Zacchaeus
In the city of Jericho there lived a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, which meant he was in charge of collecting taxes for the Roman government, and over time he had become very rich.
One day, Jesus was passing through Jericho, and a large crowd gathered along the road to see Him. Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, too.
But Zacchaeus could not see. He was too short, and the crowd stood between him and Jesus.
So Zacchaeus ran on ahead of the crowd, out along the road Jesus was about to walk. There he found a sycamore-fig tree with low, spreading branches, and he climbed up to get a better view.
When Jesus reached that spot, He stopped, looked up into the tree, and said, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."
So Zacchaeus climbed down at once and welcomed Jesus into his home with joy.
Picture the scene together: Zacchaeus is up above the crowd, looking down through the leaves. Jesus stops right under the tree, looks up, and calls him by name. He tells Zacchaeus to come down. Zacchaeus climbs down quickly and welcomes Jesus with joy.
If you were up in that tree and Jesus looked up and called your name, how do you think you'd feel? Take your time wondering about it together.
Take a breath together before you turn the page.
All the people who saw what happened began to grumble. "He has gone to be the guest of a sinner," they said.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, which meant he was in charge of other tax collectors in the area. Tax collectors in that time worked for Roman rule, collecting money from their own Jewish neighbors, and many people saw the whole profession as dishonest.
But Luke does not tell us exactly what Zacchaeus himself had done before that day: only how the crowd saw him because of his job.
Even so, Jesus chose to go to his house anyway.
Luke doesn't tell us what was said at the table, or how the conversation began. The story moves straight from Jesus entering the house to this: Zacchaeus standing up in front of everyone.
"Look, Lord!" he said. "Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
Notice how specific his words are. He does not speak only in general terms. He names an amount: half of everything he owns. And he names a plan: paying back four times over if he has cheated anyone.
Zacchaeus could not undo anything that had already happened. But he could decide what to do next, right there, in front of everyone.
Giving half of his possessions to the poor was concrete. Paying back four times what he owed, if he had cheated anyone, was concrete.
His response was not only words. It included action: giving generously and offering to make things right with anyone he had wronged.
Saying sorry is one part of making something right. Sometimes making it right also means doing something: like giving back what you took, helping fix what you broke, or sharing something of your own with someone you hurt.
What do you think it means to make something right, and not just to feel sorry about it? Take your time talking it through.
Jesus responded, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
Jesus called Zacchaeus "a son of Abraham," even though the crowd had just called him a sinner.
At the start of the story, Zacchaeus only wanted a better view of Jesus. By the end, Jesus had come to his house, and the whole direction of his day had changed.
Think back over the whole story together: Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree. Jesus stopped beneath it, looked up, and called him by name. He went to Zacchaeus's house. The crowd grumbled. And Zacchaeus stood up and made his declaration: to give, and to repay. Jesus then explained His own mission.
Which part of the story stands out most to you?
A parent might ask: What changed between the beginning of the story and the end? Just talk about it together.
How to Talk About This Story With Your Child
It's easy to fill in details this story doesn't give us: that Zacchaeus was lonely, that everyone in town hated him, or that he had already decided to change before Jesus ever called to him.
Luke doesn't tell us any of that. What Luke does tell us is what Zacchaeus did and said once Jesus stopped for him, and that's plenty to talk about with your child.
The clearest change we can point to is in Zacchaeus's own words: his decision to give to the poor and to repay anyone he had cheated.
It's worth noticing the order of events in the story. Jesus stopped, called Zacchaeus by name, and chose to go to his house, before Zacchaeus ever said a word about giving anything back.
If your child asks a question this story doesn't answer, like exactly how Jesus knew his name, or whether Zacchaeus really paid everyone back, it's all right to say, "The Bible doesn't tell us that."
Pray Together
You do not have to use these exact words. You can tell God what you think about the story in your own words. Or you can pray this together:
Thank You, God, for the story of Zacchaeus. Help us notice when something we have done has hurt someone else. Give us courage to say we are sorry and, when we can, to help make things right. Help us be generous with what we have. And thank You that Jesus said He came to seek and to save the lost. Amen.
Zacchaeus climbed a tree because he wanted to see Jesus.
Jesus stopped beneath that tree. He looked up. He called Zacchaeus by name. And He went to his house.
The story does not tell us every word spoken there. But it does show us what Zacchaeus said he would do next.
He would give. He would repay. He would try to make right what had been wrong.
And Jesus ended this part of the story by explaining His own mission: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."
Continue your family Bible time with more free stories and activities from Little Faith Hands.