ACTS: The Life and Times of Eutychus

Last week we talked about the riot in Ephesus where the crowd chanted against the Gospel for two straight hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!!” The crowd was rowdy. They were violent. They were angry. In fact, the situation was so dangerous that Paul’s friends wouldn’t even let him appear before the crowd in order to defend himself.
 
You might have expected that to end in tragedy.
 
It didn’t. 
The crowd quieted.
They went home.
Paul was safe.
 
But the Christians didn’t think it would be wise to keep Paul in Ephesus. So, after two years pastoring in Ephesus, Paul left. Acts 20:1 says, “He said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. He traveled throughout that area speaking many words of encouragement to the people.” It means Paul headed east. He crossed the sea and began revisiting the churches that he had started.
 
He went back to Philippi.
He went back to Thessalonica.
He went back to Berea.
He went back to Apollonia, Amphipolis, and Corinth. 
 
Finally, he arrived in Greece where he stayed for three months. (v.3) While there he most likely revisited Corinth. Maybe even Athens. After those three months (most likely winter months where sailing is discouraged), Paul was about to sail for Syria, but because some Jews had plotted against him, he decided to go back through Macedonia. (v.3) Whether they were plotting to throw him overboard, sink the ship, or get him really drunk on rum in order to convince him to walk the plank, Paul found out and was kept safe.  
 
Again, tragedy avoided.
 
In fact, Paul safely returns through all those cities to Philippi and from there he crosses the sea back to the Middle East and gets to Troas.
 
It’s not far now.
It’s should be a smooth journey, right?
Home is just around the corner.
 
And it’s there that tragedy strikes.
 
Today we’re going to learn about that tragedy that hit close to home. Then, we’ll learn how Jesus helps us through tragedy. Before we begin, a prayer: O Lord, strengthen us by the truth, your Word is truth. Open our eyes to see what you want us to see, our ears to hear what you want us to hear and our hearts to believe what you would have us believe. Amen.
 
I. A Tragedy
 
The lesson starts in verse 7. It says, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.”
Slow down.
Read that again.
The disciples came together on the first day of the week. That’s a Sunday. It’s neat to note that Christians are gathering together, not on a Saturday like they did in the Old Testament, but on a Sunday. The same day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead. It’s also shortly after Passover. Just it was shortly after Passover that Jesus rose from the dead.
As they gathered, they were planning to break bread. That’s a reference to a fellowship meal. A 1st century potluck. Complete with Mazza balls, lamb casserole and (if it’s anything like our potlucks) about 17 different kinds of dessert.
But before they could get to the meal, Paul began preaching. Since it was the dinner hour, that the gathering probably started happening somewhere around 6pm. During that first hour, people greeted each other, the fellowship team arranged the meal, and the musicians warmed up on their instruments.
That means Paul would have began his sermon about an hour later, around 7pm.
Five hours later?
He’s still talking.
Insert joke about sermon length here.
One person there that evening was a young man named Eutychus.
That’s impressive. Because most young people in Troas would be focused on other things in the evening:
Spending their money at local establishments.
Getting home to their families.
Going out to eat with a young woman so that he might one day have a family.
 
But Eutychus was at church.
In the evening.
Since it was their version of Monday, he was probably tired and ready for a nap at home. But he didn’t want to miss seeing the Apostle Paul one last time before he left so…
Eutychus attended the gathering.
He greeted other church members.
He let his elders have the seats in the front.
He let the women with children have seats in the back.
He stood near the back, excited to listen to what Paul had to say.
And that’s what he did.
 
For fifteen minutes.
Thirty minutes.
An hour.
An hour fifteen minutes, an hour thirty minutes, two hours.
 
Eutychus started fanning himself:
 
Why is it so hot in here?
Probably all those lamps.
I mean…it makes it easier to see at night, but they are torches. It’s like there’s fifteen mini bonfires in this room.
 
Eutychus made his way over to the breeze of the nearest open window.
 
Two hours and two and a half hours.
Three hours.
Three hours, forty-five minutes.
 
My legs are started to get tired.
I’ve been up on them all day at work.
It’ll be ok. I’ll just sit on this window ledge right here.
 
Four hours.
Four and a half hours.
Five hours.
 
Suddenly, Eutychus started to get rather sleepy.
Paul’s words sounded so far away.
He was sure if he had just mentioned the Gospel or the Blospel…
 
Maybe, he’d close his eyes.
Just for a second.
He could still listen to his words.
He could still hear his sermon.
He could still…
 
ZZZZZ.
 
And then…
 
THUD.
 
When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story… (v.9)
 
And suddenly, there was a commotion.
 
What was that?
I think someone fell.
From on the ground.
Nope from the window.
Who was it?
I don’t know.
I didn’t see.
It’s Eutychus! That’s where he was sitting.
 
And they rushed down the stairs.
And they rushed out the building.
And they rushed to his body.
And they tried CPR.
And they felt for a pulse.
 
