“[Early Christians] dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with others and yet endure all things as if foreigners” (“What”). This quotation taken from the Epistle to Diognetes gives an accurate description of early Christian identity. From the earliest times, followers of Yahweh, and later followers of Christ, have identified themselves as “foreigners,” or “travelers” on this earth. We clearly see this during the time the Israelites made their way as travelers to the Promised Land and as early Christians were under Roman rule. Examining historical context and the Bible itself leads us to see how the “foreigner” attitude has been a central part of the Christian identity. This paper will analyze how Old Testament Jew’s and New Testament Christian’s identity as “aliens” and “sojourners” affected their attitude towards foreigners. We will take a look at the Biblical perspective of how the early Christians were to treat foreigners and from that make conclusions on how we may apply those principles today.

Not commonly realized, the Israelites of the Old Testament were themselves aliens. The Children of Israel were aliens in Egypt for centuries and after all, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were foreigners in Canaan. The Israelites spent years making their way from Egypt to the Promised Land, living as sojourners in the lands of others and wandering through the wilderness. And once the Israelites finally reached the Land, they found themselves faced with the question of how to interact with foreigners. Not only were there foreigners surrounding the Promised Land, but many had accompanied them on their flight from Egypt and others came to Israel at a later time, such as Ruth and Uriah the Hittite (Moucarry). There were about 150,000 aliens in Israel, a tenth of the country’s total population, by the time of King Solomon (Moucarry). Yet, even once the Israelites reached the Promised Land, the Lord made it clear to them that they were still sojourners on earth: “The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers” (Leviticus 25:23, Dempster).

The Lord provided detailed plans for how to interact with foreigners inside of the Mosaic Law, commanding the Israelites to treat these individuals with kindness and justice: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not ill-treat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34). The Lord calls the Israelites to sympathize with sojourners and aliens, as they too were travelers and currently were still “foreigners” in their land (Dempster). Other laws specifically outlined how the Israelites were to interact and help foreigners, such as Leviticus 23:22 which states, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.” At the very foundation of all of these laws is the Lord’s commandment and reminder in Deuteronomy 24:17-18: “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice…Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.”

Now you may be asking yourself, “Looking at the commandments given to the Israelites to help foreigners, are we then to help all foreigners? Are we to help illegal and legal immigrants equally?” This is an extremely important question in today’s society, as there are currently over 42 million immigrants in the United States, constituting 13.3% of the total population as of 2014 (“U.S. Immigration Trends”). Fully answering this question is a great endeavor and although this question is not the emphasis of my paper, a distinction will be made based upon Hebrew in the Old Testament. James K. Hoffmeir, a thirty year Professor of Old Testament & Near Eastern Archaeology marks a difference between the Hews words ger and zar and nekhar, providing greater insight upon our question. The Hebrew word ger is used in the Old Testament and is translated as “stranger” and “sojourner,” while the terms zar and nekhar mean “foreigner” (“Immigrants”). “From the Abraham and Isaac narratives in Genesis we learn that the Patriarchs had to negotiate treaties and agreements to sojourn, ger, in the territory of and obtain water rights from the local Canaanite and Philistine kings” (“Immigrants”). For example, Joseph had to receive permission from Pharaoh for him and his family to “sojourn” in Egypt (“Immigrants”). From many references such as these, it is concluded that a ger was a “foreigner who comes to live in another land with the permission of a host or the proper authority” (“Immigrants”). The Old Testament laws, several of which were stated in the previous paragraph, insist that once a foreigner attained ger status in Israel, he was to be treated like a native-born Hebrew (“Immigrants;” Leviticus 18:26). These foreigners who came to live in a land legally enjoyed “legal protection, social benefits and religious inclusion” (“Immigrants”). However, the nekhar and zar did not have these same benefits as they came without the permission of an authority. For example, the ger could participate in the Passover observances while the nekhar was prohibited (Exodus 12:43-49).

