Neville Goddard on Luke 7:24-30 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Luke 7 in context

Scripture Focus

24And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

25But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.

26But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

27This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

28For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

29And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

Luke 7:24-30

Biblical Context

Jesus asks what people sought in John and then declares him the greatest prophet, while the least in the Kingdom of God is greater. The crowd and publicans respond by being baptized, while the Pharisees reject John's counsel.

Neville's Inner Vision

Within this scene, the wilderness of John becomes a state of consciousness you must enter. The question 'What went ye out into the wilderness for to see?' is a prompt to observe your own motive: do you crave a reed shaken by the wind—an unstable outward sign—or a steadfast inner witness? John is not merely a man; he is the conscious decision to hear the inner messenger and to prepare your heart for the coming of the Lord, the I AM within. When Jesus proclaims that among those born of women there is no greater prophet, yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he, he point to a shift from glory in form to glory in awareness. The Kingdom is not outside you; it is your present I AM, the awareness in which all prophets can be fulfilled. The baptism of John represents your inner alignment with that messenger; the Pharisees who rejected it show how a fixed state of mind resists transformation. Your practice is to attend to the inner voice, accept the inner baptism, and realize you stand in the Kingdom now.