[This should be placed in the "Absurdities" category.]
Q: In Matthew 24:19, Jesus says, Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. Isnt this absurd? Does God have a particular hatred for pregnant and nursing women? Why does Jesus denounce them with a curse here?
A: The pronouncement of a Woe upon someone did not always have a condemnatory connotation or make a moral judgment upon its object. A person could cry Woe is me! when something surprisingly bad happened to him, without meaning that he was being punished for something. In the case of Matthew 24:19, Jesus is not condemning or cursing the pregnant and nursing women; He is observing that the times He is describing will be especially hard for them (since it will be harder for them to escape danger). The Revised Standard Version captures the sense of Jesus words pretty well: And alas for those .
See my related response at Matthew 18:7 at p089.ezboard.com/fsabdisc...=285.topic .
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
Q: In Matthew 24:19, Jesus says, Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. Isnt this absurd? Does God have a particular hatred for pregnant and nursing women? Why does Jesus denounce them with a curse here?
A: The pronouncement of a Woe upon someone did not always have a condemnatory connotation or make a moral judgment upon its object. A person could cry Woe is me! when something surprisingly bad happened to him, without meaning that he was being punished for something. In the case of Matthew 24:19, Jesus is not condemning or cursing the pregnant and nursing women; He is observing that the times He is describing will be especially hard for them (since it will be harder for them to escape danger). The Revised Standard Version captures the sense of Jesus words pretty well: And alas for those .
See my related response at Matthew 18:7 at p089.ezboard.com/fsabdisc...=285.topic .
Yours in Christ,
Waterrock
