Zacchaeus, a Paradigmatic Prospect for Jesus: Luke’s Narrative Logic of Salvation in Luke 19:1–10

Abstract

This study offers a narrative-critical reading of Luke 19:1–10, arguing that the Zacchaeus episode functions as the climactic resolution to themes developed throughout Luke’s travel narrative and answers the unresolved question, “Then who can be saved?” (18:26), by presenting a wealthy chief tax collector as an unexpected yet prototypical recipient of salvation. Rather than treating the pericope primarily as a debate over repentance or the tense of Zacchaeus’s pledge in 19:8, this discussion emphasizes Luke’s narrative logic through characterization, thematic development, and literary placement. Viewed through this prism, Zacchaeus’s initiative in seeking Jesus, willingness to disregard social expectations, and openness to ethical transformation both distinguish him sharply from the rich ruler and align him with other marginalized figures in Luke 18. The episode ultimately serves as a narrative exemplification of Jesus’s programmatic mission “to seek and to save the lost” (19:10), while also anticipating the paradoxical logic of salvation that will culminate in Jerusalem.