Neville Goddard on Matthew 3:1-6 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Matthew 3 in context

Scripture Focus

1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

Matthew 3:1-6

Biblical Context

John the Baptist appears in the wilderness, calling people to repentance because the kingdom of heaven is near. People go to him, confess their sins, and are baptized.

Neville's Inner Vision

John is the inner voice that awakens in the wilderness of my mind. The cry 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand' is not a future event but a present shift in my state of consciousness. The wilderness represents the stillness between thoughts where imagination can speak with authority. The call to 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord' is my act of revision—clearing the mental pathways by assuming the truth of God within me. Baptism is the inward cleansing of belief; confessing sins is releasing guilt and limitation. As I dwell in this awareness, the kingdom—my awareness of God as I AM—becomes at hand, here and now, not somewhere over the horizon. The Jordan crossing is my crossing from fear to faith, from lack to abundance, accomplished by my persistent assumption and the felt sense of truth. In this light, the historical John lights the path you and I walk when we refuse to identify with lack and remember that God is present, active, and now.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes, rest in the quiet, and assume the feeling that the kingdom is here now. Repeat I AM the I AM and envision a straight path opening before you.