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JOHN 16:20 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
John 16:19John 16:21
“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.”
Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy — Jesus now interprets the "little while": during the crucifixion, the disciples will weep and mourn (tears of separation, failure, fear), while the world rejoices (those who opposed Jesus celebrate what they perceive as his defeat). Yet this pain (lupē—grief, sorrow) is temporary and transformative; it will turn into joy (chara—gladness, delight). The cross is not the end but the passage; through death comes resurrection.

Church Fathers on John 16:20

Our Lord after having relieved the spirits of the disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit, again depresses them: A little while, and you shall not see Me. He does this to accustom them to the mention of His departure, in order that they may bear it well, when it does come. For nothing so quiets the troubled mind, as the continued recurrence to the subject of its grief.

Chrysostom · 4th century

He said, A little while, and you shall not see Me alluding to His going to be taken that night by the Jews, His crucifixion the next morning, and burial in the evening, which withdrew Him from all human sight.

Bede · 8th century

The meaning of these words however was obscure, before their fulfillment; Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He said to us, A little while, and you shall not see Me; and again, a little while, and you shall see Me; and, Because I go to the Father?

Augustine · 4th century
Read all 19 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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