Neville Goddard on John 5:6

Executive Summary

In the source material, Neville presents the biblical story of a man who was lame from birth. This man waits by a pool which, when disturbed by an angel, is said to heal the first person who enters. When Jesus asks if he wants to be healed, the man blames his circumstances, stating he has no one to help him into the pool. Jesus bypasses this reasoning and simply commands him to rise and walk, which he does immediately.

Key Concepts

• A pool near five porches was believed to have healing powers for the first person who entered after an angel disturbed the water.
• Jesus encounters a man who has been impotent since birth.
• Jesus asks the man the direct question: "Wilt thou be made whole?"
• The man responds not with a direct 'yes', but with an excuse about his inability to get into the pool first.
• Jesus ignores the man's focus on external conditions and commands him to perform the actions of a healed man.

Detailed Explanation

Neville Goddard uses the account from the Gospel of John to tell the story of a place of healing with a specific condition. According to the narrative, there was a pool where an angel would descend at certain times and disturb the water. The tradition held that the very first person to enter the troubled water would be healed of their ailment, but only the first one.

At this location, Jesus encounters a man who has been lame from his mother's womb. Seeing him, Jesus poses a simple, direct question: "Wilt thou be made whole?" The man's response reveals his state of consciousness; instead of answering the question directly, he focuses on his perceived limitations and external obstacles. He explains that he has no one to help him and that while he is trying to get to the water, someone else always gets there before him.

Jesus does not engage with the man's story of limitation or offer to help him into the pool. Instead, he issues a command that completely ignores the man's reasoning and the entire tradition of the pool. He tells the man, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." The story concludes with the man being made whole immediately, taking up his bed, and walking.

Important Quotes

Wilt thou be made whole?

— Thinking Fourth-Dimensionally

Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

— Thinking Fourth-Dimensionally

Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

— Thinking Fourth-Dimensionally

Related Concepts

While the provided source material does not offer a direct symbolic interpretation, the narrative structure reflects key principles in Neville's teachings:

• Desire: The man's presence at the pool implies a clear desire to be healed.
• Consciousness: His answer to Jesus reveals a consciousness fixed on lack and external obstacles ('I have no man,' 'another steppeth down before me'). He lives in a state of helplessness.
• State of the Wish Fulfilled: Jesus's command bypasses the man's current state and calls forth the state of the wish fulfilled. He speaks to the man not as a lame person who needs help, but as a whole person who can 'Rise... and walk.'

Common Misunderstandings

A misunderstanding corrected by this story is the belief that external conditions, timing, or the help of others are necessary to realize a desire. The impotent man was convinced he needed an intermediary ('a man') and a specific external event (the troubling of the water) to be healed. Jesus's command demonstrates that the power to change one's state is immediate and not dependent on any outside person or condition.

Practical Applications

The practical application is to stop focusing on reasons and excuses for why a desire has not been fulfilled. Rather than complaining about a lack of help, money, or opportunity ('I have no man...'), one should inwardly hear and obey the command to assume the desired state now. This means ceasing to wait for conditions to be perfect and instead beginning to feel and act from the conviction that one is already the person they want to be.

Frequently Asked Questions

In the story Neville presents, what was the belief about the pool?

The belief was that an angel would disturb the pool's water at certain times, and the first person to enter the water afterward would be healed.

How did the impotent man respond when Jesus asked if he wanted to be healed?

He did not give a direct answer, but instead explained his circumstances, stating he had no one to help him into the pool and that someone else always got in before him.

What was Jesus's command to the man?

Jesus ignored the man's excuses and commanded him, 'Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.'

Did the man need to get into the pool to be healed?

No. According to the account, he was made whole immediately after Jesus's command, without ever entering the pool.