💫WEB · John 16:20
What does John 16:20 mean?
"Most certainly I tell you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy."
— John 16:20 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Some of his disciples therefore said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me;’ and, ‘Because I go to the Father’?”
They said therefore, “What is this that he says, ‘A little while’? We don’t know what he is saying.”
Therefore Jesus perceived that they wanted to ask him, and he said to them, “Do you inquire among yourselves concerning this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you won’t see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?’
Most certainly I tell you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her time has come. But when she has delivered the child, she doesn’t remember the anguish any more, for the joy that a human being is born into the world.
Therefore you now have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.
“In that day you will ask me no questions. Most certainly I tell you, whatever you may ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
Explanation
John 16:20 records words Jesus spoke to his disciples during the Last Supper discourse, in the hours before his arrest and crucifixion. In plain language, Jesus is telling his closest followers that they are about to experience deep grief and mourning while the surrounding world—those who opposed him and sought his death—will feel relief and celebration. Yet he promises that this sorrow is not the end of the story; it will be transformed into joy. He is preparing them emotionally for what is coming: his death, followed by his resurrection.
The context is crucial. This statement comes within John 13–17, often called the Farewell Discourse, where Jesus speaks intimately with his disciples knowing he will soon be crucified. Just before this verse, in John 16:16-19, Jesus had told them, "A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me," which confused and troubled them. Verse 20 is his explanation: the "little while" of not seeing him refers to his death and burial, when the disciples would weep while his enemies—the religious authorities and those who conspired against him—would rejoice at having eliminated a perceived threat. The second "little while," when they would see him again, points to the resurrection, when their grief would be reversed into joy.
Theologically, this verse captures a pattern seen throughout Scripture: God often brings his greatest works of redemption through periods of apparent defeat and suffering. The disciples' sorrow was real and necessary—Jesus doesn't minimize it or tell them not to feel it—but it was temporary and purposeful,
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