One day, Jesus was walking 🚶 through the busy city 🌆 of Jericho. The streets were filled with excited people who all wanted to see 👋 Jesus. Among them was a man 👨🏻 named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax 💰collector, which meant his job was to collect money 💵 from people. Sometimes he took too much money, which wasn't very nice, so most people in the town didn't like him very much. 😠 

Zacchaeus was a very short man - maybe as tall as a big kid 👦 - so he couldn't see over all the grown-ups in the crowd. But he really wanted to see 👀 Jesus. So he had a clever idea. 💡 He ran 🏃🏼‍♂️💨 ahead of the crowd and found a big sycamore tree 🌳 with strong branches. He climbed right up into that tree, 🐒 and could see everything.

When Jesus walked by, He stopped right under Zacchaeus's tree. 🌳 Jesus looked up through the leaves and branches and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. I want to stay at your house 🏠 today.” Everyone was surprised 😮 that Jesus knew Zacchaeus's name!

Zacchaeus was so excited 😆 that he scrambled down the tree 🌴 as fast as he could. He welcomed Jesus to his home 🏡 with a big smile. 😃 Some people in the crowd started whispering and grumbling because they didn't think Jesus should be friends with someone like Zacchaeus. 🤔

But meeting Jesus changed Zacchaeus's heart. ❤️ He stood up and made a big promise: "Lord, I will give half of everything I own 💰 to people who are poor. And if I've taken too much money 💵 from anyone, I'll give them back four 4️⃣ times as much!" That means if he took one extra coin, 🪙 he would give back four coins! 🪙 🪙 🪙 🪙 

Jesus was very happy 😊 and said this was exactly why He came - to help people find their way back 🔙 to God. From that day on, Zacchaeus became known for his kindness and honesty 🤝 instead of his greediness.

62. mary and martha / 63. zacchaeus / 64. mary anoints Jesus with perfume