Rotation.org Writing Team
Jesus and Zaccheus
Video Workshop
Summary of Activities
Students will watch and discuss two video clips about the story of Zaccheus and play a "story order" and reflection game using a set of story illustrations.
Scripture for the Lesson
Luke 19:1-10
Key/Memory Verses: “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:9-10, NRSV)
Lesson Objectives
See the Bible Background at Rotation.org for insights and this set's complete list of objectives.
Preparation and Materials
- Read the Bible Background and scripture
- Test your classroom's Internet connection to YouTube (over a computer, a smart TV, or cellphone internet). Learn more.
- Preview the two video clips in your classroom and bookmark them ahead of time.
- Print the illustrated Zaccheus Story Cards PDF. Read the notes that accompany them.
Lesson Plan
Opening
Welcome your students. Explain what they'll be doing and learning today.
Ask your students to tell you as much as they know about the story of Zaccheus and Jesus. Write down their outline on a whiteboard or an easel, but don't complete it for them just yet. Then tell them that AFTER they watch a short video clip of the story to be prepared to fill in the parts of the story they didn't remember.
Show Video Clip #1
"Stories from the Bible: Zaccheus" from Saddleback Kids on YouTube. https://youtu.be/5BjtbJFz2ug 2 minutes.
Show the clip and then continue with the illustrated Story Card activity below.
Story Illustration Activity
1. Distribute the story cards and work together as a group to put them in the correct story order.
2. Check the group's arrangement of the cards by reading aloud Luke 19:1-10. As you or students slowly read the story, have students point to the card which matches that part of the story.
Note that there's one illustration that isn't included in the Bible story: the scene with Jesus at Zaccheus' home. Why did we include that? Because it's one of the most important ideas in the story: what was it about Zaccheus' life that changed after having Jesus at his home!
3. After completing the reading, compare the story order written on the whiteboard with the order that the group placed the cards in. What part of the story did we miss or get out of order? Place the story cards in the correct order.
4. If time, shuffle the story cards and drop them in a pile in front of the group to see how fast they can put the story cards in the correct order.
Show Video Clip #2:
"Let's Go Zaccheus" from Crossroad's Kids Club on YouTube, https://youtu.be/PtoBbvSIOmI. This clip also retells the story of Zaccheus, but in a different way. It goes deeper with some background and life application. After viewing the clip, follow-up with the questions below.
Questions for After the Video:
- How did Zaccheus react when Jesus called him by name?
- What things do you think Zaccheus stopped or started doing after meeting Jesus?
- What are some things YOU need to stop or start doing?
- When we follow Jesus, we change. The host says, "When we follow Jesus we grow and produce things like kindness, love, joy, and patience, and lots of other good things." What are some of those "other" good things" that show we are following Jesus?
Closing
Have the class arrange the story cards in the correct order again, then ask them this question and have them answer by placing their hand near the illustration that best matches their answer: Which story card best represents where YOU ARE in your relationship with Jesus?
Are you...
◘ Wondering if Jesus is real and why people follow him
◘ Trying to see and connect with Jesus but feeling like you keep coming up "short"
◘ Up in a tree, actively looking for him
◘ Standing next to him and making promises to be faithful
◘ Enjoying spending time with Jesus
Invite them to explain why they are pointing to a certain card. Help them express their thoughts.
After everyone has spoken who wants to, with their hands still pointing or touching a card, offer a prayer to God that each student would know they are loved, accepted, and that together they are part of God's family no matter where they are in their faith journey.
Adaptations
For Younger Students:
For non-readers, consider substituting the Pursue God's Kids video at https://youtu.be/hNXKPfOzX-s instead of showing Video #2 above. Read aloud the story and retell it using the story cards. For a "storybook" version of the text to go along with the card illustrations, consider Luke 19 in the TPT version (The Passion Translation).
For Older Students:
Youth may be self-conscious about arranging the cards or pointing to them in the closing activity. Compare and discuss this self-consciousness (feeling judged) to that of Zach's. If you have time, show another short clip featuring The Call of Matthew the Tax Collector which the producer has mashed with Luke 18's Parable of the Tax Collector. You can find it at https://youtu.be/kLCSVjHKQjk. The movie scene comes from Son of God (2014).
For those with more class time:
For older kids with more time, you can do one of two things: (1) Have students discuss and add "comment-talk bubbles" on each illustration about what the characters in the illustration are thinking at that moment. (2) Show another short clip featuring The Call of Matthew the Tax Collector which the producer has mashed with Luke 18's Parable of the Tax Collector. You can find it at https://youtu.be/kLCSVjHKQjk. The movie scene comes from Son of God (2014).
For At-Home Use or Shorter/Simpler lesson plan:
Eliminate the story card activities and watch and discuss the two videos.
Notes and Sources
The illustrated Story Cards PDF contains additional optional teaching information and questions to ask about the illustrations.
Note: Some storybook Bibles and animations place Jesus inside Zaccheus' home when the crowd starts to grumble, apparently outside. This is a traditional mistake based on a faulty translation of the word "gone" in Luke 19:7 which some translate as "he has gone." It's in an unusual Greek verb tense (aorist active indicative) that has no match in English but can be read as something like "he proceeds." But we know he hasn't "gone" to the house yet because Zaccheus and then Jesus turn to address the crowd in verses 8-10. "He is going" makes a lot more sense.
Written by Neil MacQueen and the Rotation.org Writing Team
Copyright Rotation.org Inc.
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