Zacchaeus Story for Kids.
Zacchaeus is the story of a short, wealthy tax collector who climbed a tree just to catch sight of Jesus, and of the moment Jesus stopped underneath it, looked up, and called him by name.
Retold by Hannah Whitford · Luke 19:1–10 · Updated September 2026
The Story of Zacchaeus Story for Kids
Children love this story because the grown-up in it does something children do. He cannot see over the crowd, so he runs ahead and climbs a tree. What makes it more than a funny picture is what happens next. Jesus, walking through a town full of people who all wanted His attention, stops under one tree and speaks to the one man nobody there would have picked. That is the whole story in a sentence, and it is worth letting a child sit with it: he was looking for Jesus, and it turned out Jesus was looking for him.
“He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short.”
Luke 19:3
“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Luke 19:5
“Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.”
Luke 19:8
Quotations from the World English Bible (public domain). Read the full passage together in your own family Bible. The reference is Luke 19:1–10.
Dear God, thank You that You know our names. Thank You that You look for people other people forget, and that nobody is too small or too far outside to be seen by You. Help us to welcome people the way Jesus welcomed Zacchaeus, and to put things right when we have done wrong. Amen.
Zacchaeus teaches children that Jesus goes looking for the people everyone else has written off, and that being welcomed changes a person faster than being told off ever could. Nobody scolded Zacchaeus into giving his money away. He was seen, and called by name, and invited, and he wanted to put things right.
- 01A grown man climbing a tree is funny, and children are delighted by it every single time.
- 02Being too short to see over a crowd is something almost every child has felt.
- 03Jesus knows his name before anyone introduces them, which children find wonderful rather than strange.
- 04It is short, it moves fast, and it ends happily, which makes it an easy bedtime read.
Keep the story going.
The story doesn’t have to end at the last page. Print it, memorize it, or read the next one together.
After the story, a prayer with their name in it.
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Luke 19:10 · WEB
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Take this story to the shelf.
A beautifully illustrated Bible storybook that presents every story as part of God's great rescue plan. Perfect for bedtime with its gentle, lyrical storytelling.
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Books that pair with this story.
Hand-picked after careful research, the ones we recommend most alongside this story.
Ages 4-8 yearsThe Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name
by Sally Lloyd-Jones
A beautifully illustrated Bible storybook that presents every story as part of God's great rescue plan. Perfect for bedtime with its gentle, lyrical storytelling.
Ages 2-6 yearsThe Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories
by Zondervan
Classic Bible stories retold in simple language with bright, engaging illustrations. Short stories perfect for winding down before sleep.
Ages 5-12 yearsThe Biggest Story Bible Storybook
by Kevin DeYoung
A beautifully illustrated storybook that presents the Bible as one continuous story. Rich illustrations and thoughtful storytelling.
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The kind of things parents wonder.
Zacchaeus was a rich chief tax collector in Jericho who wanted to see Jesus but was too short to see over the crowd. He ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. Jesus stopped under it, looked up, called him by name, and said He would stay at his house that day. Zacchaeus welcomed Him joyfully and promised to give half of what he owned to the poor and to pay back four times anything he had taken wrongly.
Conversation starters.
Questions to ask after you read together. No right answers, just good conversation.
Zacchaeus climbed a tree so he could see. What is something you have had to do because you were too small to see?
Jesus knew his name before anyone told Him. How do you think that felt to Zacchaeus?
Nobody told Zacchaeus to give his money away. Why do you think he wanted to?
The crowd grumbled that Jesus went home with the wrong person. Is there anyone people leave out that you could include?
Teaching this story.
- 01Read verse 5 twice, and the second time stop after the name. Jesus says 'Zacchaeus' before He says anything else, and the fact that He already knows it is the part of the story children ask about.
- 02Do not rush past verse 3. Being too short to see, in a crowd of people who are not moving for you, is the one thing in this story every child has actually lived through.
- 03Ages 3 to 5 are happy with the tree, the name and the visit. From about seven a child can weigh verse 8, where Zacchaeus gives back four times what he took, and work out that putting things right costs something.
- 04Notice out loud who is grumbling in verse 7. It is not the tax collector who comes out badly in this story; it is the crowd who were sure they knew who deserved a visit.
A Sycamore Tree to Climb
Tear a trunk and thick low branches from brown paper and glue them onto a big sheet, then let your child press green fingerprints or torn paper leaves all over the branches. Draw a small Zacchaeus on card, tape a loop of paper to his back, and let your child slide him up and down the trunk to a branch where he can see. Read Luke 19:4 while they climb him up.
Four Times as Much
Put four small coins or counters in a jar and one in your child's hand. Explain that if Zacchaeus had taken this one from someone, he promised to give back all four. Let them count it out. Then ask them to think of something small they could put right this week, and drop a counter in the jar when they do it. Giving back more than you took is easier to feel than to explain.
Everything you need in one place.
Written for a parent at the kitchen table or a Sunday school helper with twenty minutes and a box of crayons.
Ages: 3 to 9. Preschoolers follow the tree, the name and the welcome. From about seven a child can weigh what Zacchaeus gave back and why nobody had to make him.
Read together: Luke 19:1–10 (WEB)
- Brown and green paper, glue and a large sheet
- Card, scissors and tape
- A jar and a handful of coins or counters
- A step stool or sturdy chair
- Paper and crayons
The view from the crowd
- Stand your child in the middle of the room and have the grown-ups stand shoulder to shoulder in a ring around them, close in.
- Hold something up outside the ring and ask them to describe it without moving anybody.
- Read Luke 19:3 aloud while they are still in there.
- Now let them climb onto a step stool or a sturdy chair and look again.
- Ask what changed. Nothing about the object changed; they just got somewhere they could see from.
Putting it right, four times over
- Give your child one coin or counter and keep four in a jar.
- Read Luke 19:8 aloud, then count the four out into their hand one at a time.
- Ask which is harder: saying sorry, or giving back four times what you took.
- Together, name one small thing that could be put right this week, such as a borrowed toy returned or a job redone properly.
- Drop a counter into the jar when it is done, and read verse 9 when the jar has something in it.
If the conversation stalls
Short model answers for the questions above. They are a starting point to offer if a child shrugs, not a script to read out.
Zacchaeus climbed a tree so he could see. What is something you have had to do because you were too small to see?
Almost every child has one ready, usually involving a parade, a counter or a crowd. Let them tell it properly. It is the fastest way into verse 3, where being short is stated as a plain fact and not a joke.
Jesus knew his name before anyone told Him. How do you think that felt to Zacchaeus?
Verse 5 gives no reaction, only that he hurried down and received Him joyfully. Being known by name by someone who had every reason to walk past is the surprise of the story, and children usually land on 'happy' and 'a bit scared' at the same time, which is about right.
Nobody told Zacchaeus to give his money away. Why do you think he wanted to?
Because of how he had been treated. He was welcomed before he changed anything, not after. That order is worth pointing out gently: the visit came first, and verse 8 came second.
The crowd grumbled that Jesus went home with the wrong person. Is there anyone people leave out that you could include?
Let your child name someone real. If they cannot, offer the smallest version: someone at school who eats alone, or a neighbour nobody talks to. Verse 10 says the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost, which makes including people the family business rather than a nice extra.
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These Bible story retellings are based directly on Scripture and written for children ages 3–10. Each page includes its Scripture reference so families can read the original passage together. Content is reviewed by the Childhood Bible Stories editorial team.