Neville Goddard on Matthew 12:9-13 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Matthew 12 in context

Scripture Focus

9And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:

10And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

11And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

12How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

13Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.

Matthew 12:9-13

Biblical Context

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, declaring that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The passage shows that true Sabbath observance is mercy in action, not external ritual.

Neville's Inner Vision

Interpret the scene as a drama of inner states. The synagogue stands for the fixed beliefs you cling to, a mental temple built of rules. The man with the withered hand represents a part of you compressed by limitation and fear, a vitality held back by habit. When the rulers of law ask, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? they expose your tendency to measure life by external decrees rather than by the I AM that you are. Jesus counterposes mercy to ritual, reminding you that the only law worth keeping is the uplift of life. Stretch forth the hand is your command to extend your consciousness into wholeness. As you align with the state of healing your true I AM, your eternal vitality, the withered part of you responds and becomes whole. The healing is not a miracle granted from without, but a recognition of what you already are when you refuse to condemn life as an offense to tradition. Mercy is the operative principle; light and life flow where you choose to live as the healer in you.