Emmanuel: He Understands

One of the most interesting aspects of the Christmas story is the way in which the incarnation takes place among the vulnerable. Once again, we see how the incarnation brings God’s presence into the most broken places of human experience. Over the past couple of weeks, we have looked at some of the beautiful truths of Emmanuel and the meaning of God’s incarnate presence. Today, I want to continue looking at Jesus’ incarnation and particularly his identification with the persecuted and the mistreated. See, on the heels of the worship of the Magi, Jesus and His family are displaced due to acts of political violence and danger against children. In this story, Christ becomes an exile due to an act of violence against infants. I want to suggest that Emmanuel understands exile and infanticide, two major issues facing our nation today.

Exile

Emmanuel understands exile. Exile is defined as “the state of being barred from one’s native country, typically from political or punitive reasons.”[1] There are many reasons why someone flees their native country, often because they find their life in danger. Even today, millions flee their homeland because of impending danger. These exiles are often a source of great political discourse. Should we welcome them? Are they welcome? Why? When? Where? How? Questions that surround the issue of welcoming refugees and exiles in our modern world. I want to suggest to you that the Christmas story shows us a Christ who can identify with those exiled from their homeland because of threats to their life.

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Matthew 2:13–15 (ESV)
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
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Jesus and His family are exiled from Israel because of the threat of Herod, who began to seek his life and wanted to kill him because He threatened Herod’s political power. Notice the leading of the Lord, here. An angel showed up to Joseph and told Him about the coming threat and their need to flee. Divine agency was behind this displacement. How would you feel if you needed to move?
 
Many different issues cause people to be displaced. Even in our nation, severe natural disasters such as tornadoes or floods can displace people from their homes, even if it’s just for a time. Some in other nations face violence like Jesus and His family, and they must flee to safer locations for the sake of their life. Sometimes, people are forced to flee jobs, relationships, and other situations that are not safe for them. And I think the Christmas story reminds us that Jesus knows what it is to be displaced. He knows what it is to be an exile. He knows what it is to flee His homeland for safety and live in another land. 
 
What’s interesting to me is the way that exile identity becomes central to Christian identity. Look at what the Apostle Peter wrote: 

 1 Peter 1:1–2 (ESV)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

​Peter highlights the fact that Christians are often exiles in a foreign land. And if you’ve grown up in church, you’ve probably spoken of this reality. “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” That statement is a recognition that you are a foreigner living in a land that is not home. You are an exile. Your citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), but you live in this world. You are in this world, but not of it (John 17:16). We, as believers, are a people living in a foreign land.

I think the challenge for us this Christmas is to recognize that Jesus, Emmanuel, is with us in exile. He is with us in displacement. He understands what it means to live in a land where you don’t quite belong, to leave behind the comforts of home for safety in the leading of the Lord. He knows what it is to live in exile.

How should this change our perspective on exiles? When people are fleeing persecution and danger, how should we treat them? Should it make a difference when we realize that our Savior was exiled and that we are exiles? I believe it should. Emmanuel is the God of exiles. Emmanuel understands exiles.

Infanticide

Not only is Emmanuel the God of the exiles, but He’s also the God of those who have experienced all-out attacks on their people, particularly their infants. Once Herod realized that He had been outsmarted, he set out to kill all baby boys two years old and under. Herod threatened an entire generation because He was trying to thwart the threat of God’s Kingdom. See, Jesus was a threat to his political power, and thus, He must be eliminated. And so, we see an entire cross-section of Hebrew boys eliminated because of the political ambitions of their leaders. 

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Matthew 2:16 (ESV)
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
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Sound familiar? This was not the first time a move like this had been done in the history of the People of God. If you remember the story of Moses, Pharaoh had gone after the infants of Israel due to their multiplication. It was out of that story that Moses was put in a basket and rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. But an entire generation was killed because a political leader wanted to protect their power and influence.

Lest we think that we are a more advanced and sophisticated society, I suggest that the same ambitions that lead Pharoah and Herod lie behind the present-day abortion industry. What would drive a woman to abort the baby growing in her womb? What would lead a couple to end the life they created just as it’s getting started? Is it not that threat the baby makes to their own power and agency? Is it not the baby’s threat to their ambitions and goals?

I in no way want to downplay the difficult decisions that couples face in their pregnancy journey, yet I want to challenge us to consider the political and spiritual implications that lie behind the decisions we make. Emmanuel understands the difficulties of less-than-ideal births, less-than-ideal parents, and relationships. Emmanuel understands the pain of women losing their children. Emmanuel understands the cultural pressure that seeks to abort the next generation to protect their power and influence. Emmanuel understands the weeping of mothers and fathers whose children have died in infanticide. Emmanuel understands. Perhaps you’ve had an abortion and now weep over what you’ve done. Emmanuel understands. Emmanuel is with you in the pain and weeping of a cultural moment where millions of the next generation are being extinguished.

Emmanuel UNderstands

Emmanuel understands what it is to be an exile, and He understands the pain of a culture of death. He understands when a culture seeks to extinguish the next generation and knows what it is like to flee such a culture, living as an exile from your homeland. Perhaps the lesson for us this Christmas is to embody Emmanuel. What if we chose to live as exiles in a foreign land? What if we chose to reject a culture of death and come alongside those weeping for the next generation? What if we identify with the vulnerable like our Savior, and become His presence in this broken world? What if we walked alongside those displaced from home?  What if we walked alongside those battling the culture of death? What if we became a living incarnation of the presence of Jesus, the God of the Exile and the God of the Vulnerable? Let us remember, this Christmas, that Emmanuel understands.   


[1]“Exile,” Oxford Languages,” Available from: https://www.google.com/search?q=exile+definition&oq=exile+definition&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDc5NDhqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8; accessed 24 December 2025.