Misinterpretations often claim the betrayal was irresistibly predestined, excusing Judas's guilt and negating free will, despite the passage upholding both divine foreknowledge and human responsibility; others dismiss the dire warning 'good were it for that man if he had never been born' as hyperbole rather than a stark portrayal of eternal damnation, or misapply it to trivial betrayals instead of treachery against Christ.
Mark 14:21
King James Version (1769)
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.
Jesus declares that his betrayal fulfills ancient prophecies, affirming God's sovereign plan for the Son of Man's path to the cross, yet he pronounces severe judgment on the betrayer, emphasizing personal accountability and the profound consequences of sinning against the Messiah, as the woe pronounced indicates a fate worse than nonexistence.