Neville Goddard on Matthew 12:9-14 - 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.

14Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

Matthew 12:9-14

Biblical Context

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand in the synagogue while the scribes test him on Sabbath practice. He declares that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, then restores the man's hand.

Neville's Inner Vision

Take the scene in Matthew 12:9-14 as a mirror of your inner life. The withered hand is not a body problem alone but a part of you stiffened by fear, by your own rule-bound thinking. The Sabbath is not a calendar but a state of inner stillness in which you stop arguing with limitation and listen to the I AM that you are. When the Pharisees question healing, they symbolize your own tests of the possible; Jesus answers by upending the usual measure of worth with a superior law — the law of mercy and life. To stretch forth the hand is to act from the living reality you imagine rather than from the image of incapacity; the restoration of the man demonstrates that your inner state manifests outward form. Thus, healing comes when you align with the I AM, drop the old judgments, and exercise compassionate action from a place of true seeing. The message invites you to trust your inner authority and to practice kindness toward yourself and others as the natural overflow of life.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: In a moment of stillness, imagine you are the man with the withered hand; stretch forth that hand in your mind and feel it becoming whole. Hold the feeling that the I AM within you has already restored you, and let that truth govern your actions today.