Neville Goddard on Luke 23:47-56 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Luke 23 in context

Scripture Focus

47Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

48And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.

49And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

50And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:

51(The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.

52This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.

53And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.

54And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

55And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid.

56And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

Luke 23:47-56

Biblical Context

The centurion proclaims Jesus righteous; the crowd mourns; Joseph of Arimathaea receives the body and buries it, while the women watch and prepare for the Sabbath.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within Luke 23:47-56 the event is not merely history but a drama of consciousness. The centurion's act of glorifying God is your I AM awakening to truth, recognizing that all outward events are the dressing of inner conviction. The people's beating of their breasts marks the old self's surrender to what is real in you, a turning toward the light of awareness. Joseph of Arimathaea, described as one who waited for the kingdom of God, stands for the disciplined self that has prepared a place for a new image and will not consent to the old counsel of lack. He receives the body of Jesus and places it in a tomb hewn from stone; this tomb is your fixed belief in separation, now rendered ready to be transformed by a new idea. The Sabbath preparation and the watchful women symbolize the rest and the faculties that assist you in sustaining the new image. The scene invites you to permit the old story to be buried in your inner earth and to awaken to the kingdom that is entirely present in consciousness.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Assume the centurion's posture of awareness and declare I AM the righteousness here; revise the scene by burying the old self in the tomb of your awareness and rest in the Sabbath of the kingdom now.