Jesus Visits Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10.

Jesus and His helpers were traveling to Jerusalem. On their way, they passed through a town called Jericho.


The people in Jericho heard that Jesus was coming. Many came to see Jesus. The people moved closer together because they all wanted to see. They all waited to see Jesus.


One man that wanted to see Jesus was named Zacchaeus (zak-KEE-us). He was a tax collector. He collected taxes, or money, from the people in his town. Zacchaeus was a very rich man. Sometimes he collected more money than he should. Then he would keep the extra money. Many people didn’t like Zacchaeus because he took too much money.


Zacchaeus had heard many stories about Jesus and wanted to see Him. But Zacchaeus could not see Jesus. There were many tall people. And Zacchaeus was a short man.

But Zacchaeus had an idea. He ran ahead of Jesus and climbed a sycamore tree where Jesus would pass by. Now Zacchaeus could see Jesus better than the other people!


As Jesus came nearer, He saw Zacchaeus sitting up in the tree. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, come down right away. I must stay at your house today."


Zacchaeus was excited! He quickly climbed down the tree. He was glad that Jesus wanted to visit his house and be his friend.

When the people saw that Jesus was going to Zacchaeus’s house, they were very angry. “Why is Jesus visiting Zacchaeus? Why does Jesus want to be Zacchaeus’s friend?" they asked. “Zacchaeus is not a good man. He takes too much money."


But even though Zacchaeus had done wrong, Jesus loved Zacchaeus and forgave him. Jesus wanted to be Zacchaeus’s friend.

Zacchaeus was sorry for the wrong things he had done to the people in the town. While they were eating dinner, Zacchaeus stood up. He said, “Jesus, I have not been a friend to others. I’ll give the people back their money and some extra, too.”


Jesus was happy. He said, “I came to help people like you, Zacchaeus. I am a friend to everyone.”


Bible Paraphrase: He cares for you. (Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

Text Truth: Jesus is a friend to everyone.


Activities You Can Do at Home

Picture Gifts

You’ll Need: paper, crayons or washable markers

  • Help your child think of people who might need a friend (a family who just moved to town, someone in a nursing home, a child in the hospital, etc.). 
  • Have him draw pictures to show that Jesus is a friend to everyone. 
  • You may want to write that on each picture: “Jesus is a friend to everyone.”
  • Deliver the pictures with your child. 


Edible Trees

You’ll Need: broccoli and cauliflower flowerets, animal-shaped crackers (fish, teddy bear, or other shape)

  • Make a snack of broccoli and cauliflower. 
  • Tell your child the snack reminds you of the tree Zacchaeus climbed. 
  • For extra fun, add an animal-shaped cracker for Zacchaeus. 
  • Remind your child that Jesus is a friend to everyone. 
  • Ask your child to repeat with you the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)


Make a Song 

  • Preschoolers love to make up songs. Let your child make up a song reminding her that Jesus is a friend to everyone. 
  • Learn the song with your child.
  • Sing the song throughout the week, especially when she needs to be reminded that Jesus is her friend. 


Happy and Sad

You’ll Need: Bible, paper plate, crayons or washable markers 

  • Have your child draw a happy face on one side of the paper plate and a sad face on the other side.
  •  As you read the Bible story, have your child show the side of the plate that Zacchaeus feels (happy or sad). 
  • At the end of the story, talk about how happy Zacchaeus felt because Jesus cared for him. 
  • Have your child show the face he feels because Jesus is his friend. 
  • Ask your child to repeat with you the Bible paraphrase: “He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
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Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence. 
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