Judgment and mercy.
We come now to the eighth and last of this series of woes denounced by Christ against the wicked, which stands in striking contrast to the eighth and last of the Beatitudes (cf. Matthew 5:10-12). Note—
I. THAT INSTEAD OF THE FATHERS COME UP THE CHILDREN OF THE WICKED.
1. The fathers of the wicked were the persecutors of the good.
(a) Rulers are generally what the people will have them. "Like people. like priest" (cf. Isaiah 24:2; Jeremiah 5:30, Jeremiah 5:31; Hosea 4:9).
(b) So contrariwise, people are demoralized by their rulers.
2. The children of wickedness confess while they denounce their fathers.
II. THAT THE SINS OF AGES MAY BE VISITED UPON A SINGLE GENERATION.
1. Judgment is provoked by persistent impenitence.
2. Its severity follows in the wake of mercy.
III. THAT A CHRISTLESS HORSE IS A WOEFUL DESOLATION.
1. So it proved in the days of the fathers.
2. So it proved in the days of their children.
3. The children of wickedness are not exclusively Jewish.
IV. THAT THE LONG SUFFERING OF CHRIST IS SALVATION.
1. The Jews will yet see Christ in his glory.
2. They will all acknowledge him then.