Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree

Zacchaeus was a tax collector for the Romans and he was very rich. The Jews hated the tax collectors because they worked for the enemy, the Romans. Everyone also knew that the tax collectors cheated the people when they collected tax. Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, a city near Jerusalem. One day Zacchaeus noticed that a large crowd was passing through the city, and he heard that the crowd was there because of Jesus. He wanted to see this man Jesus that everyone was talking about. But he was a very short man. He could not see over the people’s heads. And he also could not get near Jesus, because everybody else was trying to get as near to him as possible. Then Zacchaeus made a clever plan. He ran ahead of the crowd to a large sycamore fig tree with large spreading branches. The tree was right next to the road. Zacchaeus quickly climbed into the tree. Now he could see everything! The crowd was getting nearer and nearer. At last Jesus was right under Zacchaeus on his tree branch. And then Jesus stopped! Jesus looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, please come down at once. I must stay at your house today.” Now everyone knew that the rich tax collector was sitting in the sycamore tree. But Zacchaeus did not care. He was just glad that Jesus had noticed him. He came down at once and welcomed Jesus into his house. He was very happy because he had a chance to get to know Jesus. The people who knew who Zacchaeus was and saw Jesus going with him to his house began to grumble among themselves. “How can Jesus do that?” they said. “Doesn’t he know Zacchaeus is a cheat and a sinner who works for the enemy? Jesus should not do that!”

Zacchaeus knew what they were saying. He also knew that his life would never be the same again. He had met Jesus and he was going to follow him from that day on. So Zacchaeus stood up and said, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of what I own to those who are poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay it back. I will pay back four times the amount I took.”

Jesus was also happy. He said to Zacchaeus, “Today I have come to the right house. It is my job to look for everyone who is lost, and to save them. Today I found you and saved you. From now on you are a child of God.” Luke 19:1-10