Zacchaeus: Jesus Notices the People Others Overlook

Scripture

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, so he could watch from there. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. 'Zacchaeus!' he said. 'Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.' Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. 'He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,' they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, 'I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!' Jesus responded, 'Salvation has come to this house today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.'

Teaching Point

Jesus Stopped for the Guy Nobody Wanted Around

Imagine it's the first day at a new school and you walk into the cafeteria. Almost every seat is taken. You see one kid sitting completely alone at the end of a long table — no tray, just staring at the floor. Most people walk right past him. A few kids snicker. Nobody sits down. That's kind of what the crowd in Jericho was doing to Zacchaeus — except worse, because they actually had reasons to be angry at him. Zacchaeus had cheated people out of money. He worked for the enemy. Nobody wanted him there. So what does Zacchaeus do? He climbs a tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. He doesn't even try to get close — he figures that's impossible. He just wants to see. And then something happens that nobody expected, including Zacchaeus. Jesus stops. He looks UP. And he calls Zacchaeus by his name. Not 'hey, you in the tree.' Not 'someone get that guy down.' He says his actual name — *Zacchaeus* — like he already knew exactly who he was and had been looking for him. Here are three things that moment shows us: - **Jesus notices who others ignore.** The crowd was probably annoyed Zacchaeus was even there. Jesus walked straight to him. - **Being noticed by Jesus changes people.** Zacchaeus came down from that tree a different person. He gave back money he'd stolen — four times as much — and gave half of everything he owned to the poor. That's not a small tweak. That's a life turned upside down. - **We can notice people too.** Jesus said he came 'to seek and save the lost.' He was always looking for the people everyone else had given up on. We can do the same thing — not in a big dramatic way, just by paying attention to the kid sitting alone, or the new student nobody's talking to yet.

Discussion Questions

1. 1.Why do you think nobody in the crowd wanted Jesus to go to Zacchaeus's house? What had Zacchaeus done to make people so upset with him?
2. 2.When Jesus looked up and called Zacchaeus by name — how do you think Zacchaeus felt in that moment? Have you ever been picked or noticed when you didn't expect it?
3. 3.Why do you think Zacchaeus decided to give back the money and help the poor after Jesus came to his house? What changed for him?
4. 4.Can you think of someone at school or in your neighborhood who sometimes gets left out or ignored? You don't have to say their name — just think about them for a second.

Activity

Reflection

Before We Go — Think About This

1. 1.Jesus said he came 'to seek and save the lost.' That means he was always looking for people others had given up on. Does knowing that change how you think about yourself — or about someone you know?
2. 2.Zacchaeus didn't ask Jesus to come over — Jesus invited himself. Is there a part of your life you've been keeping Jesus out of, the way the crowd tried to keep Jesus away from Zacchaeus?
3. 3.If Jesus looked up and called your name out of a crowd today, what do you think he'd want to say to you?

Closing