Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy.
Jesus knew His time on earth was nearly over. Jesus tried repeatedly to explain to His disciples what was to come, but they never seem to grasp what He is trying to telling them. It is easy for us to read these accounts from this side of the cross, because we have the truth from both sides of the cross, but do we really know Him in the power of His resurrection?
Just as Jesus predicted the disciples wept and mourned at the crucifixion, but when they discovered the empty tomb, and encountered the resurrected Jesus, and received the promised Holy Spirit they set the entire ancient world on fire! I often wonder if we went to a loved one’s funeral and then encountered him or her alive again, would we run in fear, or would we tell everyone we knew that they were alive again. In the same way the disciple’s hearts burned with passion, as they ran with excitement to tell the world this Jesus is alive, and all He said was true.
Mark 16:5-7
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right wearing a white robe: and they were amazed.
But he said to them, “Do not be amazed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.
But go, tell His disciples and Peter. He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him just as He said to you.