Now we may answer the question about immigration. Some argue that just as the Israelites provided equal rights to the ger with open arms, American should do the same for all who wish to enter the United States. However, noting the differences between the ger and the nekhar, one may make the parallel between the ger and those who legally immigrate to the United States and the nekhar with those who com illegally (“Immigrants;” Barber). Those who come legally to the United States should be given all the rights of a U.S. citizen, as the ger were treated as native-born Hebrews (“Immigrants;” Barber). However, the nekhar should not enjoy these same rights, as they come illegally (Barber). Yet this does not mean that Christians may treat illegal aliens inhumanely (Barber). We should still aid those in need, yet we are not to reward misconduct by giving the same rights to the illegal alien as to the foreigner who came legally into the United States: “Rewarding unlawful behavior for some, while others are waiting in line to go through proper channels to remain in and become citizens of this great country, is indefensible” (Barber).

Fast forward many centuries later to the early centuries A.D. Roman society rejected foreigners. Romans placed great emphasis upon their religion and preserving their culture; thus, writes Charles Schmidt, professor of Theology in Strasburg, “The contempt for foreigners, of which Grecian history shows so many examples, was held to the same extent in Rome. It was the cause of all the unjust wars, of all the violations of the rights of the people, the remembrance of which tarnishes the Roman name” (Schmidt 16). Romans did not see foreigners as people but as “barbarians, beneath the dignity of enemies, below the human race; the Greek and Roman alone are men” (Schmidt 15). Christians were under the rule of the Roman Empire and felt more like foreigners than any other time due to this attitude towards them. Like Christians in the Old Testament, followers of Christ in the early centuries A.D. spoke of themselves as “’resident aliens, strangers, and sojourners,’ asserting that otherness as a fundamental part of being Christian” (Dunning 1). The Epistle to Diognetes gives us a look into the life of Christians in the early ADs: “Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers…To sum up, what the soul is to the body, Christians are to the world” (“What”). Early Christians lived in the land, yet felt as if they did not belong, sojourners in the world but residents of heaven. This identity of being a “traveler” in this world is a central part to us as believers today, and was especially fundamental to early Christian’s identity due to their circumstances in Rome and the persecution they endured.

Clement of Rome writes a letter to the Church at Corinth and opens with a greeting from one group of Christian aliens to another: “The church of God residing as aliens (paroikousa) in Rome to the church of God residing as aliens (paroikouse) in Corinth” (Dunning 1). Even throughout the 2nd century, Christians continued to refer to themselves as aliens or sojourners as seen when Polycarp addressed his Letters to the Philippians (c. 117-120) to the resident alien church at Philippi, in which he not only refers to his audience as aliens, but the entire “holy and catholic church” as a body that sojourns (Dunning 1). Although Christians had always called themselves “sojourners” and “aliens” in their land, it was truly during the first few centuries A.D. when that alien status “served as a universal identity marker in the early Christian movement” (Schmidt 2).

Not only were Christians treated as foreigners, and thus as “enemies,” “scum,” and “barbarians,” but Christian’s viewpoint towards foreigners was also against the times. When the ancients spoke of hospitality, they meant only the duty of giving a splendid reception to illustrious guests. “Hospitality therefore is not a duty for everyone: it is possible only for the rich, and for him it is an accidental duty depending on the rank of the guest” (Schmidt 16). A poor guest, from whom no benefit could come, was repulsed or neglected in accordance to the standard of the Republic. However, Jesus taught something different. Through the salvation of Jesus Christ, there is no more Greek nor Jew, neither barbarian nor Scythian. There is no longer a privileged nation, nor others left outside, but all are fellow-citizens, heirs together of the kingdom of God (Schmidt 280). Realizing their status as “foreigners” made early Christians more sympathetic towards aliens in their land. They understood the struggle of feeling like they didn’t belong and thus the early church made a conscious effort to care for the foreigner. Early Christians reflected upon their own status as “foreigners” and took Jesus’s teachings to heart, leading these believers to greatly differ from the Romans in their treatment of aliens. Their houses were not only open to distinguished individuals but chiefly to poor strangers of humble rank. “The first need nothing, the last have need of everything” once said Lucius Lactanius, an early Cristian author who became advisor to Constantine I (Schmidt 280). Not only did individual Christians help foreigners, but also the churches, which dedicated part of their funds to the entertainment of poor strangers and sent help to distant communities that were in distress. In fact, there are records of Clement of Rome praising the Church of Corinth for its hospitality to strangers (Schmidt 281). One of the chief duties of priests and bishops was to care for the poor. As well, monasteries were always open to travelers, “who were received and often treated with a liberality which the monks refused themselves. The rigorous rules were relaxed for those who implored the hospitality of the brothers” (Schmidt 281). “This hospitality exercised by the Christian communities is a beautiful testimony to the spiritual communion of faith and love existing amongst the citizens of the kingdom of God” (Schmidt 281). Early Christians weren’t perfect in their calling to help foreigners, but their identity as “sojourners” helped them to sympathize with the traveler and the alien.

