By Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III
Adjunct Assistant Professor of the New Testament
Labi College
Biblical Stories
The truth is, the Bible has many stories of migration, beginning in the book of Genesis with Adam and Eve migrating from the Garden of Eden and concluding with the book of Revelation, where John, traditionally known as the apostle, lives as a deported criminal on Patmos, an island located west of Turkey.
As a New Testament scholar, my research on how foreigners are portrayed during the first century has led me to recognize that selecting a few texts from Jesus’ teaching on welcoming the foreigner or the Apostle Paul’s teachings on the government does not provide the full story on the immigrant experience.
In reality, their experience was politically and culturally complex. Immigrants in Rome during the time of Jesus and Paul encountered suspicion and hostility from the imperial authorities and Roman natives.
Unfriendly Romans and Noncountrymen
Many foreigners in the capital of Rome were immigrants. David Noy, a scholar of classical literature, finds that they came to the empire either as captured slaves or voluntarily migrated in search of better opportunities.
Some ancient Roman writers during the time of Jesus viewed the presence of immigrants negatively. Nostalgia for a time when Rome was less influenced by outsiders emerged among Roman elites. Ancient Roman writers Pliny and Seneca believed that as the empire extended, the foreigners culturally conquered the Romans by negatively influencing the Roman way of life.
There was a “strong sense that Rome was losing vigor and vitality through its luxuries and a fear of being undermined by foreign immigrants from among the subjugated people,” according to classical literature scholar Benjamin Isaac.
To counter this immigrant threat and presence in Italy, the Romans enacted the imperial power of expulsion. The Roman historian Livy remarks that those who introduced foreign religions were frequently expelled for failing to adopt to “the Roman way.”
Suetonius, another Roman historian, records that emperor Claudius, who ruled in the decades following Jesus’ death, banned foreigners from using a Roman name and expelled the Jews from the city of Rome. Interestingly, this Jewish expulsion also shows up in the New Testament with the expulsion of the Christian missionary couple Priscilla and Aquila from Rome in A.D. 49.
Expulsions were not always permanent or reserved for foreigners. Most famously, the Roman poet Ovid was expelled for writing controversial erotic literature. He was deported to the land of Tomis, current Romania.
Welcoming Strangers
Understanding the reality of immigrants and their status during the birth of Christianity shapes how Jesus’ teachings are understood. At the time when Jesus tells his disciples about the necessity of “welcoming the stranger,” this was the righteous response to the political tragedy of a fellow human being. To deny them hospitality would be a death sentence. Not all immigrants migrated for economic reasons – for some it was their only life option because of the imperial act of expulsion.
Knowing that immigrants could be expelled for negatively influencing the Roman culture must also shape our understanding of Paul’s teaching to “submit” to Roman authorities. Since Paul was a Roman citizen, it would have been instinctive to instruct other Christians living in Rome to maintain political peace with the empire. As with Ovid, being a Roman citizen did not exempt them from being treated like foreigners. The empire was indiscriminate in its deportation power, and citizens like Paul who introduced non-Roman religions were not exempt.
Whenever the writings of Paul or teachings of Jesus are introduced into the debate, we need to understand the context of the time. The Roman imperial power of deportation had life-and-death implications for immigrants and citizens.
Furthermore, during the time of Jesus and Paul, both Roman citizens and noncitizens could be deported from Rome. But foreigners who introduced non-Roman cultures in Rome were more likely to be expelled for being perceived as threats.
Originally published by The Conversation, 03.18.2021, under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution/No derivatives license.