Why Did Jesus Say It Would Have Been Better If Judas Had Not Been Born?
Some people wonder: Was this really fair to Judas? If the betrayal had to happen for Scripture to be fulfilled, wouldn’t anyone in that position have faced the same fate?
Let’s look at what Scripture tells us about Judas. He wasn’t just any follower — he was one of the twelve disciples personally chosen by Jesus. He even carried the money bag, a role that showed the trust others placed in him. Yet Scripture also points out his weakness: Judas was greedy and dishonest, often helping himself to what was given for ministry (
John 12:6). Long before the betrayal, his heart was already compromised.
At the last supper, Jesus said this about the one who would betray Him:
Matthew 26:24 (NASB) — “The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”He did not say it simply because Judas was going to betray Him. After all, Peter also denied Jesus three times, yet Jesus never spoke those words about him. The difference lay not in the failure itself but in the response afterward.
That also answers the question we started with. Judas was not trapped. Jesus warned him at the table, in front of everyone, without naming him — giving him a way out right up to the last moment (Matthew 26:21-23). Judas had already gone to the chief priests on his own, before any of it (Matthew 26:14-16). Scripture said the betrayal would happen. It never said Judas had to be the one.
Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him, but He also knew what that choice would do to Judas’s soul. After it happened, Judas was crushed with guilt.
Matthew 27:3 (NASB) — “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.”The word Matthew uses for “remorse” is worth noticing. It means to regret something, to wish you had not done it. It is not the word the New Testament normally uses for repentance — the kind that turns a person around and sends them back to God. Matthew chose the weaker word on purpose.
But instead of coming to God for mercy, like Peter did after his denial, Judas let despair take over — and that despair led him to take his own life (Matthew 27:5).
2 Corinthians 7:10 (NASB) — “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”This verse is showing us that not all sorrow is the same. When we sin, we can feel two kinds of sorrow:
Godly sorrow is when our heart breaks because we know we’ve sinned against God. That kind of sorrow doesn’t leave us stuck — it moves us to repent, to turn back to Him, and to find His forgiveness. And once we’re forgiven, there’s no regret left hanging over us.
That’s what we see in Peter. He denied Jesus three times, and afterward he wept bitterly. But his grief led him back. After the resurrection, Jesus took him aside and asked him three times, “Do you love Me?” — once for each denial — and gave him his work back:
John 21:17 (NASB) — “Jesus said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.'”Peter was not merely forgiven. He was put back to work.
Worldly sorrow, on the other hand, is when we feel guilt, shame, or regret but never turn it over to God. It just eats us up inside. That’s what happened with Judas. He felt remorse, but instead of seeking mercy, he let despair consume him, and it destroyed him.
So the difference isn’t just in the mistake, but in where the sorrow leads us: either back to life in God, or deeper into death and hopelessness.
Judas’s grief never turned into repentance — it only led him deeper into hopelessness. That’s the tragedy Jesus saw ahead of time. If Judas had truly listened to Jesus’ words and repented, like Peter did, he could have been forgiven and restored — just as Peter was.
Jesus loves you so much that He doesn’t want guilt to destroy you the way it destroyed Judas. Don’t let shame or regret consume you like it did to him.
No matter how heavy your sins feel, no matter how far you think you’ve fallen, bring them to Jesus. The difference between Peter and Judas isn’t the severity of their failures — it’s what they chose to do next.
If you repent and turn to Him, Jesus will forgive you completely, save you eternally, and give you the peace that Judas tragically rejected. The door of grace remains open, and Jesus is still calling your name.
Last updated 25 August 2026
One response
It is so true if you only trust in the Lord. Take all your burdens to him and he will turn it around for the good. I truly trust in God. I’ll save you.\n I try each and every day to do what God Wants me to do in his will. I ask the Lord every day to use me shake me mold me to be what he wants me to be. I love people. I love everyone unconditionally as God loves us all we have to do is Love, most of all love, our enemies. Because love is strong and it can turn them around to come closer to the Lord.\n For I have not been good all my life, but I’m not what I used to be. And I’m trying each and every day to be what God wants me to be. Thank you.