Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 26:24

"The Son of man goeth, even as it is written of him: but woe unto that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had not been born." — Matthew 26:24 (ASV)

The Son of man goes as it is written — These words are remarkable as the first direct reference to the coming passion and death being foretold in the Scriptures that prophesied of the Messiah. It was appointed that the Christ should suffer, but that appointment did not make people less free as moral agents, nor did it diminish the guilt of their treachery or injustice. In the same way, as if taught by his Master, St. Peter speaks of the guilt of Judas in Acts 1:16–18, and of the guilt of the priests and scribes in Acts 4:27–28.

It had been good for that man... — As awful as these words are, they have a bright side as well as a dark one. According to the judgment people commonly make, these words are true of everyone except those who depart this life in the fear and faith of God. In His applying them to the case of the Traitor in its exceptional enormity, there is the suggestion that for others, whose guilt was not like his, existence—even in the penal suffering their sins have brought upon them—may be better than never to have existed at all.