Zacchaeus

Parents' Take-home Flyer

Scripture Reference:

Luke 19: 1-10

Zacchaeus, the "wee little man in the sycamore tree," may have been short of stature, but he held an important government position in his time — tax collector (or publican). Then, even more than now, tax collectors were not popular.

Hence, Zacchaeus was an outsider. He was kept away from Jesus not only by his height and the big crowds, but also by religious ostracism. As a tax collector, he was a Jew working for the Roman authorities, collecting taxes that support a "foreign" government — and their pagan gods. Also, tax collectors were not known for their honesty. They cheated their fellow Jews by taking too much money and keeping some for themselves.

This meeting with Zacchaeus was not a detour on Jesus' trip to Jerusalem. It was the purpose of his journey ("For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what is lost." Luke 19:10). In spite of the fact that Zacchaeus was unlovable in society's view, Jesus reached out to him in love.

Zacchaeus responded to Jesus' love with a change of heart and changes his ways. He repents. Note that he does not buy forgiveness, but pays back more than he owes and more than the law requires as a response to Jesus' love.

Our memory verse for this Rotation is "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Luke 19:10 (NIV)

What we will learn:
At the end of the rotation, the students will

• Be able to identify Luke as one of the four Gospels.
• Be able to locate and read the text.
• Know that Jesus came to save the lost.
• Begin to understand that Jesus loves us no matter what mistakes we have made.
• Begin to understand that our love for Jesus causes us to make changes in our lives.
• Repeat the memory verse.

Workshops:

• The children will watch the video Treasures in Heaven and will discuss how we are called to show our love for Jesus by repenting and sharing treasures in Movie Time.
• They will explore how God's love can "stick" to us only if we invite Jesus into our lives in Games and Cooking. They will also review the story of Zacchaeus while playing the game Concentration.
• The children will reenact the story with puppets and have a chance to ask Zacchaeus questions — in person — in Storytelling, Puppets, and Drama.
• In Art they will begin to see that Jesus knows everything about us, even our names!

Family Time and Prayer:
Read: Luke 19: 1-10

Reflection: Have you ever seen a grown man climb a tree? Think about an important man or woman you know, someone who has an important position in the community. Can you imagine him or her dressed in his finest clothes, climbing a tree to get a better view of someone? Talk about something you really wanted to see and what you had to do to see it. Zacchaeus REALLY wanted to see Jesus. Why do you think Zacchaeus was so anxious to see Jesus?

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for coming to us and for wanting to be with us. Help us to want to be with you, to see you, more than anything else. Help us to live lives that show our love for you. Amen.

Offering: Your offering will go to the Heifer Project International in order to buy farm animals for families in poor areas of the world.

Thank you to our Zacchaeus Rotation Team:
Movie Time:
Cooking/Games:
Puppets:
Art:
Shepherds:
Music Leader:
Curriculum writers: Jamie Senyard and Amy Crane
Sunday School Coordinator:

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

This lesson was written by Amy Crane (amycrane@hotmail.com) for River Community Church

Prairieville, Louisiana. 

Copyright 2003 Amy Crane. Permission granted to freely distribute and use, provided the copyright message is included.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.