Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 26:23-24

"And he answered and said, He that dipped his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 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 26:23-24 (ASV)

And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

A man may get very near to Christ, yes, may dip his hand in the same dish with the Savior, and yet betray him. We may be high in office, and may apparently be very useful, as Judas was; yet we may betray Christ.

We learn from our Lord's words that divine decrees do not deprive a sinful action of its guilt: The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed. His criminality is just as great as though there had been no determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.

It had been good for that man if he had not been born. The doom of Judas is worse than non-existence. To have consorted with Christ as he had done, and then to deliver him into the hands of his enemies, sealed the traitor's eternal destiny.

And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

The doom of the wicked is something far worse than non-existence, or Christ would not have said, concerning Judas Iscariot, It had been good for that man if he had never been born.

This is especially true of all those who, having for a while consorted with Christ, afterwards deny Him and betray Him.

O brothers and sisters, may all of us be kept from this terrible sin! May none of us ever betray our Master after all the fellowship we have had with Him!

It would be better to die for Him than to deny Him; and it would be better never to have been born than to have been in intimate association with Him, and then to have betrayed Him.

And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

So, you see, dear friends, that a man may get very near to Christ, — yes, he may even dip his morsel in the same dish with his Lord, and yet he may betray him, even as Judas did. We may be very high in office; we may apparently be very useful; — I have no doubt that Judas was exceedingly useful to the twelve and to the Master; — and yet, for all that, we may betray him. God grant that we never may! Better far that we perished at our birth than that we should live to be traitors to our Lord.

And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

Remember, this "woe" applies, not only to Judas Iscariot, but to anyone else who betrays Christ. Oh! if, under the pressure of persecution, or if, being bribed by some present pleasure, or if, through our own natural fickleness, we should betray our Master, woe to us! May the Lord, by his almighty grace, keep us from committing such a sin as that! If we do betray our Lord, it would have been better for us that we had not been born.

And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.

We learn from our Lord's words that divine decrees do not deprive a sinful action of its guilt: The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! The criminality of Judas was just as great as though there had been no determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God even as it was with those to whom Peter spoke so boldly on the day of Pentecost, when he charged them with the murder of Jesus.

A man may get very near to Christ, indeed, may dip his hand in the same dish with the Savior and yet betray Him. We may be high in office and may apparently be very useful, as Judas was, yet we may betray Christ.

We learn from our Lord’s words that divine decrees do not deprive a sinful action of its guilt, The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed. His criminality is just as great as though there had been no “determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.”

It had been good for that man if he had not been borne. The doom of Judas is worse than non-existence. To have consorted with Christ as he had done and then to deliver Him into the hands of His enemies sealed the traitor’s eternal destiny.