From Doubt to Inner Knowing: The Shift from John to Jesus
The passage in Luke 7:18–35 presents one of the most striking contrasts between two inner states of being: John the Baptist and Jesus. To the casual reader, this scene may appear to describe an exchange between two men in history. But through the teachings of Neville Goddard, it reveals a profound psychological drama—one that unfolds not in time and space, but within the individual soul.
Let’s walk through this passage piece by piece, reinterpreting it symbolically as a progression of states within you.
Verses 18–19: The Question of the Rational Mind
“And the disciples of John gave him an account of all these things. Then John sent two of his disciples to the Lord, saying, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another?”
John symbolises the rational mind, the forerunner, the phase of preparation. He represents the part of us that begins to awaken spiritually but still looks outside for validation. When he asks, “Are you the one?” it reflects that doubting voice within us that is not yet sure whether our imagination is truly the creative power.
This is the stage where we want signs, proof, evidence. We’ve heard about the power of assumption, but we wonder: Is it really true? Or should I keep searching?
Verses 20–21: Answered Without Words
“And when the men came to him they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you he who is to come, or are we waiting for another? At that time he made well a number of people from diseases and wounds and evil spirits; and he gave back their eyesight to some who were blind.”
Jesus does not argue. He demonstrates.
In Neville’s language: “Assumption, if persisted in, will harden into fact.” The answer to doubt is not in debate, but in results. The curing of the blind, the deaf, the lame—these represent internal transformations. When imagination is applied, the blind (those who could not see possibility) now see, and the lame (those stuck in limitation) now walk.
These signs aren’t miracles—they are the natural fruit of an assumed inner state.
Verses 22–23: Go and Tell John What You've Seen
“Then he said to them, Go back and give news to John of what you have seen and had made clear to you: how the blind see, the broken are walking, lepers are made clean, those without hearing get their hearing, the dead come to life again, the poor have the good news given to them. And a blessing will be on him who has no doubts about me.”
Jesus says: tell John what has manifested. He’s telling us that the proof of imagination’s power is in the manifestation itself.
“A blessing will be on him who has no doubts about me” means: Blessed is the one who does not reject imagination as too simple, too inward, too offensive to the intellect. The mind clings to external authority; imagination requires trust in the unseen.
Verses 24–26: What Were You Expecting?
“And when the men who were sent by John were gone, he said to the people, What did you go out into the waste land to see? A tall stem moving in the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man delicately clothed? Those who have fair robes and live delicately are in kings' houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.”
Jesus challenges their perception of John. What were they expecting? Something fragile or grand?
This passage invites us to reflect: Do we seek spiritual truth only in impressive external packages? John wore camel hair, lived in the wilderness, ate locusts. He represents inner discipline—not outer glamour.
True spiritual awakening does not come dressed in soft raiment. It comes from a confrontation with our own self.
Verse 27: John Prepares the Way
“This is he of whom it is said, See, I send my servant before your face, who will make ready your way before you.”
John is the messenger—the mental state that introduces us to higher truth. In Neville’s teaching, he’s the intellect, the one who studies and seeks, but cannot do. That power belongs to Jesus—the I AM, the awakened imagination.
Verse 28: The Transition Point
“I say to you, Among those who are the offspring of women there is no greater prophet than John: but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
A pivotal verse.
Even the most spiritually devoted outer man (John) is less than the least person who enters the Kingdom—the inner realisation of God as one's own imagination.
Neville frequently taught that the Kingdom is within. You enter it not through effort, ritual, or study—but by identifying yourself with the I AM, and assuming the feeling of the wish fulfilled.
Verses 29–30: Acceptance vs Rejection
“(And all the people, and the tax-farmers, who gave ear to him, made clear that God was right, having had baptism from John. But the Pharisees and those learned in the law were against the purpose of God for themselves, not having had baptism from him.)”
Two inner responses:
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The humble mind accepts the invitation to change (repentance).
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The rigid mind, the Pharisee, resists the idea that God could be found within. These are the inner beliefs that cling to tradition, logic, or external authority—and reject imagination.
Verses 31–32: The Inert State
“What comparison am I to make of the men of this generation? what are they like? They are like children seated in the market-place, crying out to one another and saying, We made music for you, and you did not take part; we made songs of sorrow, and you were not sad.”
This describes a state unmoved by either inspiration or sorrow. It’s the passive soul that neither reacts to joy nor pain, one who refuses to awaken.
In Neville’s terms: this is the man who hears of the power of imagination, but never applies it. He lives by inertia. He avoids both the discipline of assumption and the responsibility of self-creation.
Verses 33–34: You Rejected Both Paths
“For John the Baptist came, taking no food or drink, and you say, He has an evil spirit. The Son of man has come, taking food and drink, and you say, See, a lover of food and wine, a friend of tax-farmers and sinners.”
Whether the message comes as austere (John) or joyful (Jesus)—the self that is not ready will reject both. This shows how inner resistance refuses the truth no matter how it appears.
The ego will always find a reason not to believe in its own power.
Verse 35: The Final Word
“But wisdom is judged to be right by all her children.”
This is Neville’s gospel in a sentence.
Wisdom is proven by its fruits. If you assume a new state of being and it manifests, then that is justification enough. There is no need for external validation.
The only measure of truth is the result of your inner conviction.
Conclusion: The Journey from John to Jesus
This passage is not just a historical moment. It is your journey from doubt to knowing, from seeking outwardly to creating inwardly. John must decrease so that Jesus may increase—not as two men, but as two levels of consciousness within you.
Neville Goddard would say: “You will never find God outside of your own wonderful human imagination.” Luke 7:18–35 reminds us that the moment we stop questioning and start being, we step into the Kingdom.
And wisdom is always justified by her children.
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