John 16:20

Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT YE SHALL WEEP AND LAMENT, BUT THE WORLD SHALL REJOICE: AND YE SHALL BE SORROWFUL, BUT YOUR SORROW SHALL BE TUNED INTO JOY....

20._You will weep and lament. _He shows for what reason he foretold that his departure was at hand, and, at the same time, added a promise about his speedy return. It was, that they might understand better that the aid of the Spirit was highly necessary. “Ahard and severe temptation,” says he, “_awaits _you; for, when I shall be removed from you by death, the world will proclaim its triumphs over you. You will feel the deepest anguish. The world will pronounce itself to be happy, and you to be miserable. I have resolved, therefore, to furnish you with the necessary arms for this warfare.” He describes the interval that elapsed between his death and the day when the Holy Spirit was sent; (100) for at that time their faith, so to speak, lay prostrate and exhausted. _Your sorrow will be turned into joy. _He means the _joy _which they felt after having received the Spirit; not that they were

16-22 It is good to consider how near our seasons of grace are to an end, that we may be quickened to improve them. But the sorrows of the disciples would soon be turned into joy; as those of a mother, at the sight of her infant. The Holy Spirit would be their Comforter, and neither men nor devils, neither sufferings in life nor in death, would ever deprive them of their joy. Believers have joy or sorrow, according to their sight of Christ, and the tokens of his presence. Sorrow is coming on the ungodly, which nothing can lessen; the believer is an heir to joy which no one can take away. Where now is the joy of the murderers of our Lord, and the sorrow of his friends?...

Verse John 16:20. _YE SHALL WEEP AND LAMENT_] To see me crucified and laid in the grave. _BUT THE WORLD SHALL REJOICE_] The chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, and persecuting Jews in general, will triumph, hoping that their bad cause is crowned with success. _BUT YOUR SORROW SHALL BE TURNED INTO JOY._] When ye see me risen from the dead. It is very evident that our Lord uses the word _world_, in several parts of this discourse of his, to signify the _unbelieving_ and _rebellious Jews_....

YE SHALL WEEP ... - At my crucifixion, sufferings, and death. Compare Luke 23:27. THE WORLD - Wicked men. The term world is frequently used in this sense. See John 16:8. It refers particularly, here, to the Jews who sought his death, and who would rejoice that their object was obtained. SHALL BE TURNED INTO JOY - You will not only rejoice at my resurrection, but even my death, now the object of so much grief to you, will be to you a source of unspeakable joy. It will procure for you peace and pardon in this life, and eternal joy in the world to come. Thus their greatest apparent calamity would be to them, finally, the source of their highest comfort; and though then they could not see how it could be,

EXPOSITION JOHN 16:1 (c) _The bitter issues of the hostility of the world_. JOHN 16:1 THESE THINGS. What things? Primarily the explanation he had given of the opposition and hatred of the world, and the vast consolation which he had promised in the identification of the disciples with himself, and the witness which would be borne by the Paraclete; but not exclusively, for they include all the preparatory instructions based on his own Person, his going to the Father, his return in the power of the Spirit. HAVE I SPOKEN TO YOU, THAT YE SHOULD NOT BE OFFENDED; that you should not be made to fall over the stumbling block of persecution, and the refusal of the people to hear your message concerning me. For the mome

VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO YOU,.... A strong asseveration, a way of speaking often used by him, when he solemnly affirms any thing, and would assure of the truth of it, as here: THAT YE SHALL WEEP AND LAMENT; meaning at his death, when he should be removed from them, so that they should not see him; when they should be filled with inward grief on account thereof, and express it by mournful gestures, and a doleful voice; and which was fulfilled in them, Mark 16:10; and how pensive the two disciples were that were going to Emmaus, it is easy to observe from the account given of them; BUT THE WORLD SHALL REJOICE; the unbelieving Jews; and not only the common people, but the chief priests, with the Scribes and elders, mocked at him, insulted him, and triumphed over him when on the cross, being glad at heart they had got him there; imagining now, that it was al

This chapter contains some of the most precious words that the Lord Jesus uttered before he died upon the cross. John 16:1. _These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended._ Or, as the Revised Version translates it, «be made to stumble.» Christ would not have his children stumble. There is an offence of the cross, but he would not have us needlessly offended. How careful is our dear Saviour not to give us offence! We ought to be very careful not to offend him; but what condescension it is on his part that he should be careful of offending us, or of permitting us to be offended, or made to stumble. John 16:2. _They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service._ Can you r

WORLD Greek, "kosmos", means "mankind". (_ See Scofield) - (Matthew 4:8). _...

CHAPTER 16 1. Persecutions Predicted. (John 16:1 .) 2. The Comforter and His Demonstration. (John 16:7 .) 3. Sorrow and joy. (John 16:16 .) 4. The Father Himself Loveth You. (John 16:23 .) 5. His Final Word before His Prayer. (John 16:28 .) Again He announced coming persecutions. The world is the same today as then, and before this age ends these predictions of our Lord will be again fulfilled, during the great tribulation. The coming of the Comforter is once more announced by Him. He could not come unless the Lord departed.