There are many things we say out of anger that should never be said. Cutting and tearing words to strike back in some way. Out of anger, we label people as stupid idiots. We damn them and turn our backs. And perhaps worst of all, we wish they had never been born. In our next passage from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus speaks those fatal words, but not in the way we do.
“When evening came, he arrived with the Twelve. While they were reclining and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me.” They began to be distressed and to say to him one by one, “Surely not I?” He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve—the one who is dipping bread in the bowl with me. For the Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born.” (Mark 14:17–21, CSB)
A lot happened in that upper room during what we call the Last Supper. Mark, being true to form, zeros in on the essential bits of Judas, communion, and Peter. Of Judas, Jesus declared that one of the twelve would betray Him.
Jesus knows that what is about to unfold must happen. And then He says, Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had not been born. What is Jesus saying? Because we use that phrase out of anger, it is easy to see it as a curse. But it is not a curse but sorrow.
Jesus is not saying that He wishes Judas had not been born for His sake, but for Judas’s sake. The eternal anguish of Judas is the terrible price he paid. We are told in Matthew’s Gospel that he hanged himself, and in Acts that his body burst open (Acts 1:16-19). The torments of hell began for Judas in that hour. Jesus wasn’t speaking out of anger, but sorrow.
Jesus knows. All throughout Mark’s Gospel the theme of God the Son is demonstrated. This little bit about Judas is another of those moments. Jesus knew what was in Judas’s heart and mind. He knew the anguish it would cause Him on the cross and the eternal torment that was in front of Judas. Jesus knew what was soon to happen: the arrest, mockery, torture, and crucifixion. He knew about Peter’s denials. And He knew our sins that were about to be laid on Him. By His sacrifice, we are forgiven.
Could Judas have been forgiven and restored like Peter? Theologians have debated that for a long time. It is a matter of perspective. Jesus’ blood is sufficient, even for Judas. However, Judas’s heart was so hard that He couldn’t trust God. That was Judas’s problem all along. He couldn’t trust God concerning money. He couldn’t trust that God had a plan. Judas had it all figured out, Satan snared him, and he saw no way out. It’s not that God wouldn’t forgive but that Judas would never ask. Jesus knew that too, which is why He lamented that it would have been more merciful for Judas never to have been born.
“The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, CSB)
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