Zacchaeus

Luke 19:1-10

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called the Gospel of Luke. Luke loved Jesus and wanted others to know and love Jesus, too. And the word gospel means “good news!”

We begin with a man named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector. His job was to collect money from everyone in town. And nobody liked Zacchaeus. Why? Well, let's see . . .


Let’s say you have five dollars. Count with me: one, two, three, four, five.


And you owe three dollars for taxes. Count with me: one, two, three.


If Zacchaeus took three dollars, how many do we have left? Two dollars.


But Zacchaeus would take MORE than three dollars. He might take two more dollars. So, Zacchaeus would take ALL FIVE of your dollars.


That’s what Zacchaeus did day after day. He took MORE money than he was supposed to and kept it for himself! It was wrong. And it made everyone really mad at Zacchaeus. Nobody wanted to be his friend.


But one day, something wonderful happened. Jesus came to town! Everyone, including Zacchaeus, was so excited to see Him! Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus because he knew Jesus was special. He was sure Jesus wouldn’t want to be his friend, but Zacchaeus at least wanted to see Jesus. But Zacchaeus was too short to see over all the people. He couldn’t see Jesus.


Maybe Zacchaeus could jump and see Jesus? How high can you jump? Not high enough to see Jesus. And Zacchaeus couldn’t jump high enough, either.


If only there was something Zacchaeus could climb to see over all the people. What could Zacchaeus climb? A tree! Yes, Zacchaeus could climb a tree. So, that is what he did.


Climb, climb, climb! Now Zacchaeus could see Jesus. And Jesus could see Zacchaeus. And when Jesus saw him, Jesus said, “Zacchaeus! Come down right away. I want to go to your house today.” 


All the people thought: “Why would Jesus want to go with HIM? He’s made so many bad choices.” Jesus loves us no matter what. And Jesus loved Zacchaeus too. Zacchaeus was happy to have Jesus come to his house for a meal. 


But do you think there is ANYTHING we can do to make Jesus stop loving us? No! Even if we make a bad choice, does Jesus still love us? Yes! Jesus loves us, no matter what. And Jesus loved Zacchaeus even though he had made bad choices. 


Zacchaeus was so happy that Jesus loved him and was his friend that he gave back to the people the money he had taken from them! Jesus was so kind and loving to Zacchaeus that it made Zacchaeus want to be kind and loving to other people. So, when someone asks you, “Who does Jesus love?” You can say, “Jesus loves everyone!”






Bible Paraphrase: Be kind and loving to each other. —Ephesians 4:32, NCV

Text Truth: Jesus loves us even when we do something wrong.



Family Devotional

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”
—Luke 19:5

In our Bible Story, Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, but he was too short and could not see over all of the people. What did Zacchaeus do so he could see Jesus? He climbed a tree! And then Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down because He wanted to go to his house! Jesus was kind and loving to Zacchaeus because Jesus loves everyone, even when we do something wrong, like Zacchaeus.

Be kind and loving to each other. —Ephesians 4:32, NCV

It’s a good thing Jesus loves us even when we do something wrong because everyone has done something wrong. We all need Jesus to forgive us. So, with your family, take a piece of paper and make a list of things you know are wrong. Have each family member write down something. And be sure each family member writes their name next to the thing they write down.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, thank You for sending Jesus to love us no matter what and to show us how to love others. Please forgive us when we do things like (read the list your family made). And help us forgive others, too. You’re the best, God. We love You and we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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Some story illustrations are in the Public Doman.

All illustrations are the properties of their respective owners.
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