After Jesus calls the tax collector Levi (Matthew) to be one of his disciple, the behavior of Jesus and his disciples comes under some scrutiny. Why do they eat and drink with sinners and tax collectors? Why are they less pious than the disciples of the Pharisees and those of John the Baptist? Jesus answers such questions indirectly using figurative language: “Only the sick need a doctor,” he says. “Can you force a wedding party to fast while the groom is still with them? Nobody cuts a piece from a new garment to patch an old one, and nobody puts new wine in an old wine skin. Those who are accustomed to drinking old wine will not want the new.” Why does Jesus not give simple answers in plain speech?
