Lesson kit: Zacchaeus Meets Jesus

Lesson aim

Jesus knows each of us by name and came to seek the lost; meeting him changes our hearts and our actions.

Key verse

“He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.” Luke 19:3

Lesson plan

1. 1

   Welcome · 5 minutes

   Greet the children, sing a song they know and say a short prayer.

2. 2

   The story · 10 minutes

   Tell the story with the illustrations on the big screen or by reading it aloud, page by page.

   Open on the big screen →
3. 3

   Talk · 10 minutes

   Ask the questions below and let the children answer in their own words.

4. 4

   Activity · 10 minutes

   Hand out the printed sheet: each child draws their favourite scene and practises the verse.

5. 5

   Closing prayer · 2 minutes

   Close by thanking God for what you learned today. Jesus knows each of us by name and came to seek the lost; meeting him changes our hearts and our actions.

Discussion questions

1. Why did Zacchaeus climb the tree?
2. What did Jesus say when he saw Zacchaeus up there?
3. What changed in Zacchaeus’s life after he met Jesus?

Summary for the teacher

Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector of Jericho, rich and disliked by the people. Because he was short and the crowd kept him from seeing Jesus, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. Jesus stopped under the tree, called him by name, and said he would stay at his house. Zacchaeus came down with joy, promised to give half of his goods to the poor and to pay back four times anything he had taken from anyone. Jesus said that salvation had come to that house that day.