Neville Goddard on John 2:13-22 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read John 2 in context

Scripture Focus

13And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,

14And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

15And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

16And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

17And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?

19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

21But he spake of the temple of his body.

22When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

John 2:13-22

Biblical Context

Jesus cleanses the temple in Jerusalem by driving out sellers and money-changers, warning against turning God’s house into a marketplace. He then speaks of destroying this temple and raising it in three days, pointing to the temple of his body.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Neville’s view, the temple is not a stone building but the living state of your own awareness. The merchants and money tables represent thoughts and habits that trade away sacred focus, the restless ego that calls itself worship while seeking security through outer forms. When Jesus makes a scourge of small cords, he teaches you to tighten the cords of attachment, to loosen the grip of old beliefs, and to clear the inner sanctuary for true worship. The command, 'Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise,' becomes the inner decision: this consciousness is sacred, its energy not for sale to fear or habit. The later words about destroying this temple and raising it in three days point to a shift in self-image: the old identity dies and a new consciousness—the temple of the body—arises as your present awareness, renewed by inner recognition of God as I AM. When you rest in that I AM, your zeal for inner sanctity consumes you in the best sense, so the presence of God becomes your natural atmosphere.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and assume the feeling that this body is the Father's house now. Revise a single persistent fear by saying, 'I AM the temple of God,' and feel the inner sanctuary becoming clear.