Neville Goddard on Matthew 11:20-24 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Matthew 11 in context

Scripture Focus

20Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

21Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

23And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

Matthew 11:20-24

Biblical Context

Jesus rebukes Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for not repenting despite witnessing mighty works. He warns that Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom would fare better on the day of judgment, signaling an inner standard of accountability.

Neville's Inner Vision

All the drama of the chapter is a drama of states of consciousness. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum stand for fixed mental positions that refused to repent into a new possibility. The 'mighty works' are your inner demonstrations, conditioned by belief. To say Tyre and Sidon would have repented long ago is a call to revise your inner stance: invite sackcloth and ashes as a symbolic turning of attention—humility of imagination. The day of judgment then becomes a private assessment of where you are willing to shift your awareness toward the I AM. The story says it will be more tolerable for places that would have yielded to such turning; this is not punishment but mercy waking you to revise your mental weather. If your Capernaum—your exalted ego—remains in heaven in illusion, you can choose to descend into true awareness, for Sodom's state would have persisted without surrender. The invitation remains: imagine the new state until it feels real, and you will awaken to mercy within.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Name a stubborn inner stance, then imagine the I AM breathing through it and affirm, 'I AM awake to mercy now.' Feel that inner air soften the edges of judgment as you revise the scene into a new, living state.