1

Zacchaeus Saved and Changed

2

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." (Luke 19:8)

3

Jesus was traveling to preach the gospel around here and there.

One day, Jesus entered Jericho.

4

Many people heard that Jesus would come there and gathered to see Jesus.

5

A man named Zacchaeus was a very rich man in Jericho.

He was a chief tax collector.

A chief tax collector gathered tax and offered it to Rome.

6

So the people did not like Zacchaeus.

They did not even want to eat with people who worked like Zacchaeus.

Because the people thought that the tax collectors were great sinners who could not be saved.

7

Zacchaeus heard that Jesus would come to Jericho, too.

And he wanted to see Jesus. "What kind of person is Jesus?

Why do people really want to meet Jesus?"

8

Zacchaeus also went to the place where Jesus was.

However, there were many people around Jesus already.

Zacchaeus was too short to see Jesus because of the crowd.

9

So Zacchaeus had a good idea.

He thought that he should run ahead and wait for Jesus.

10

So he climbed a fig tree eagerly, anxious to see Jesus regardless of his reputation.

'When I am sitting here, I can see Jesus' face,' he thought to himself.

11

As Zacchaeus thought, Jesus was coming to where Zacchaeus was.

'That is the one, the famous Jesus.' He was watching Jesus.

12

When Jesus reached the spot, Jesus looked up and said to him,

"Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."

13

As soon as Jesus said to Zacchaeus, he came down at once.

Zacchaeus was amazed that Jesus called his own name.

At that moment, Zacchaeus knew that Jesus was the Messiah.

14

Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus gladly and invited Jesus to his house.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, "How can Jesus have a meal with that sinner? "

15

However, Zacchaeus who they considered as a great sinner and ignored was extremely changed. Zacchaeus said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I will give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."

16

After listening to his words, Jesus said to him,

"Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham."

Jesus proclaimed that he was saved.

17

Jesus continued, "I came to seek and to save what was lost."

Jesus changed the man named Zacchaeus and restored him to be a child of God.

18

Whoever meets Jesus, all of them should be changed like Zacchaeus.

We should look for someone like Zacchaeus, preach the gospel, and take care of them.