until Herod is dead that Joseph and Mary dare return, and then they avoid Judaea: Joseph “was afraid to go there” (Matthew 2.22) because Herod’s son is in charge. Instead they find a new place of refuge, in Nazareth of Galilee, far from Bethlehem.
Jesus’ earliest years were then, according to the Gospel of Matthew, spent as a refugee in a foreign land, and then as a displaced person in a village a long way from his family’s original home.
Scholars of the historical Jesus can be suspicious of this account, as also with the other nativity account in the Gospel of Luke 1–2. It is clearly constructed with allusions to Jesus as a kind of Moses figure: just as Moses was under threat from an evil Pharaoh who killed children (Exodus 1–2), so was Jesus. But while resonances with the scriptural precedent are intended, there is no real need for the author to invent the idea of Jesus being a refugee child somewhere in Egypt to have him being Moses-like. There is a quote, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11.1), in Matthew 2.15, but the “son” concerned is historical Israel, not Moses and not the Messiah, and it sits uncomfortably with the story. The author of Matthew did not need to build a myth out of such a text.
King Herod the Great began construction at Herodium in 28–27 B.C.E. Photo: Duby Tal.
It seems not then unlikely to me that Jesus’ family, with a lineage traced to the great king David (Matthew 1; Luke 3.23–38; Romans 1.3; 15.12), opted to flee from Bethlehem, long-standing residence of the kingly line and their original home. In many traditional societies, such locations of clans are maintained, even with social disruptions. Archaeology has shown how Herod built a palace complex at Herodium, including his future mausoleum, nicely overlooking the town of Bethlehem. It was as if Herod was breathing down Bethlehem’s neck.
The first-century Jewish historian Josephus portrays Herod as paranoid about any possible threat to his rule. He killed his own sons and had few qualms about killing anyone else’s. As Augustus quipped, “I would rather be Herod’s pig than his son” (Macrobius, Saturnalia 2:4; since pigs are not butchered by Jews).
We know also that Jews fled from troubles in Judaea of many kinds in the third–first centuries B.C.E., and that Egypt was one of the places they went to as refugees. Josephus comments on the problematic revolutionaries (and their children) that fled there after the First Jewish Revolt (66–70 C.E.; Jewish War 7: 407–419), but they were following a well-worn path.
Many epitaphs and inscriptions, as well as historical sources, testify to a thriving Jewish expatriate community in Egypt made up of earlier refugees that could be joined by others. However, just like today, new refugees were not welcome. A letter of the emperor Claudius, written in 41 C.E., states that Jews in Alexandria lived in “a city not their own” in which they were “not to bring in or invite Jews who sail down to Alexandria from Syria[-Palaestina]” (P. London 1912; CPJ I:151).
Visit the historical Jesus study page in Bible History Daily to read more free articles on Jesus.
A remembrance of Jesus’ family in Egypt is preserved in Matariya, in the suburbs of Cairo at Heliopolis, a spot understood to be a stopping place on the holy family’s flight, and it is probably the most important site in the world for anyone wishing to contemplate Joseph, Mary and Jesus as refugees.
For new refugees, as anywhere, life would have been very hard. The first-century Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria tells us of the consequences of poverty, which could result in enslavement (Special Laws 2.82). Presumably, Jewish charity and voluntary giving through the synagogue would have helped a struggling refugee family, but they would also have been reliant on the kindness of strangers.
The legacy of being a refugee and a newcomer to a place far from home is something that I think informed Jesus’ teaching. When he set off on his mission, he took up the life of a displaced person with “nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8.20; Luke 9.58). He asked those who acted for him to go out without a bag or a change of clothing, essentially to walk along the road like destitute refugees who had suddenly fled, relying on the generosity and hospitality of ordinary people whose villages they entered (Mark 6.8–11; Matthew 10.9–11; Luke 9.3). It was the villagers’ welcome or not to such poor wanderers that showed what side they were on: “And if any place will not receive you and refuse to hear you, shake off the dust on your feet when you leave, for a testimony to them” (Mark 6.11).
“Jesus Was a Refugee” by Joan E. Taylor was first republished in Bible History Daily on May 12, 2016.
Joan E. Taylor is Professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College London. Her research interests include the New Testament and other early Christian texts; the historical figures of Jesus of Nazareth, John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene and other New Testament persons; Second Temple Judaism; and women and gender within early Judaism and Christianity. Dr. Taylor has received various awards and fellowships, including the Irene Levi-Sala Award in Israel’s archaeology for her book Christians and the Holy Places (Oxford: Clarendon, 1993, rev. 2003).
Related reading in Bible History Daily:
Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!
Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more
Related Posts
Must-Read Free eBooks
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Become an All-Access Member to explore the Bible's rich history. Get Biblical Archaeology Review in print, full online access, and FREE online talks. Plus, enjoy special Travel/Study discounts. Don't miss out—begin your journey today!
There is so much so-called religious history written that we take for fact, when it is really redactions of what the Roman Catholic Church has done. There is no proof of what is written inasmuch as all original documents are lost or destroyed.
Joseph and Mary gave birth to Jesus and other children from their home in Nazareth, not Bethlehem as the text states. It too is redacted. There is so much ancient myth circulating that writer, Europeans, have included as authentic. In order to give due-diligence one has revisit literature before the 17th Century and move more to the hear-say that come close to truth.
