Many Christians sidestep biblical commands to welcome immigrants despite Scripture addressing foreigners more than fifty times in the first five books alone. Leviticus 19:33-34 commands loving foreigners as oneself, while Matthew 25:35 equates welcoming strangers with serving Jesus directly. When migration debates turn local, concerns about social instability, rising crime, and welfare burdens often overshadow these teachings. The tension centers on whether ancient hospitality commands translate to individual compassion or specific government policies. The following exploration examines how this gap between Scripture and practice developed.
The stranger-question has troubled faith communities for millennia, yet today’s Christians face it with particular urgency as millions cross borders seeking safety and opportunity. Scripture addresses the treatment of foreigners more than fifty times in the first five books alone, establishing hospitality toward outsiders as a sacred responsibility rather than an optional virtue.
Scripture commands hospitality toward strangers more than fifty times, establishing it as sacred duty rather than optional virtue.
Leviticus 19:33-34 commands believers to love foreigners as themselves, while Deuteronomy 27:19 pronounces a curse on those who withhold justice from them. The rationale appears consistently throughout the Old Testament, reminding Israelites that they once lived as strangers in Egypt and must remember their own vulnerability. Leviticus 23:22 mandates leaving portions of harvest for the poor and foreigners, creating a practical system of provision rather than mere sentiment.
The New covenant reinforces these themes with particular intensity. Matthew 25:35 records Jesus equating the welcome of strangers with service to him directly, later warning in verses 41-45 that rejection of displaced people carries eternal consequences. Romans 12:9-13 instructs believers to practice hospitality keenly, while Hebrews 13:1-3 suggests that strangers might be angels in disguise.
Jesus himself experienced displacement when his family fled to Egypt as refugees escaping Herod’s violence. This biographical detail, combined with his repeated confrontation of racist attitudes toward Samaritans and other outsiders, establishes identification with the marginalized as central to Christian teaching. Peter later described Christians as sojourners, fostering empathy for those without permanent homes. The Bible’s narrative of Israel’s origins and covenant promises further grounds this ethic in a historical memory of migration and covenantal responsibility for the promised land.
Despite this substantial biblical foundation, contemporary Christians often sidestep the welcoming mandate when confronted with mass migration. Concerns about social instability, rising crime, and welfare burdens dominate discussions, creating tension between hospitality and national security. Debate continues over whether loving immigrants requires open borders or if ancient verses apply differently to modern policy contexts. James 2:1-4 warns against showing partiality between rich and poor, cautioning believers not to favor some people over others.
Pope Francis has noted that migration is not a contemporary phenomenon but rather part of human history across every latitude. The interpretation challenge remains whether these scriptural commands translate to individual acts of compassion or demand specific government policies. Yet the frequency and clarity of biblical passages suggest that treatment of displaced people represents more than peripheral guidance. Shared humanity emerges repeatedly across both Old and New Testament passages, providing theological justification for welcoming and protecting those from different backgrounds.
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