THINK TOGETHER.
Who is the most important person you’ve had in your home?
READ TOGETHER.
Luke 19:1-10. 1He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Nobody liked Zacchaeus. Not because he was short (though that may have gotten him teased a bit), but because he was a tax collector. Actually, he was the chief tax collector.
Do you remember what a tax collector was in Jesus’ time? Rome was ruling over Jesus’ people, the Jews. The Romans collected heavy taxes (payments) from the Jews for everywhere they went and everything they did to make money. Going on a trip? Not without stopping to pay the toll to the tax collector. Caught a bunch of fish? Not without paying a tax to the tax collector. But the worst part was that the tax collectors, like Zacchaeus, would overcharge their fellow Jews. It wasn’t bad enough that they worked for the enemy, Rome, they had to also be greedy and mean about it.
Nobody liked tax collectors. And nobody liked the chief tax collector, Zacchaeus. Except Jesus.
Jesus loves everybody. Even the people that nobody else likes. Even the people who everyone thinks is the worst person ever. Even the people who have stolen, lied, and harmed others. Even Zacchaeus. Jesus loved him so much that he went to Zacchaeus’ house to stay like a friend would.
Now, Jesus loved the tax collectors, but he didn’t love what the tax collectors did. That’s why when Zacchaeus experienced the love and friendship of Jesus he changed what he did. Read verse 8 again. How did Zacchaeus change? What did he do to show that he was trusting in Jesus’ love for him? That’s right, he gave to the poor, and returned all the money he stole – four times more!
Why would Zacchaeus change like this? Did Jesus yell at him? Did Jesus threaten to hurt Zacchaeus if he didn’t give back the money he stole? Did Jesus quote the laws and rules to him? Nope. Jesus was simply kind and caring. Probably nobody was ever kind to Zacchaeus before. But Jesus was. And Jesus’ love changed Zacchaeus’ heart. He obeyed Jesus not because he HAD to, but because he WANTED to.
Because of Jesus we have a friend that loves us no matter what we have done.
With Jesus we can obey God because we want to.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Answer this together: what would you change if you knew Jesus was coming to your house tonight. Draw a picture of Jesus in your house with your family.
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, show me when I hurt others so I can make it right like Zacchaeus did. Amen.
TLICfamily 