Neville Goddard on Matthew 23:25 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Matthew 23 in context

Scripture Focus

25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Matthew 23:25

Biblical Context

Jesus condemns those who polish the outside of a life while neglecting the inner motives. He shows that true cleanliness begins in the heart.

Neville's Inner Vision

Matthew 23:25 reveals a fundamental law of consciousness: you may polish the outside of the cup while the inside rots with greed. The scribes and Pharisees are states of mind that adore ritual purity and outward order, yet permit extortion and excess to rule the inner world. When your sense of self is built on appearances, you keep the kingdom at arm's length. The I AM within you—the true cup—must be kept clean by belief, intention, and feeling. If you revise your inner state to be spacious, generous, and true, the outer life will reflect that reform. The discipline is not in condemning others or crying for rules, but in tending the inner atmosphere until it shines. So you practice: imagine your inner cup washed by light, and declare, 'I am pure within; my outer acts are the natural expression of that inner order.' Your life then becomes an outward emblem of inner harmony, not a hollow show of cleanliness.

Practice This Now

Before any word or action, close your eyes and imagine a cup inside you being washed by light; declare, 'My inner state is pure and abundant,' and feel that belief as real.