Neville Goddard on John 12:3-8 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read John 12 in context

Scripture Focus

3Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

4Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him,

5Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?

6This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.

7Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.

8For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

John 12:3-8

Biblical Context

Mary anoints Jesus with costly ointment; Judas complains about the price and motive, while Jesus redirects attention to the significance of this act. The episode contrasts extravagant devotion with concern for appearances, pointing to inner priorities over outer scarcity.

Neville's Inner Vision

To Neville, the scene is a map of the inner life. Mary's costly spikenard is the image of a vivid, burning imagination poured out upon the feet of the I AM in you. The fragrance filling the house is your mind awakened to the truth that outward life answers to the posture you sustain in consciousness. Judas's objection is the voice of scarcity and ego—the part of you that fears loss when you lavish your most valuable energy on a living symbol of the divine. Jesus' word, 'Let her alone,' speaks to the inner ruler who knows that the moment of burial and release marks a turning point in consciousness. The 'poor always you have with you' points to the perennial tension between outward service and higher allegiance to inner reality; you do not reject mercy, but you acknowledge that the act of consecrating awareness takes precedence, for it is the seed from which all provision flows. In this drama, your imagination is the ointment; your consciousness the room; and your willingness to lavish it on the divine within awakens abundance and a deeper sense of being.

Practice This Now

Assume you are the Mary of your life, pouring out the costly ointment of devotion on the feet of your inner Jesus. Feel the room fill with the fragrance of awareness and rest in the certainty that the I AM is here, and abundance follows.