What did Jesus mean by the warning about women with child and nursing mothers in Matthew 24:19?
The warning shows that the coming tribulation will affect every segment of society, including young women, expectant mothers, and nursing mothers carrying infants. Their inclusion emphasizes the severity and universal impact of that time, and the urgency of fleeing as Jesus instructed, praying it not occur on the Sabbath.
Les explains that verse 19's reference to those with child points to young women and mothers-to-be, while the next statement pictures nursing mothers carrying their little ones. Together with retired and working people, they represent a complete cross-section of society. In verse 20, Les reminds us Israel will be back under the law, so they should pray their flight does not fall on the Sabbath, since Sabbath law limited how far they could walk. They need freedom to travel roughly a hundred miles into the mountains southeast of Israel, possibly into Moab or to Petra. Verse 21 then describes the great tribulation after the Antichrist defiles the temple at the midpoint, a time of trouble unlike any since the world began, so these mothers are part of the society caught in that unprecedented upheaval.
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!