Have you ever wondered what makes a sin evil? Why are some evils so much worse than others? Most people think it's all about how many people are hurt by your sin, but that doesn't square with scripture. Some of the worst, most vile of all sins don't affect people at all. What exactly is the definition of evil? Welcome to the Food for Your Soul podcast, where we apply the Word of God to the hearts of men and women to stoke the fires of your delight in Christ. Here's your host, Dr. D. Richard Ferguson. Have you gotten a sense in these last couple of chapters of Mark that the only thing that really matters in life is one thing, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean, Jesus rebukes the disciples for lack of faith in the storm. He heals the woman because of her faith. Jairus, don't be afraid, just believe. Faith, faith, faith. And now we get probably the strongest statement of all. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. He was amazed at their unbelief. Of all the horrible sins, think about this, of all the horrible atrocities that are listed in the Bible, reported in the Bible, there's only one sin that the Bible ever says Jesus was amazed at it. It was so evil. And it was this one. They were dumbfounded at His teaching. He was dumbfounded at their lack of receptiveness to His teaching. What does that tell you about how important faith is? So I want you to think for just a second about the worst thing you have ever done, the worst sin you've ever committed. I'm not going to make you think about it too long, I know it's painful. Just for a few seconds. I know what you're thinking about right now, maybe it was some sexual sin, maybe it was a crime you committed, a betrayal, something violent, you hurt somebody, whatever. Whatever it is you're thinking of. Whatever it is you're thinking of right now. that might not be the worst thing you've ever done. The worst thing is unbelief. Whatever horrible act you might have committed in the past, the unbelief behind that act was a lot worse than the act itself. Unbelief is so evil that it shocks Jesus. If unbelief is that offensive to Christ, how pleasing must it be when we trust Him, when we do believe? Without faith, it's impossible to please God. With faith, it is possible to please God. Never drive Jesus away by letting your feelings overpower your faith like these people did. One last thing, when they ask all those questions about how could the Messiah be such an ordinary man, and they didn't really want an answer, let's just think for a second for ourselves what the answer actually is. What is the answer? Why did Jesus come in such a lowly form? Why make it hard for people to believe? Why not come as some big-time exalted king and be easy to believe? Wow, look at him, he's amazing! He must be the Messiah. Why not come like that so it'd be easier to accept him as something great? Why not come like an Alexander the Great type or something? Well, for one thing, Jesus came partly as an example for humility for us, right? He's teaching us all about humility. He says, be like me. And so He came humbly. Here's another reason, and this is a wonderful thing. He came in a lowly way. Part of His reason for becoming human was so that He could sympathize with us in our weakness, right? So He could be our Great High Priest. You know that Jesus sympathizes with you in all your struggles, because He went through those same struggles. He went through all the hard knocks of life. If He came as some rich, powerful, amazing, glorious King, we wouldn't have the comfort that, oh, He knows what it's like to be in my shoes. He knows what it's like, I can't pay the bills. He knows what it's like when I've got this struggle and that struggle. But as our sympathetic High Priest, He has compassion for us, and He intercedes with us with the Father, because He knows what we went through, because He came in the same lowliness that we are. Don't ever take for granted the amazing ability God has given you to please Him. At any moment, you're capable of bringing a real, genuine smile to God's face simply by trusting Him. Give some careful thought to what it would look like for you to walk by faith today. Thank you for listening. If you found today's episode edifying, why not share it with a friend? A simple post on social media can change a person's day. This season, the Food for Your Soul podcast features excerpts from our sermon series on the Gospel of Mark. Over 130 expository sermons covering every verse. You can find those and hundreds of other sermons for free download on drichardferguson.com. Until next time, rejoice in the Lord always, and set your mind on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.