But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days.
With these words Jesus expresses his deep compassion toward those who will face the coming tribulation in their most vulnerable condition. “The pregnant and the nursing mothers” symbolize not only women, but in general all who are spiritually or physically weak and cannot quickly flee from danger. This saying shows that God’s judgment, however just it is, also carries within it painful human consequences. Christ reveals the true weight of the trial, which will touch even the innocent. Indeed, this word was fulfilled during the siege of Jerusalem, when the helpless suffered the most, but it also continues to remind believers of all times that the consequences of sin always become heaviest upon the weakest, and for that reason Christ’s word joins compassion and warning.