Jesus Meets Zacchaeus

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. Zacchaeus wanted to see who Jesus was, but he could not see because of the crowd, and he was short.

So Zacchaeus ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, because Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and told him to hurry down, because he must stay at his house that day.

Zacchaeus hurried down from the tree and welcomed Jesus with joy. But when the people saw this, they complained. They said Jesus had gone to stay with a man they called a sinner.

Then Zacchaeus stood and spoke to the Lord. He said he would give half of what he owned to the poor. If he had taken anything unfairly from anyone, he would pay back four times as much.

Jesus said that salvation had come to this house, and that Zacchaeus also was a son of Abraham. Then Jesus explained why he had come. The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. What does this story show you about the kind of people Jesus notices and welcomes?