Origin: Luke 19:1-10 in the Bible
Once upon a time, in a busy town, there was a man named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, which meant he collected money from people on behalf of the government. But many people didn’t like Zacchaeus because they thought he was unfair and took too much money from them.
One day, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus, a very special man who taught about love and kindness, was coming to town. Zacchaeus was very curious about Jesus and wanted to see him, but there was a problem – Zacchaeus was very short, and he couldn’t see over the heads of the crowd.
Zacchaeus didn’t let his short stature stop him. He ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up a sycamore tree. From his perch in the tree, Zacchaeus could see Jesus coming down the road.
When Jesus reached the tree, he looked up and saw Zacchaeus. Jesus smiled and said, “Zacchaeus, come down! I want to stay at your house today.”
Zacchaeus was surprised and happy! He quickly climbed down from the tree and welcomed Jesus into his home. But some people in the crowd didn’t like that Jesus wanted to visit Zacchaeus. They said, “Jesus is going to stay with a sinner!”
But Jesus didn’t care what others thought. He knew that Zacchaeus was sorry for the wrong things he had done, and he wanted to show him love and forgiveness.
While Jesus was at Zacchaeus’ house, Zacchaeus said, “Lord, I will give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay them back four times as much.”
Jesus was pleased with Zacchaeus’ words. He said, “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.”
Zacchaeus was overjoyed! He had met Jesus, and Jesus had shown him love and forgiveness. From that day on, Zacchaeus changed his ways and tried to be kind and fair to everyone.
And so, children, the story of Zacchaeus teaches us that Jesus loves everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done. Jesus wants us to show love and kindness to others, just like he showed love and kindness to Zacchaeus.
