Exploring the value of fairness through the Bible story of Zacchaeus.
The video
OMAR: Hello! I'm Omar and this is the brilliant story of a man called Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus didn't understand why fairness was a treasure. In fact, he was very unfair. It was his job to collect money from people but he would take more than he was supposed to.
STORY TELLER: When it came to money collection day, he was very rude and unkind to people who were supposed to be his friends.
ZACCHAEUS: Ha ha! Give me money! And more money! And more!
GIRL: That's not fair.
ZACCHAEUS: Now I've got more money than anyone. But I've got no friends, and no one comes to visit me.
OMAR: Then one day, Zacchaeus heard that a very special man called Jesus was coming to town.
STORY TELLER: Zacchaeus had heard amazing things about Jesus and because Zacchaeus was a little man, he climbed up a tree to get a good view.
ZACCHAEUS: Look, it's Jesus surrounded by a huge crowd of people.
OMAR: And to Zacchaeus' surprise, Jesus came right up to the bottom of the tree, looked up and said, 'Zacchaeus, come down out of that tree. I'd like to stay at your house tonight.'
ZACCHAEUS: Coming to stay? At my house? That's amazing. He's a great man and he knows my name! LAUGHS
KIDS: Boo!
OMAR: Then, Zacchaeus saw that the people were very unhappy. They thought it was wrong for Jesus to stay with Zacchaeus because he was so unfair and mean to everybody. Zacchaeus realised that they were right.
ZACCHAEUS: I've been unfair to everybody; no wonder no one wants to come to my house. But Jesus does… He must think that I'm a good person deep down. In fact, I'm going to be a better person from now on. A fairer person.
OMAR: And that's exactly what he did.
ZACCHAEUS: Don't worry. Listen up, people, I'm sorry. I should've treated you all fairly before, but now, if I've taken any money from you that I shouldn't have, I'm going to give you back four times as much and I'm going to give half my money to the poor.
KIDS: Yay!
OMAR: And from that day on, Zacchaeus was always fair. And even though he had a lot less money, he was really happy because he had a lot more friends.
Thanks for helping me tell today's treasure story. It's written in the Bible. See you soon.
ALL: Bye!
This story is from the Bible and particularly from the New Testament in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 19. It describes an event from the life of Jesus when he meets a man named Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and very wealthy. He would have been collecting taxes to give to the Roman rulers, so Zacchaeus would not have been at all popular - he would have been seen as unfair and a traitor. The turnaround moment in the story is when Jesus invites himself to Zacchaeus’ house. It prompts a complete change in Zacchaeus and he begins to act fairly and even generously, by paying back those who have been treated harshly.
Duration: 3’ 27”
Final words: ‘See you soon. Bye!'
Video questions
- What did Zacchaeus do that was unfair? (He took more money than he was supposed to)
- When Jesus arrived how did Zacchaeus get a better view of him? (He climbed a tree because he was short)
- Did Jesus notice him? (Yes)
- What did Jesus want to do? (He wanted to visit Zacchaeus’ home)
- How did Zacchaeus change after meeting Jesus? (He became fair - even generous)
Teacher Notes
This video could be used to identify common features of religions and beliefs or to retell religious, spiritual and moral stories.
The story of Zacchaeus could be retold by the children in comic strip form. Explain that you want to see the following things in their pictures and ask them to label them: people, Zacchaeus, Jesus, money, tree, Zacchaeus’ house. The following statements could be used to label the pictures:
- Zacchaeus was unfair. He took too much money from people.
- Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus.
- Jesus saw Zacchaeus and called his name saying, 'Zacchaeus, I would like to come to visit you.'
- Zacchaeus paid back the money he had taken and gave people more because he wanted to be fair.
The children might reflect on their own and others’ ideas, feelings and experiences by thinking about how people might ‘turn over a new leaf’. If you thought something was unfair, how could you change the situation and make it fairer?
Think about the fair and unfair parts of the story and write UNFAIR and FAIR next to each statement. This is a good way to reflect on Jesus’ attitude to Zacchaeus. Many people might have thought it was unfair that Jesus wanted to be Zacchaeus’ friend, even though he had treated people unfairly. Talk about why the children think Jesus decided to be a friend of Zacchaeus.
Draw a picture of Zacchaeus and draw a line down the middle so you have a left side and a right side. On one side write words that describe Zacchaeus before he met Jesus. On the other side write words that describe Zacchaeus after he met Jesus.
Curriculum Notes
This short film will be relevant for teaching KS1 Religious Education in England and Northern Ireland, the Curriculum forWales (particularly RVE as part of Humanities), and Early and 1st Level Religious and Moral Education in Scotland.
Further resources
