rough draft of my intro and thesis for NT1

THE IMPOSSIBILITY FOR MAN, THE POSSIBILITY FOR GOD: THE SALVATION OF A RICH MAN: LUKE 19:1-10


1He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.7All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." 9Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." (NRSV)

Introduction

When one reads through the Gospel of Luke it is easy to see that the Third Evangelist is greatly concerned with the outcasts and marginalized of his community. It becomes evident, in his writings to Theophilus, his goal is to present a Jesus who is interested in the inclusion and salvation of all. This is made clear in the narrative of Zacchaeus. As we read through Luke 19:1-10 it is hard not to be drawn to similar accounts found in the Gospel of Luke, especially within the preceding chapter. In chapter eighteen we are introduced to similar characters such as a widow, a toll collector, a child, and a blind beggar. We find the most striking similarities in the account of the rich ruler (18:18-30). In the narrative of the rich ruler we are introduced to a man who has kept the law from his youth and is seeking eternal life from Jesus. Jesus goes on to instruct the rich ruler to sell all of his possessions and give to the poor and then he will have treasure in heaven. This was too much to ask of the rich ruler and he went away sad. Jesus then explains how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom:

Jesus looking at him said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Though these two accounts are parallel in many ways they drastically differ in result. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that the Third Evangelist used the account of Zacchaeus to substantiate Jesus’ statement, in 18:27, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." In this unique account of Zacchaeus in Luke we are shown a beautiful example of present salvation in the life of a rich man. Let us keep in mind the radical grace of God as we dig deeper into the narrative of Zacchaeus.





Thoughts....?