The ship Nuestra Señora de Atocha was one of a fleet of 28 ships that left Havana, Cuba, on September 4, 1622. She was loaded with an almost unbelievable amount of gold and silver and precious jewels which the Spaniards had gotten in the New World. Some of the treasures they carried were not legal for them to have.
They had left a bit later than planned, and it was almost hurricane season. Hopefully all would go well, and they could deliver their treasures safely to Spain. But then, the wind started whipping up the waves. Soon, the Atocha could not see the other ships in their fleet. As they rode gigantic waves and were tossed by the wind, safe arrival in Spain looked more and more doubtful. And then, only two days into the trip, it happened. Their ship with all of its vast treasures was sinking! Seven of the other ships were also scattered and sunk off the coast of Florida.
Only five people survived from the Atocha, and they were rescued by another ship. As they left the wrecked ship, part of it was still visible above the tossing waves. But a month later the remains of the Atocha were hit by another hurricane that completely scattered the remains, and the Spanish could never find it. Although many divers through the years tried to find the sunken Atocha with all her treasures, it remained lost at the bottom of the ocean.
Then, in 1969 a man named Mel Fisher began to search in earnest for the sunken ship. He and his team of divers spent weeks ... which turned into months ... and finally into years ... searching. Every day, Mel Fisher said, “Today’s the day!” to encourage the divers. Sometimes the searchers were encouraged by finding small treasures that showed they were getting close. But they also experienced great sorrow. Mel’s son, Dirk, his daughter-in-law and another crew member died six years into the search when the smaller boat they were on got turned over. Just a few days before he died, Dirk had found some bronze cannon which had been on the Atocha.
In spite of the sorrow of the death of these three people, the rest of the crew kept going. And every day for 16 years Mel Fisher kept saying, “Today’s the day!” He would not give up! Finally, on July 20, 1985, Mel’s son Kane Fisher sent a message to his father. “Put away the charts; we’ve found the main pile!” Sure enough, divers who went to the spot saw such a huge pile of silver bars that it looked like a reef of silver. Other treasures were found too — gold chains, jewels, gold bars and interesting artifacts that teach us a lot about what life on a ship was like at the time of the shipwreck. Today, you can see many of the treasures that they found in a museum in Florida. One impressive chain of gold weighs more than seven pounds!
It would be a lot of fun to find such a huge pile of hidden treasure, wouldn’t it? Mel was determined to find it, and he did, even though it cost him time, a lot of work and expense, and great sorrow. Of course, he didn’t know all that would happen when he started out. But this story makes me think of a verse in the Bible that tells us about a hidden treasure that the Lord Jesus Himself found and bought, at a huge cost to Himself. He tells us about it in this verse: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man [has] found, he [hides], and for joy thereof [goes] and [sells] all that he [has], and [buys] that field” (Matthew 13:4444Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (Matthew 13:44)). If you have believed on the Lord Jesus as your own Savior, you are part of the treasure that He bought. The verse says that this man sold all he had to buy that field. The Lord Jesus gave everything in order to buy you and me to have us as His own treasure. He died a terribly painful death, suffering for our sins, and paying for them with His own blood. What amazing love! Someday, He will come to collect all of His special jewels and take us all to heaven. The Bible says, “They shall be Mine, [says] the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels” (Malachi 3:1717And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. (Malachi 3:17)). Are you one of His found treasures, or are you still lost?
Messages of God’s Love 9/7/2025