Bible story for kids · Luke 19
Zacchaeus climbs a tree
Jesus was walking through the city of Jericho. A big crowd was there to see him.
A man named Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus too. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. People did not like tax collectors, because many took more money than they should.
Zacchaeus was a short man, and he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree.
When Jesus came to that spot, he stopped and looked up. “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I must stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus climbed down fast. He was so happy to welcome Jesus.
But the people grumbled. “Jesus is going to be the guest of a sinner.”
Zacchaeus stood up and said, “Lord, I will give half of what I own to the poor. And if I cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times as much.”
Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house. I came to look for the lost and to save them.”
From the Bible
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Talk about it
- Why did Zacchaeus climb the tree?
- Jesus knew Zacchaeus’ name. How do you think that made him feel?
- Zacchaeus changed after he met Jesus. What did he do to make things right?
For grown-ups: what the text says
Tax collectors gathered taxes for Rome and could charge extra for themselves, so people saw them as cheats and traitors. Paying back four times as much is more than the law asked (Leviticus 6:5 asks a fifth more). The sycamore here is a fig-mulberry, with low, wide branches, not the North American tree.