THE CHURCH IN NEW YORK CITY
CHILDREN’S MEETING LESSON
DATE: November 15, 2015
SUBJECT: Children’s Gospel Meeting—God’s Calling of Zaccheus
SCRIPTURE: Luke 19:1-10
AIM: To see that Jesus loves people, including sinners, and wants us to repent.
SUGGESTED MEMORY VERSES: Luke 19:5 (And as He came to the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay in your house.); Luke 19:10 (For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.); 1 John 1:9 (If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrigheousness.)
SUGGESTED SONGS: 88 (Zaccheus); 10 (Inside Me); 9042 BSS Go Jesus Song 23 (I Can Come to Jesus); 76 (Come to Jesus); 9226 BSS David Song 26 (God Is Forgiving, He will Pardon You); 9023 BSS Go Jesus Song 4 (Jesus Came Proclaiming); 180 (If We Confess Our Sins)
CONTENT: Today we want to tell you a true story from a special book called the Bible. The Bible tells us the story of how the Lord Jesus met a man named Zaccheus.
When the Lord Jesus was on the earth a very long time ago, he visited many places. Along the way, He healed people who were sick and taught people about God’s love for them. The word was spreading about this man named Jesus and the amazing things he was doing and saying. So it was common that, when Jesus came to a place, people would rush to see him.
One day, on His last journey to Jerusalem where He would soon die for our sins, the Lord Jesus entered into the city of Jericho. A big crowd came out to see Him. Among that crowd was a man named Zaccheus. He was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Some people at that time did not like tax collectors. Why? They were hated by some of the Jewish people at that time because they were considered traitors who collected taxes for the Roman government. Also, people did not like tax collectors because some of them became rich by cheating people. Instead of collecting what they were supposed to collect, sometimes tax collectors would collect more and then pocket the extra money for themselves. So Zaccheus was not a very good man.
But there was something good that Zaccheus really wanted to do. He wanted to see Jesus! Like other people, he had heard about the Lord Jesus. There was a big problem, however—Zaccheus was too short. He could not see because of the crowd. So he had an idea. He ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see the Lord Jesus as He passed through that way.
Something happened as Zaccheus was up in the tree. He not only saw Jesus, but Jesus came to him and spoke to him! As the Lord Jesus came to the place, He looked up at Zaccheus and said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay in your house.” How do you think Zaccheus felt when the Lord said this to him? Jesus was going to his house! Zaccheus hurried and came down, and received Him, rejoicing.
Zaccheus was so happy, but people around him were not happy. When the people saw that Jesus was going to Zaccheus’ house, they all murmured, saying, “He has gone in to lodge with a sinful man.” The crowd did not like that Jesus was going to a sinner’s house.
Just by being with the Lord Jesus, Zaccheus had a feeling in his conscience that he should correct the things that he had done wrong. Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore four times as much.” The Lord Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.”
SUGGESTED APPLICATIONS TO CHOOSE FROM:
· Jesus loves sinners and does not condemn us. When Jesus said he was going to Zaccheus’ house, what did the people around him say? They murmured and said that Jesus had gone in to lodge with a sinful man. Even though Zaccheus was sinful, Jesus did not condemn him and point a finger and say, “You bad, sinful man. You should do this. You should do that.” Also, Jesus did not stay away from him. Instead, the Lord took care of him and visited him. Then Zaccheus was touched in his heart and realized he had taken things wrongly and he wanted to give things back. Jesus also loves us. When we have done something wrong, we should not hide from the Lord or hide from our parents. We can come to the Lord and make things right again. Our parents or other grown-ups in our lives can also help us make things right.
· We need to take care of our conscience. After Zaccheus met the Lord Jesus, he immediately wanted to give money back and restore even four times as much as he had taken! He also wanted to give half of his possessions to the poor. This must have added to a lot of money since he was a rich man. We also need to take care of our conscience. Have we ever taken something that did not belong to us? Or borrowed something and forgotten to give it back? Sometimes we may need to make restitution (restore things to their original state). If we have broken a toy that belongs to someone else, we should let the owner know what we have done and then we need to either replace it or pay for it. We can tell our parents, who may help us to repair it or replace it. If we have stolen something, we need to return it, or we can talk to our parents who will help us take care of it in the best way. We can apologize and say sorry to the person whom we wronged.
· Jesus is God, and knows us by name. Jesus had never met Zaccheus before. But when He came through Jericho and saw Zaccheus up in that tree, Jesus already knew his name. How could that be? Because Jesus is God! Not only did the Lord Jesus know Zaccheus’ name, He also knows your name!
· We should have a seeking heart for God. Zaccheus really wanted to see Jesus, and he found a way to do it by climbing up a tree. Today, people seek after many things. They may want to be the smartest in their class, the most popular, the most athletic, or dream of being rich or famous in the future. But what about God? God is the most important One in the whole universe! We should have a heart to seek God above all things.
Adapted from: Bringing Children from Adam to Christ in God’s Economy, Volume #4, Lessons #8 and #39, and the Church in New York City Children’s Meeting Lessons–9/8/91; 12/25/94; 5/11/97; 12/03/00; 12/17/06; 12/16/12
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