Matthew 8:23–27 (LSB)
23And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
24And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was sleeping.
25And they came to Him and got Him up, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”
26And He said to them, “Why are you so cowardly, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.
27And the men marveled, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
While writing an essay this morning, I was struck by time when the veteran sailors were caught in a squall on the Sea of Galilee and Jesus was asleep on the floor of the boat’s hull.1The men were desperate, fearing they were going to capsize and drown. They even said as much to the Lord, who, Himself, was asleep on the floorboards. Mark tells us that the boat was filling up with water and the wind seemed near to breaking the mast, and sail.2
Matthew (and Mark) records Jesus’ response to their panic and fear. He said, “Why are you so cowardly?!” Matthew and Mark record it correctly using the term “cowardly.” This is a Greek term which means just that, “lacking courage.” It is only used a handful of times in the New Testament, but the meaning is always the same – a reasonable, but sinful, lack of courage to remain faithful.
That might seem innocuous and nonchalant in that there is essentially no harm to anyone if a man is a coward once in a while. After all, who can blame these men for lacking courage against a severe storm which can, and historically has, claimed the lives of men before?
And yet, this same term describes men (and women) who are not allowed into the Kingdom of God.
Revelation 21:8 (LSB)
8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The cowardly rank in the category of those who cannot, and will not, enter the precious Kingdom the Father has prepared for the Son. They are effectively, says John, “unbelieving…abominable…murderous” and they are linked in with the immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars. Surely, none of these qualities are harmless, right?
Why, then, is being a coward so bad?
Cowardice is bad for the following reasons:
- Jesus said it was. Jesus told the disciples in John 14:27 that they must not let their hearts become cowardice. The world has its peace, and Christ has His peace. Being at peace in the world manifests cowardice towards Christ.
- Cowardice also evidences being ashamed of Jesus and His Word. Those who are completely convinced of the nature of Jesus Christ, and the truthfulness of His Word, are courageous and bold. However, those who attribute supreme influence to other things in the world, will find the commands of Christ to be shameful to them.
- Cowardice is also evidence of a lack of regeneration. Regeneration makes a man bold and strong in the Lord. However, cowardice evidences that that new creation by God has not taken place in the heart of the person.
- Cowardice is also evidence of a lack of love for God. A love for God will be impervious to the fear of men.
The nature of God, and His Kingdom, is such that its glory and power cannot be hidden nor can it be treated lightly. To be ashamed of either is to display a horrible lack of priorities. The beauty, power, light, and eternal glory of Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Spirit, as recorded in the Word, does not give room to a man who refuses to ascribe to them such glory. This is what a coward is. He is a man who cannot, either in the heart or in public, ascribe the unmatched and unfathomable glory due to God, even in the midst of taunting storms.
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