Reconciliation

The Story of Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector

1. The Story of Zacchaeus

Luke 15:2-10

fill the gaps in the passage, using these words.

climbed, collector, down, four, guest,

half, salvation, seek, short, welcomed,

A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax___________________ and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a___________________ man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and___________________ a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come___________________ immediately. I must stay at your house today."

So he came down at once and___________________ him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the___________________ of a 'sinner'."

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give___________________ of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back ________________ times the amount."

Jesus said to him, "Today___________________ has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

For the Son of Man came to___________________ and to save what was lost."

2. Questions

When you have read the passage carefully, answer the following questions in your files.

1. What was Zacchaeus' job? Why did this make him unpopular? Why was it difficult for him to see Jesus? How did he try to solve the problem? What did Jesus say to him? Why were the people shocked? What did Zacchaeus promise to do? What did Jesus say to explain why he had gone into Zacchaeus house?

3. Reconciliation

Reconciliation means making up. Two people who have fallen out are reconciled when they say sorry and accept the apology. Someone is reconciled to God when they are truly sorry and God forgives them. We often find it hard to forgive people who have hurt us. God never does. Jesus said that God will always forgive us if we are truly sorry. Jesus came to seek and save those who were lost.

Questions

1. What does 'Reconciliation' mean? How might two people who have fallen out be reconciled to one another? Does God find it hard to forgive people? What did Jesus say he had come for?

4. WORDSEARCH

Use these words to make a wordsearch: