BibleBlox
63. zacchaeus
/ luke 19:1-10 /
/ listen as you follow along /

One day, Jesus was walking ๐ถ through the busy city ๐ of Jericho. The streets were filled with excited people who all wanted to see ๐ Jesus. Among them was a man ๐จ๐ป named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax ๐ฐcollector, which meant his job was to collect money ๐ต from people. Sometimes he took too much money, which wasn't very nice, so most people in the town didn't like him very much. ๐
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he - maybe as tall as a big kid ๐ฆ - so he couldn't see over all the grown-ups in the crowd. But he really wanted to see ๐ Jesus. So he had a clever idea. ๐ก He ran ๐๐ผโ๏ธ๐จ ahead of the crowd and found a big sycamore tree ๐ณ with strong branches. He climbed right up into that tree, ๐ and could see everything.

When Jesus walked by, He stopped right under Zacchaeus's tree. ๐ณ Jesus looked up through the leaves and branches and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I want to stay at your house ๐ today.” Everyone was surprised ๐ฎ that Jesus knew Zacchaeus's name!
Zacchaeus was so excited ๐ that he scrambled down the tree ๐ด as fast as he could. He welcomed Jesus to his home ๐ก with a big smile. ๐ Some people in the crowd started whispering and grumbling because they didn't think Jesus should be friends with someone like Zacchaeus. ๐ค

But meeting Jesus changed Zacchaeus's heart. โค๏ธ He stood up and made a big promise: "Lord, I will give half of everything I own ๐ฐ to people who are poor. And if I've taken too much money ๐ต from anyone, I'll give them back four 4๏ธโฃ times as much!" That means if he took one extra coin, ๐ช he would give back four coins! ๐ช ๐ช ๐ช ๐ช
Jesus was very happy ๐ and said this was exactly why He came - to help people find their way back ๐ to God. From that day on, Zacchaeus became known for his kindness and honesty ๐ค instead of his greediness.