Neville Goddard on Mark 7:8-9 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Mark 7 in context

Scripture Focus

8For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

Mark 7:8-9

Biblical Context

The passage exposes how tradition can supplant God's command. True obedience arises from inner alignment, not external ritual.

Neville's Inner Vision

Mark 7:8–9 reveals that the 'commandment of God' is the living principle of your awakened I AM, not a mere external rite. When you cling to tradition, you substitute a human pattern for the divine order already written within your consciousness. The reference to washing pots and cups symbolizes outward cleanliness, but the real purification happens inside when you revise your beliefs about what it means to be holy. You do not grow by enforcing laws from without; you grow by aligning your inner state with the command that already dwells in you. If you insist on holding a tradition to prove your virtue, you deny the inner authority of God and create distance between heart and life. The moment you acknowledge that obedience is already present as a fixed inner attitude, you dissolve the need for ritual and let the world reflect that inner alignment. Practice: assume you are obedient in your innermost self, and revise your outer scenes to match that inner decree.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Close your eyes, declare, 'I have already obeyed the commandment of God in my inner life,' and feel the truth of that statement as your current reality. Then identify a tradition you rely on and revise it by affirming the inner I AM's commandment governs your life rather than outward forms.