"And HE THAT SAW it bare record" (John 19:35).
"And HE saw and believed" (John 20:8).
"Then were the disciples glad when THEY SAW the Lord" (John 20:20).
"Blessed are THEY THAT HAVE NOT SEEN and yet have believed" (John 20:29).
What was it that the disciple whom Jesus loved saw? He saw his Lord and Master dead upon the cross. He saw THE GREAT SACRIFICE. He saw it and bare record of what he saw that ye might believe.
What was it that the same disciple saw when he came first to the sepulchre in the garden? He saw the empty tomb, evidence of THE GLORIOUS VICTORY. He saw it and believed and bare record of what he saw that ye might believe also.
What was it that the disciples saw when Jesus stood in the midst of them and showed them His hands and His side? They saw the living Lord in their midst, unchanged in His love for them in spite of their unfaithfulness to Him. They saw HIS ENDURING LOVE. And this same disciple bare record of this also that ye might believe.
The laden cross, the empty tomb, the living Lord, with wounded hands and side, what great sights were these! And who can wonder that that disciple who saw these sights and bore witness to them, should have been seen following Jesus without being told, for Peter, turning about SEETH THE DISCIPLE whom Jesus loved following. We should have wondered greatly if he had done anything else but follow Him, after having seen the great sacrifice, the glorious victory and the living, unchangeable Lord. And we have sometimes wished that we had been with that disciple and seen the great sights that he saw, we have thought that our faith would have been greater if we had. But we need not entertain such vain wishes and thoughts, for we who have not seen have the more blessed part, and we have our Lord's words for it, for He has said: "BLESSED ARE THEY THAT HAVE NOT SEEN, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED."