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Parsons also reads the Zacchaeus story as a story of healing, although he notes that this is one of the few "healing" stories in the Bible that does not involve physical transformation. He writes, "the Lukan Jesus challenges the predominant prejudice of his day that predetermines one's place in the body politic by the shape of one's body. Jesus saw in Zacchaeus what others could not see: here was a son of Abraham." Although a physiognomic consciousness would view Zacchaeus' short stature as a sign of moral deficiency, Jesus does not "correct" this deficiency by miraculously causing Zacchaeus to grow. Here, the healing (sozo, which in Greek can be translated as healing or salvation) is a healing of the spirit. By associating himself with Zacchaeus and emphasizing Zacchaeus' inclusion in God's household, Jesus contradicts any assumption that Zacchaeus' height implies his permanent status as immoral and small in spirit.
Through his exegetical work, Parsons aptly demonstrates Luke's subversive message, that "those who are physically 'defective' by the prevailing cultural standards are in no way excluded from the body of the new Abrahamic community." Parsons' analysis of these particular pericopes, bolstered by his historical research, provides helpful tools for students of the ancient world in general and of Luke's writings in particular. Nevertheless, the book has limitations from both an exegetical and theological point of view.
Parsons suggests that more of Luke/Acts can be read with physiognomy in mind. He states, "For the Lukan Jesus, one's moral character is not determined by the color, shape, size, or limitations of one's body. This fact explains why Luke does not give physical descriptions of other characters in his works (Jesus, the disciples, John the Baptist, the Pharisees, etc.), since to do so would reinforce the same connection between outer appearance and inner character that he elsewhere struggles to break." And yet, without any rationale given as to why he selected these four stories and no others, the reader is left to wonder whether these are the only stories that fit Parsons' model, or whether they actually highlight a much broader trend throughout Luke's writings. What about the other healing stories in Luke? Are these four the only examples of subversion of the physiognomic consciousness? What is the significance of these four stories in the larger context of early Christianity? Did these subversive episodes change any cultural norms?
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