"Excuse me dear, I'm late." "Just think, a few years ago I was nothing... a nobody." "And now, Chief Publican of Jericho." "Yes, you have changed!" "What do you mean "changed"?" "I'm the same; it's just that we have money now." "Father!" "Jesus is coming!" "He's out on the countryside!" "Who?" "Jesus, the Rabbi!" "Oh father, take me out to see him!" "All the children are going." "Oh do, Zacchaeus." "You don't have to go to work." "Have you gone mad?" "!" "I stand to make a fortune today!" "We don't need any more money, Zacchaeus." "Oh, isn't that funny?" "A little while ago we didn't have enough money, now we have too much." "Oh please Father, everyone's going." "Absolutely not!" "I'm not going to give up a chance for gold because my son wants to hear some rabbi!" "At least Jesus is honest!" "What's he talking about, "honest"?" "I'm as honest as the next man!" "All I ask is a little respect." "Excuse me sir, do you know if this is the road to Perea?" "No, this is the road to Jericho." "This is the road to Perea." "Oh!" "Oh thank you, thank you very much." "Excuse me, but, Perea's a very long walk for a man of your age." "I'm going to find Jesus." "Jesus?" "Oh, yes, the wandering rabbi." "Oh, he's more than that, sir." "He raised a man from the dead!" "Ha, ha, ha..." "Did he, now?" "Laugh if you want to, sir." "Jesus is the Messiah." "Wait." "Food, for your journey." "Guess who?" "Put it back Zacchaeus, please." "It's all I have." "Too bad, Bartimaeus." "You owe twice this much in taxes." "Pretty good, eh?" "What?" "Never mind." "Just make sure you pay the rest tomorrow, or you'll spend some time in prison." "I have no fear of prison." "Then you'll get prison without food or water." "Oh Zacchaeus, you used to speak kind words and put a coin in my cup from time to time." "But now you take what little money I have and give me nothing but angry threats." "Don't blame me!" "I'm not the one who's breaking the law, Bartimaeus!" "That's not what I've heard." "Well, look who's back." "Who?" "Someone I've been waiting a long time for." "My friend, my friend, you're back!" "Just long enough to unload, Zacchaeus." "I don't have time to talk." "Take this home and store it for me safely." "I'll be back soon." "Yes, sir." "What a life you must lead... always on the move, new places to see, new people to meet!" "Well, where are you off to this time?" "There's a rabbi preaching out on the countryside." "A rabbi, hmm?" "Sounds... uh... sounds interesting." "What's his name?" "Jesus." "Jesus?" "Oh, Jesus, hmm?" "Jesus?" "!" "May I help you, Zacchaeus?" "Oh, just trying to figure out what you might owe the Romans in taxes." "Keep your hands off that, Zacchaeus!" "Careful." "Careful, now." "I'd hate for the Romans to think you were unwilling to pay your fair share to the Emperor." "You're a disgrace!" "You're a disgrace to our people!" "Who was that man?" "!" "Who was he talking about?" "Watch where you're going, Bartimaeus!" "Did he say Jesus?" "Which way did he go?" "You should worry less about where other people are going!" "You're headed for prison, my friend!" "But I know this man of whom he spoke." "Just pay your taxes, Bartimaeus!" "Jesus... he's coming." "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me;" "and I give unto them eternal life." "Jesus, bless our children!" "Oh, touch our children, Master!" "Ladies, good mothers, Jesus is teaching!" "We want him to bless our children." "Please, there isn't time now." "We must be leaving soon." "Oh, just for a moment." "Not now." "But we've walked all this way to see him!" "I'm sorry." "Wait." "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of God." "Verily, I say unto you, whosoever will receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall enter therein." "Uh, excuse me good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" "You know the commandments:" "do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, love thy neighbor as thyself." "I have kept the commandments, Master, all of them... ever since I was a boy." "Then you lack one thing only." "Sell all that you have and give it unto the poor." "Then you shall have treasures in heaven;" "and come, follow me." "How difficult it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." "Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." "We should be on our way, Master." "Jericho is still a day away." "You can't say I didn't give you fair warning." "Please, Zacchaeus." "I'll spend my life in prison, but just let me be here when Jesus passes." "Jesus?" "!" "That Rabbi person is coming here?" "!" "The streets are filled with the story, sir." "He'll be passing through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem." "If I can just speak to Him as he passes, I'll be healed." "I know it!" "Of all the simple minded!" "Ugh!" "Take him to prison!" "No, no, Zacchaeus, it's true!" "This Jesus raised a man from the dead." "He's healed the lame and cast out devils." "He can change lives, Zacchaeus!" "Out!" "But it's more than that!" "Listen to me, will you?" "!" "Don't you see?" ""I am the light of the world"," ""Come unto me, and I will give you rest"," ""Love one another."" "Who else can preach such things?" "!" "Zacchaeus, Jesus is the Messiah." "Oh, I beg you." "I'll give you the rest of my life, but let me be there when He passes." "Please, Zacchaeus, please." "Oh thank you, thank you, sir." "Oh excuse me, excuse me." "I'm so excited!" "Has he passed yet?" "!" "Who?" "Jesus." "Haven't you heard?" "!" "Jesus is passing through Jericho today, and I'm going to be there when He does!" "Is it Him?" "Is it Him?" "!" "What's happening?" "What's He doing?" "Shhh!" "Is He coming this way?" "Would you be quiet?" "!" "Please, call Him over to me." "Ask Him to come this way." "Jesus!" "Thou Son of David!" "Have mercy." "Have mercy on me, Jesus!" "Keep quiet, will you?" "!" "Everyone is looking!" "I don't care." "I have to talk to Jesus." "Jesus!" "Have mercy on me!" "Have mercy on me, Jesus!" "Jesus, I must speak to you!" "Jesus!" "Jesus!" "What would you have me do?" "Master, give me my sight." "Your faith has made you whole." "Receive your sight." "I... can see!" "Can it be?" "!" "( Remembering) "I'll be healed, I know it!" "Just let me be there when Jesus passes."" ""Don't you see?" "!" "Jesus is the Messiah."" ""I can see!"" "(Thinking to himself) Suddenly, strangely, everything I see has changed." "Why don't the things I've purchased look quite so fine?" "Why is the gold I've gathered losing its shine?" "What is all this compared to treasures above?" "What are these things compared to mercy and love?" "But what will be left if I let all of this go?" "What am I without my precious treasures to show?" "Jesus, thy words and works have brought me to my knees." "Help me." "Heal me, please." "Who is that?" "Oh, it looks like Zacchaeus!" "The Publican?" "!" "What's he doing up there?" "Probably spying for the Romans." "Zacchaeus." "Yes?" "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down." "For today I must visit your home." "You mean, you would come to my house?" "I am not worthy to have you enter my home." "I am a sinner, Master." "Come." "I have not come to this world for the righteous only, but to seek and save that which was lost." "Lord, I will give half of everything I own to the poor." "And if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him four times that which I have stolen." "Zacchaeus, this day has salvation come to your house." "( song) My hands that were full now are empty." "My heart that was empty now is full." "Full, overflowing, my wealth now is growing from what I leave behind." "My mind that was troubled is at peace." "My soul that was dying is alive." "Loving and living, at last I am giving, and giving now I find... life... eternal life!" "My treasures are finally forever safe with my Lord and my Savior." "I put my trust in Him." "Life... eternal life!" "My treasures are finally forever." "The riches of Christ will fail me never." "I put my trust in Him. ( end song)" "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break through and steal." "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven;" "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."