So how may we look at how early Christians interacted with foreigners and apply their example to how we should interact with these individuals today? First we should realize that we too are sojourners in this world. Like the Israelites traveling to the Promised Land and the early Christians living under Roman rule, we are merely traveling through. “For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come” (Hebrews 13:14). We should thus sympathize with displaced individuals and foreigners who feel as if they don’t belong. Immigrants and foreigners are often in desperate need of help. They are lonely, unprotected, and often displaced to a new culture to which they do not connect. Oftentimes, this is how we feel as Christians. It seems as if we don’t belong in the world we live in. We stand out. Often we don’t want to look or sound different, but we are called to a higher standard than the rest of the unbelieving world. We as Christians need to be able to sympathize with foreigners, knowing from experience what it feels like to not belong.

Secondly, we need to respect the rights of foreigners. When looking at the history of Israel and their situation as foreigners in the land, they were well qualified to identify with other aliens in their country. Exodus 23:9 states, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.” America as a culture can sometimes be unsympathetic towards immigrants. One has only to look at the treatment of the Irish and Chinese during the 19th and early 20th century to see the prejudice against foreigners. Christians are to make a stand fighting for the rights of legal immigrants, the ger. We must be a voice for the rights and justice of these individuals, as they are our neighbors. We are to follow the example of our Lord: “[The Lord] shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:18-19).

We may look to the parable of the Good Samaritan that Jesus provided as an example to the Christians of the early A.D.’s and apply those same principles to our treatment of foreigners today. The Samaritans were not only foreigners but also long-standing enemies of the Jews. “Now, Jesus not only calls the Samaritan the Jew’s neighbor, he also asks the teacher of the law to follow the Samaritan’s example: ‘Go’; he says, ‘and do likewise’” (Moucarry). Loving foreigners means not only helping them, as the good Samaritan did, but also loving them as our neighbor, “overcoming the prejudices held against them, taking the initiative to making contact, as Jesus did with the Samaritan woman, so as to break the wall of silence between us” (Moucarry). How we should go about helping foreigners specifically is another discussion, but the foundation of that aid is to show the love of Christ towards everyone, regardless of their background or culture.

From the time the Israelites worked as slaves in Egypt, to the time when early followers of Christ faced oppression in Rome, to today’s Christians, followers of Yahweh have always identified themselves as “sojourners” and “foreigners” in the land. As the Israelites traveled to the Promised Land and even once they arrived, the Lord reminded them that they were mere travelers in this world (Leviticus 25:23). The Lord gave the Israelites detailed plans on how to interact both with foreigners who came with permission, the ger, and those who did not, the nekhar. Looking at this distinction provides a Biblical perspective towards immigration, rewarding those who come legally with all the rights of an American citizen, but not equally rewarding the alien who comes illegally. Like the Israelites of the Old Testament, the followers of Christ in the New Testament called themselves “sojourners,” but it was truly during the first few centuries A.D. when that identification became a central part of Christian’s identity, due to the persecution they endured. Just like the Israelites of old and early followers of Christ, we too are sojourners in this land. Earth is not our home. We are merely passing through. We should sympathize with the feelings of foreigners, as we too oftentimes feel as if we don’t belong and are aliens in the land. But most importantly, we must remember to love the foreigner as our neighbor. “I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me… The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:36, 40).

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