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. That meant his job was to take money from people. The problem was that Zacchaeus took money that wasn’t his. Was that a good thing for Zacchaeus to do? No, that was not good.


One day, everyone heard that Jesus was coming to their town. The people were SO HAPPY! Zacchaeus was happy too!


When the people saw Jesus, they all crowded around so they could see Him. But Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus over the crowd. How was Zacchaeus going to see Jesus?


If only there was something Zacchaeus could climb. What is something big that Zacchaeus could climb to see Jesus? Do you think Zacchaeus can climb a tree? Yes! Zacchaeus climbed the tree so he could see Jesus.


Climb, climb, climb! Zacchaeus climbed a tree, and guess what? Now he could see Jesus! But you’ll never guess what happened! Jesus walked right up to that tree Zacchaeus climbed! Jesus looked up at Zacchaeus and said: “Zacchaeus, come down! I’m going to your house!”


Zacchaeus quickly came down the tree because he was so happy to be with Jesus. When Zacchaeus came down, Jesus said He wanted to go to Zacchaeus’ house. He talked with Zacchaeus and went to his home.


Jesus was such a good friend to Zacchaeus that Zacchaeus wanted to love people the way Jesus loved him. So, guess what Zacchaeus did? Zacchaeus gave back all the money he had taken from the people! Everybody, clap for Zacchaeus!


Jesus was always a good friend to Zacchaeus, and Jesus will always be a good friend to you and me too! Jesus is a good friend when we’re afraid. Jesus is a good friend when we’re excited. Jesus is a good friend when we’re sad. And Jesus is a good friend when we’re happy! Jesus is ALWAYS a good friend. So, when anyone asks you, “Who is always a good friend?” You can tell them, “Jesus is always a good friend!”






Bible Verse: A friend loves you all the time. —Proverbs 17:17, NCV

Text Truth: Jesus is a good friend when I am happy.



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 was happy because Jesus was a good friend to him. Then Zacchaeus was a good friend and made lots of people happy! Jesus was always a good friend to Zacchaeus, and Jesus will always be a good friend to you too. So, when anyone asks you, “Who is always a good friend?” You can tell them, “Jesus is always a good friend!”

A friend loves you all the time. —Proverbs 17:17, NCV

In our story, Zacchaeus was happy because Jesus wanted to spend time with him. So, with your family, take a piece of paper and make a list of things that make you happy. Have each member of your family and write down something that makes them happy. And Make sure they write down 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 that Jesus is always a good friend. Knowing that Jesus wants to be our friend forever makes us the happiest! Thank You for other things that make us happy too, like (read the list your family made). We love You, God! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

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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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