Introduction 

• It’s ‘Question Time’ in our passage today, but not in a good way. 

• Questions of Authority (v1-12) 
  • Action: Jesus heals a paralysed man. 
  • Response: ‘Why does this fellow talk like that?’ 
• Questions of Integrity (v13-17) 
  • Action: Jesus calls Levi. 
  • Response: ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ 
• Questions of Consistency (v18-20) 
  • Action: Jesus doesn’t require his disciples to fast. 
  • Response: ‘How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?’ 
• Kingdom Answers: The Shock of the Gospel (v21-22) 
  • You can’t ‘patch’ the Gospel onto your old way of life. 

Conclusion 

The difference between faith and unbelief can be seen in the kind of questions you ask about Jesus. 

• A good question is one that helpfully enlightens. 
• A bad question is one that attacks and undermines. 
• An ill will believes the worst about Jesus – but faith believes the best and acts upon it.