IN Matthew 6.19–21, Jesus teaches his followers to accumulate ‘treasures in heaven’ rather than ‘treasures on earth’, for heavenly treasures are secure, whereas earthly treasures are devoured and stolen. The contrast between material and spiritual treasures is a recurring theme in Jesus’ preaching; Lutheran theologians further elaborate on the implications of these lessons and the libretti of Bach's church compositions repeatedly reference them. J. S. Bach's Material and Spiritual Treasures: A Theological Perspective navigates through the various dichotomies of ‘treasures’ rendered in these texts and presents a narrative that is guided by relevant aspects of Bach's life and music. Bach's ‘material treasures’ refer essentially to his financial situation; his ‘spiritual treasures’ encompass theological concepts in the texts of his church music, his own engagement with the Bible, and his hypothetical spiritual priorities (which we can determine only in part by the clues left to us). ‘A theological perspective’ implies that although this study is prompted by theological notions in the libretti of Bach's music, it extends to a wider perspective that relies predominantly on the writings of sixteenth- to eighteenth-century German Protestant theologians. The theological focus is not meant to imply Bach's personal theology; even though he was well-versed in theology and his environment was profoundly Lutheran, Bach did not leave us with a personal doctrinal statement, let alone a theological treatise – his contribution to church music was essentially the sounds that he attached to religious texts.

The biblical antithesis of treasures on earth and in heaven is stark: spiritual, eternal treasures are deemed the highest good while material, earthly treasures are in contrast temporal, fleeting, worthless, and can even be destructive. Such notions have motivated Christians throughout history to actions such as taking sacred vows of poverty or giving faithfully to churches and charities. The ironies are intriguing; in Bach's world one could find many prosperous Lutherans, while the topic has a transcendent quality for Christian believers in all places and times. And whereas the Bible teaches specific lessons about ‘treasures’, tensions related to money are common to all of humanity, wherever one may be on the scale of material lack or abundance, and whatever system of belief informs one's values and priorities.