He laid the condemnation of each nation upon its head, and not upon the arm or the leg or the foot.
He said, “What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem?” (Micah 1:5). Micah also prophesied much concerning the last days, as well as his own day, and his harshest words were for the “heads of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel” (Micah 3:1). He warns sinners of destruction, but there’s something about corrupt authorities that kindles the Lord’s wrath more than any other form of wickedness. Nowhere do we see the Lord saying He is against the whoremongers, or the drunkards, or the horse thieves. Concerning the last days, the Lord said by the mouth of Ezekiel, “Woe be to the shepherds of Israel!” He said, “Behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my flock at their hand” (Ezekiel 34). It is no wonder, then, that while the Old Testament prophecies of the last days contain all manner of descriptions of the sins and sinners who will be present upon the earth in those days, the Lord’s harshest words of condemnation seem to target one particular demographic. He called the Pharisees and Sadducees a “generation of vipers,” and his public rebukes of Herod and Herodias would get him thrown into prison and eventually beheaded. Instead, he spoke harshly against those in authority, including King Herod and Israel’s ecclesiastical leaders. He preached repentance from sin, but did not speak harshly against sinners. John the Baptist followed that same pattern during his ministry.
He publicly rebuked them in the harshest of words, while to the adulteress woman He only said, “Neither do I condemn thee go and sin no more.”
He had harsh words not for the sinners, nor for Israel’s uniformed enemies, but for Israel’s uniformed authorities. He said repeatedly, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:13-39). There was only one segment of the population which he had harsh words for collectively. Except when it came to a certain demographic. He had harsh words for sin, but not for sinners. Instead, he called attention to the hypocrisy of her accusers, saying, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” And when they all departed, He did not condemn the woman, but said to her, “go, and sin no more” (John 8). In fact, when the Jews brought a woman to Him who had been caught in the act of adultery, he spoke no words against her, nor did he lift a stone. According to what is written, during the Savior’s ministry he never spoke harsh words against Romans, publicans, thieves, liars, adulterers, or even murderers.