21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
(ubi sup.) Where it is evident that He did not proclaim him openly to all, lest He should make him the more shameless; at the same time He did not altogether keep it silent, lest thinking that he was not discovered, he should boldly hasten to betray Him.
(ubi sup.) The Lord who had foretold His Passion, prophesied also of the traitor, in order to give him room for repentance, that understanding that his thoughts were known, he might repent. Wherefore it is said, And in the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.
(ubi sup.) That is, Judas, who when the others were sad and held back their hands, puts forth his hand with his Master into the dish. And because He had before said, One of you shall betray me, and yet the traitor perseveres in his evil, He accuses him more openly, without however pointing out his name.
(ubi sup.) Woe too to that man, to-day and for ever, who comes to the Lord's table with an evil intent. For he, after the example of Judas, betrays the Lord, not indeed to Jewish sinners, but to his own sinning members. It goes on: Good were it for that man if he had never been born.
But how could they eat reclining, when the law ordered that standing and upright they should eat the Passover? It is probable that they had first fulfilled the legal Passover, and had reclined, when He began to give them His own Passover.
But the other disciples began to be saddened on account of the word of the Lord; for although they were free from this passion, yet they trust Him who knows all hearts, rather than themselves. It goes on: And he answered and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.
The word here used, goeth, shows that the death of Christ was not forced but voluntary.
For as respects the end for which he was designed, it would have been better for him to have been born, if he had not been the betrayer, for God created him for good works; but after he had fallen into such dreadful wickedness, it would have been better for him never to have been born.
The evening of the day points out the evening of the world; for the last, who are the first to receive the penny of eternal life, come about the eleventh hour. All the disciples then are touched by the Lord; so that there is amongst them the harmony of the harp, all the well attuned strings answer with accordant tone; for it goes on: And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? One of them however, unstrung, and steeped in the love of money, said, Is it I, Lord? as Matthew testifies.
Again, He says, One out of the twelve, as it were separate from them, for the wolf carries away from the flock the sheep which he has taken, and the sheep which quits the fold lies open to the bite of the wolf. But Judas does not withdraw his foot from his traitorous design though once and again pointed at, wherefore his punishment is foretold, that the death denounced upon him might correct him, whom shame could not overcome; wherefore it goes on: The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him.
But because many do good, in the way that Judas did, without its profiting them, there follows: Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
That is, hidden in his mother's inmost womb, for it is better for a man not to exist than to exist for torments.
As if it has not been necessary also that there should be evil! It was even necessary that the Lord should be betrayed; but woe to the traitor! So that no man may from this defend heresies.
There was another by whom he was betrayed, namely, the devil, of whom Judas was the instrument. The “woe” is not only for Judas, but for all who betray Christ.
And indeed, the Son of Man goes as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. Neither at first nor second admonished does he withdraw his foot from betrayal, but the patience of the Lord nourishes his impudence, and he treasures up wrath for himself in the day of wrath. He predicts punishment, so that whom shame did not conquer, the announced torments might correct. But today also and forever, woe to that man who malignantly approaches the table of the Lord, who with schemes hidden in mind and some crime polluting his innermost heart, does not fear to partake in the holy sacrifices of the mysteries of Christ. For even he in the example of Judas betrays the Son of Man, not indeed to sinful Jews, but yet to sinners, namely his own members, with which he presumes to desecrate that inestimable and inviolable sacrament of the Lord's body and blood. He sells God, who, neglecting His fear and love, is convicted of valuing and caring for earthly and perishable things, indeed even criminal things, in place of Him.
It would have been good for him if that man had not been born. This should not be thought to mean that he existed before he was born, for it cannot be well for anyone, except for him who has been. But it is simply said, it is much better not to exist than to exist badly.
Knowledge is of what exists and foreknowledge is of what will surely exist in the future. For simple being comes first and then good or evil being. But if the very existence of those, who through the goodness of God are in the future to exist, were to be prevented by the fact that they were to become evil of their own choice, evil would have prevailed over the goodness of God. In this way God makes all his works good, but each becomes of its own choice good or evil. Although, then, the Lord said, “Good were it for that man that he had never been born,” he said it in condemnation not of his own creation but of the evil which his own creature had acquired by his own choice and through his own heedlessness.
[AD 407] John Chrysostom on Mark 14:17-21