…and we beheld His glory… – John 1:14

What is the word “Beheld?” It says not we heard of His glory, we read of it in prophecy, or we listened to it from the lips of others, but we beheld His glory. What a privilege was this, which was accorded to the first disciples! Have you not often envied them? To see the Man, the very Man, in whom God dwelt-to walk with Him as one’s companion along His journeys of mercy-to listen to the words as they stream all living from those eloquent lips-to look into His eyes, and mark the depth of love that glistened there-to see His face, even though it was more marred than that of any man… “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth”-to have had one’s faith encouraged by touching His very flesh, as He did of whom it is written, that he put his finger into the print of the nails and thrust his hand into His side. But what are we talking about? All this is carnal, all this is of sight, and the Christian is a nobler being than to live and walk by sight. He lives by faith; and to this day, brethren, there is a sight of Christ which can be had by faith; and therefore, we need not murmur because we are denied the privilege of sight. The sight of Christ it seems, did but little good to those who had it, not even to His disciples, for they were sorry dolts, even though He was the Master. It was only when the Spirit came down at Pentecost, that they began to know Christ, and to understand what He had said to them, though He himself had said it. And truly ’tis better to see Christ by faith than it is to see Him by sight, for a sight of Him by faith saves the soul; but we might see Him with the eye, and yet crucify Him, and be found amongst the greatest rebels against His government and power.

Now we say to you, have you beheld His glory by faith? Oh! ye have all of you heard of it. Ye may hear of His glory and perish in your sins. Oh! to behold His glory! This is soul work, saving work, blessed work, everlasting work: have ye any interest in it? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0414.cfm