Neville Goddard on Matthew 8:32-34 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Matthew 8 in context

Scripture Focus

32And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

34And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

Matthew 8:32-34

Biblical Context

Jesus commands the possessed to be freed; the herd of swine is driven into the sea and destroyed; the people report what happened, and the city comes out to meet Jesus, then asks him to depart.

Neville's Inner Vision

This narrative is a vivid teaching that your inner world cannot remain untouched when the I AM enters. The swine represent your lower thoughts—attachments, fears, and the cravings of sense—that must be driven away to reveal the true man beneath. When Jesus says, Go, you reply within, and the external symbol is cast into the sea; the old self dissolves in the waters of awareness, and the outward scene shifts accordingly. The keepers and the city are not spectators but your outer responses—doubt, opinion, and the impulse to cling to the familiar. Yet the moment you attend to the I AM, liberation is born: the devils depart, the field of life reorganizes, and the whole town returns to meet the one who stands in that clear consciousness. The mercy is that God is present as awareness, not distant power; the healing is the restoration of wholeness within, and outward reactions—alarm, astonishment, then quiet acceptance—confirm the inner conversion you practice in imagination.

Practice This Now

Close your eyes and declare, 'I AM the power that casts out what plagues me.' See the lower tendencies run to the sea and dissolve, and feel your outer life greet the new self with calm.