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The IDP of IDPs


He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 

According to the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, internally displaced persons (also known as "IDPs") are "persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border." (The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

See if the person above fits that definition:

He was often homeless in the later part of his life.

He was despised and rejected.

As a teacher of the things of God, he was hated by the religious establishment leaders.

He was told he was demon possessed.

He had so many followers that the religious leaders, out of envy and jealousy, delivered him up for a sham trial.

False witness testified against him during the trial.

During his trial, some of the governing authorities treated him with contempt and even subjected him to beatings.

While he was innocent, he was given the death sentence.

On an annual day of amnesty, given an opportunity to have him released, the religious leaders asked for a known criminal to be released instead of this innocent man.

The manner of his execution was very public and very humiliating.

During his execution, many of his own people scoffed at him and hurled insults at him.

Sure seems like a possible good fit to the definition!  But, he did cross some borders and, as such, he actually does not fully meet it.  Yet, it still could be argued that he was one of the most Internally Displaced Persons in the history of the world, if not the most!   And most interestingly, this man voluntarily submitted himself to all those obvious violations of human rights.

What about the borders that he crossed?

He left heaven to walk this earth.  The One who dwelt in eternity entered our dimension of time.  The infinite God put on the constraints of human flesh. 

Ironically, He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him (John 1:10).  And yet, his displacement while on this earth put him exactly where we needed him most. 

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him (John 1:11).   But to those who do receive him, who believed in his name (this Jesus, this IDP) he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12).  

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