Jesus never instituted the institution called church. Jesus would not have said, “Upon the rock Peter I will build my church…” Jesus would have said if anything, “James,” the brother of Jesus who was in line to continue The Way Movement, :Upon James I give permission to continue The Way Movement.”
It was Constantine, and later the Popes ,that change the movement by installing Peter as head of the Church, not The Way Movement. Once the so-called church is established it become a male dominated, greed, wealth, sex, at all and any expense. We have been introduced to the wrong religious template. That of Man, not Jesus who is call The Christ.
There is so much more but time does not permit to go on.
Truth crush the earth will rise again!
Seems like a very liberal interpretation to me , omitting the miracle of the Angel telling Joseph to leave, she can rewrite it to suit her particular viewpoint.
Seems like a very liberal interpretation to me , omitting the miracle of the Angel telling Joseph to leave, she can rewrite it to suit her particular viewpoint.
The problem with this article is not speculation about the possible migrations of Jesus’ childhood. It’s with the article’s initial attempt to connect this biographical lore, factual or not, to a mischaracterization of a current large scale geo-political crisis. Germans, Belgians and Swedes are less concerned about jobs, health, and welfare services as they are about their values, customs, and culture. Westerners globally are feeling coerced into transforming their societies in order to culturally accommodate both the internal political influences of multiculturalism as well as the very often violent and socially caustic behavior of the immigrants themselves, not to mention the inherent risk of terrorism. For instance, in Cologne transit authorities have created separate railway cars for women and children because they are no longer safe to travel as they have traditionally. This is one of many instances of such policies in which the host is being assimilated to the newcomer, not the other way around. The very mandate to treat displaced and refugee populations with compassion and hospitality has come to be a feature of a Western cultural worldview, but there’s no way to ensure that trait’s survival or effectiveness if few feel the need to maintain the civilizational legacy from which that worldview proceeds.
The problem with this article is not speculation about the possible migrations of Jesus’ childhood. It’s with the article’s initial attempt to connect this biographical lore, factual or not, to a mischaracterization of a current large scale geo-political crisis. Germans, Belgians and Swedes are less concerned about jobs, health, and welfare services as they are about their values, customs, and culture. Westerners globally are feeling coerced into transforming their societies in order to culturally accommodate both the internal political influences of multiculturalism as well as the very often violent and socially caustic behavior of the immigrants themselves, not to mention the inherent risk of terrorism. For instance, in Cologne transit authorities have created separate railway cars for women and children because they are no longer safe to travel as they have traditionally. This is one of many instances of such policies in which the host is being assimilated to the newcomer, not the other way around. The very mandate to treat displaced and refugee populations with compassion and hospitality has come to be a feature of a Western cultural worldview, but there’s no way to ensure that trait’s survival or effectiveness if few feel the need to maintain the civilizational legacy from which that worldview proceeds.
I cannot agree more with the views of AF above.
One can appreciate the writings of Ms Taylor. But i do think that the comparison is greatly misguided. Yes, in simple terms, the flight was into exile from the threats of a manic despot. Can one, however, rightly and generally compare what happened to the bar-Jacob family and the refugee crisis of today? Joseph and his little family would have lived within the cultural context of Egypt, but without losing their jewish identity.
this 21st-century crisis is a double-edged sword. And a crisis it is. Evil (so-called ‘radical’ Islam) has descended and millions displaced, tortured, murdered.
If this was a genuine refugee situation then one may sympathise totally. But within the ranks of these unfortunate people is a threat of dangerous proportions. The so-called extremist know full well that Muslims will not live according to the cultural norms of the society they want to move into, but will seek to change that culture to their own. Slowly but surely, Islam will displace the (now almost non-existent) Christian underpinning of European culture.
And Islam will achieve what it set out to do all those centuries ago – subject the Great Satan to Islam. Fight the infidel is the clarion call of the Koran and the sons of Ishmael will not relent until they have achieved world domination.
Europe first, USA second and onwards from there.
Amazing how long-term residents of a culture area accept any refugees at all. After all, refugees lower working standards as well as wages for current and future generations. If any employer (or corporation, today) can get cheap help easily, he has no motivation to pay higher wages, or improve working conditions. Bringing in multitudes of immigrants only leads to the overcrowding problems of Calcutta (and other cities) in India in the previous ages. Today many modern societies make immigration very difficult, as Australia and Iceland demonstrate. Politicians promoting gross immigration must, therefore be compensated in some way by those seeking cheap help.
Jesus was not intending to invade and undermine Egypt. He went in with gold from the Magi which provided for them. There would also be other Jewish communities there. Joseph had a trade, carpenter/master builder/architect. They weren’t going to be dirt poor.
It seems that Jesus implying that he feels like a refugee in his native country didn’t go over well with the congregation at Nazareth (Luke 4:24-29). An earlier gospel states:
“Jesus said, ‘Become passers-by'” (The Gospel of Thomas, saying #42).
It seems that Jesus implying that he feels like a refugee in his native country didn’t go over well with the congregation at Nazareth (Luke 4:24-29). An earlier gospel states:
“Jesus said, ‘Become passers-by'” (The Gospel of Thomas, saying #42).