νεκροὺς …, οὓτως καὶ ὁ υἱὸς …, “As the Father raises the dead so also the Son …”). The helpless man is given power to obey the word of Christ to stand up and begin to live (v 9). 6–8 In this man there is no such faith as that of the king’s officer; on the contrary when Jesus tests the man’s will to gain health, which is one aspect of faith, the sick man’s only answer is a complaint (so Dodd, Historical Tradition, 177). The command to take up the mattress and walk is not to be regarded as a