Asking a rhetorical question, Jesus encourages his audience to think carefully on what he says. His statement is a good example of a fortiori argument, otherwise known as a qal wahomer.1 In this form of argumentation what is true for a lesser thing is held to be true also for a greater.2 It is important to emphasize that with his question, Jesus is not advocating a carefree responsibility for his disciples, but he is saying that material necessities are not a valid cause for worry.3
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?