20 Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
20 Most assuredly,
This was another of the emphatic amen, amen or truly, truly statements of Jesus. This was a solemn assurance that what He was about to say would come to pass.
I say to you that you will weep and lament,
The apostles would grieve over the death of Christ on the cross.
but the world will rejoice;
The unregenerate world would express joy that Jesus had died.
and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.
The resurrection of Christ would turn the apostles to joy. The cross was where Jesus died for their sins, but His resurrection was victory over death. God would forgive their sins because of His death on the cross, and they would live eternally because of it. The apostles would experience a sudden transformation in their thinking by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
PRINCIPLE:
Jesus at times does not meet our perceived need but our true need.
APPLICATION:
The world has a completely different attitude about the crucifixion of Christ than those who claim His name. No believer should be disillusioned about this. Jesus met our true need on the cross.
Paul and the church would have a completely different perspective about the crucifixion. They rejoiced in the death of Christ (1 Co 1:23; 2:2; Ga 6:14). Jesus paid for our sin by His death, but He also gave hope by His resurrection.
