What does "woe to that man" imply about divine justice in Matthew 26:24? Text of Matthew 26:24 “The Son of Man will go as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” Meaning of “Woe” (οὐαί) In biblical Greek οὐαί carries a double force: sorrowful lament and judicial condemnation. It is used by the prophets (e.g., Isaiah 5:20) and by Jesus (e.g., Matthew 23) to announce God’s irreversible judgment. Here it signals that Judas faces both the grief of forfeited blessing and the sentence of divine wrath. Prophetic and Canonical Context 1. “As it is written” anchors the event in Scripture (Psalm 41:9; Zechariah 11:12–13), showing God’s sovereign plan. 2. Yet the woe isolates personal culpability: the messianic program proceeds, but the betrayer will not escape responsibility. This harmony of sovereignty and responsibility also appears in Acts 2:23 and Genesis 50:20. Divine Justice Illustrated • Retributive: God repays according to deeds (Romans 2:6). • Proportional: “Better…not been born” indicates punishment exceeding the value of temporal existence—an idiom for eternal loss (cf. Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20:15). • Certain: The woe is declared by the risen Lord who “has been appointed judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). Implications for the Doctrine of Hell The comparative—non-existence preferable to post-mortem fate—implies conscious, unending punishment. Second-Temple Jewish literature (e.g., 1 Enoch 22) shares this idiom, and Jesus consistently employs it when warning of Gehenna (Mark 9:42-48). Human Responsibility and Moral Agency Behavioral research shows betrayal requires deliberate volition; Scripture agrees (James 1:14-15). Judas acted after repeated light—three years of miracles—including feet-washing moments earlier (John 13). His hardened will exemplifies Hebrews 10:26-27: deliberate sin after full knowledge incurs “a fearful expectation of judgment.” Historical Corroboration • Josephus (Ant. 18.3.3) and Tacitus (Ann. 15.44) verify Jesus’ execution under Pilate, matching Gospel chronology. • The Pontius Pilate inscription (1961, Caesarea Maritima) and Caiaphas ossuary (1990) anchor the Passion setting archaeologically. • Dead Sea Scroll 1QIsaᵃ (c. 125 BC) contains Isaiah 53 intact, showing the betrayal-suffering motif pre-dated Christ by at least a century. Pattern of “Woe” in Scripture Prophets announce woe where covenant is violated (Habakkuk 2). Jesus, the Prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:18-19), follows the pattern, reinforcing continuity of divine justice from Genesis to Revelation. Ethical and Pastoral Applications 1. Sin against maximal revelation heightens culpability (Luke 12:47-48). 2. Proximity to Christ’s church offers no immunity; external association without internal regeneration invites greater judgment (Matthew 7:21-23). 3. The warning is gracious: a last appeal for repentance even to Judas, paralleling Ezekiel 33:11—God delights not in the death of the wicked. Conclusion “Woe to that man” in Matthew 26:24 proclaims the certainty, severity, and perfect equity of divine justice. It affirms that God’s foreordained plan never cancels human responsibility, that eternal punishment is real and proportionate, and that rejecting the Light after full exposure renders one’s existence worse than never having lived. |
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