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The parable of the hidden treasure

Matthew 13, 44: „The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “

Introduction:

The kids have received some sweets during the program. These are now used as capital to buy themselves a little treat (candle, lemonade ...) in the American way.

I have just bought a little treasure. That is not a comparison with a real piece of treasure. We always hear little bits and pieces about treasure. Every now and again there is an article in the newspapers about a treasure being dug up or an antique treasure being found on a building site. It is printed in the newspaper and then some museum or another is happy about a new addition to their collection.

Something which we see more often – it even appears on television every now and again – are pieces of art and treasure from war times which were lost in the confusions of war. Treasure hunters are often on the look out or even investigate where to find things, in the hope that really find a treasure.

Who does the treasure belong to?

Now I have another question for you: What actually happens when we find a piece of treasure? Who does it belong to? Let’s assume: I own a piece of grass ... someone walks over my grass and happens to find some treasure. Does the treasure belong to me because it is my grass or to the stranger because he found it? Answer: In Germany the two parties must split it equally.

The treasure in the bible

Jesus tells us something about a piece of treasure in the bible: There was a man who found a piece of treasure in a field. It is not exactly stated whether he was looking for treasure or whether he came across it. That is no different for us. Someone might find treasure because they are digging a hole for a pipeline with a digging truck: another might find treasure because he went looking for it with a metal detector.

Anyway, this man finds a piece of treasure. He does not simply stick it in his pocket but hides it again because he has the following plan: He was so pleased about his find that he sold everything he had and scraped all of his money together to buy this piece of land with the treasure on it. He knew that the treasure was very valuable and there was no question that he had to buy the field. How the story continues is not written down, but I can imagine that the treasure cost this person everything he had. His troubles were worth it.

A new year is starting again for us. We want to go on the hunt for treasure this year and obviously hope that we find the treasure. Maybe we will find it straight away or maybe we will simply fall over it. In the story/parable, which Jesus told, it was all about the kingdom of heaven. That is a strange term but we can replace it with “Jesus”. Jesus stands for the kingdom of heaven. In conclusion: Jesus is this treasure which is mentioned in this parable. In the coming year we want to go on a treasure hunt for Jesus. We want to find Jesus. We want to try and find new sides to Jesus which we have not gotten to know until now and we want to find out what Jesus has to say in our lives. Maybe there are certain properties – that means, things which determine our lives, things which we might have to give up, to reach the treasure.

For our little treasure earlier on, you had to give up one or two sweets to receive it. But it was worth it, wasn’t it?

Going on a treasure hunt...

We want to go on a treasure hunt together, on a hunt for Jesus. It is, of course, easier if you have a treasure map. I have brought my own treasure map with me now; my bible. It is a little bit tattered and sticky and doesn’t look very good anymore, but I love it with all my heart. I have the bible for 14 years now and it is accompanied me everywhere from Norway to Corsica and even into Africa, I believe. It is like a little piece of treasure for me, but most of all; it’s my treasure map. If I look in the bible I know that I can always find a new piece of treasure, that I can find Jesus in it and I would like to share this with you and go on a treasure hunt with you into the bible. I would be happy if you would accompany me.

In conclusion, I have another treasure map with me which I would like to give you. That is a part of the New Testament where Luke writes about Jesus. Who would like a treasure map and set off on a treasure hunt? (If several kids want it, a winner is chosen randomly.)

The following text is entered in the book:

„The treasure map was given to …….... on ………..“

Signature……………

Author: This entry comes from Christopher M.