Meanwhile, Paul was up in the front of the room where he had been preaching.
His heart was racing.
 
And then he heard it:
 
He’s dead! Eutychus is dead!
 
Paul rushed to the door.
He ran to the steps.
He looked at Eutychus’ now limp body.
 
Oh God! This is a tragedy.
Oh God this is…
 
Oh God?
 
That’s it.
 
Now I don’t know exactly what happened next.
Did Paul speak any words?
Did Paul say prayer?
I don’t know exactly what Paul did next.
 
But…
 
We do know what Eutychus did next:
 
Sat up.  
 
“Don’t be alarmed,” Paul said. “He’s alive! (v.10)
 
II. Dealing with Skeptics
 
This account is amazing!  A young man falls to his death in the middle of worship. But when Paul gets down to the body without performing CPR, without a defibrillator, without hitting his chest repeatedly in desperation…Eutychus lives! It’s a miracle.
 
Granted. You might be skeptical about this.
 
If you tried this with a dead ant out on your driveway, it wouldn’t work.
 
In fact, a Google search for Eutychus, will lead to some scholarly articles that propose an alternative. They write that: (1) Eutychus never died. He just got knocked out. (2) Paul simply got him out of his stupor, because someone dying and coming back to life is IMOPSSIBLE.
 
But there are quite a few things in the text that defend against that interpretation:
 
(1) The Number of Witnesses
 
Back to the mapwork section. In verse 4, there’s an interesting list. It’s a list of all the different people who are now accompanying Paul on his missionary journey. This list is interesting because it’s a where’s where of places Paul has shared the Gospel:
 
Sopater…from Berea, the place where the people studiously God’s Word.
Secundus from Thessalonica, the place where persecution was quite intense.
Gaius from Derbe who along with Aristarchus had been dragged through the streets of Ephesus during the riot.
Timothy from Lystra who joined Paul all the way back at the beginning of the second missionary journey.
Tychichus and Trophimus from the province of Asia…representing the various churches of the Galatians.
 
That’s seven men in all who present in that upper room.
Add in Eutychus for eight.
 
Then, verse 7 says that Paul was speaking to “the people”. If it would have been just these seven guys, the writer would have said the disciples. By choosing the word “people”, the writer reflects the fact that there were more than these eight. In fact, there were so many that Eutychus had to sit on the ledge of the window.
 
Here’s the point:
Fooling the whole crowd into thinking that Eutychus had resurrected when he never really died in the first place would have been very challenging with so many present.  
 
Especially since, the crowd got there first.
 
(2) Logistics of a Lecture
 
Notice how our church is setup. The pastor is in the front. You all are facing me. The doors to exit the place are closest to you, the audience. I am the farthest from the common exits. It’s the same in most churches and lecture halls.
 
Why?
 
So, it is easy for someone to slip out without causing much of a disturbance. If a mom is quieting a child or someone needs to use the restroom, leaving from the back is so much easier than having to leave through the front and walking right by the pastor in the middle of the sermon.
 
Can you imagine reversing it? (Leaving worship would soon be the “walk of shame.”)
 
It would have been the same way for Paul’s speech. Even though the room may not have been any kind of lecture hall, they still would have setup the room so that Paul was farthest from the door so that the people could easily come and go if needed.
 
Why is this important?
 
Because Paul was not the first to get to Eutychus.
The people were.
He couldn’t trick them into thinking Eutychus was dead, when he really wasn’t.
 
In fact, some get to Eutychus and pick him up “dead” in verse 9 and it isn’t until verse 10 that Paul “goes down” to see him.
 
Paul couldn’t have tricked them.
Eutychus died.
 
And that really solidifies when you consider one more thing
 
(3) The Presence of Dr. Luke
 
Back to the group of missionaries with Paul. I left one out. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Verse 6 says, “We sailed…to Troas.” The “we”? That’s a reference to the man who wrote down the book of Acts. It wasn’t Paul, but a man named Luke. Luke had joined Paul’s missionary crew in Mysia. He travelled with Paul throughout missionary journey two and three. Paul even references Luke in some of the letters that he writes to the various churches.
 
Look at what he reveals about Luke in Colossians:
Our dear friend Luke, the doctor…” (v.4:14)
 
Did you catch that?
Do you see the significance?
 
Luke knew how to look for a pulse.
Luke knew how to check for breathing.
Luke knew how to identify a dead person.
 
I guarantee that Luke was one of the first people down to check on Eutychus.
And he was one of the first people to say: “There’s nothing we can do. He’s dead.”
“Time of death: 12:16am”
 
In fact, when Paul had stones thrown at him Lystra on his first missionary journey, the crowd left when they saw him fall to the ground in a clump. Luke wrote that Paul was dragged out of the city and that the Jews were “supposing that he was dead” (Acts 14:19).
 
Here’s the point: if Luke wanted to present the idea that the believers in Troas merely “supposed” that Eutychus was dead, he could have written that.
 
But he didn’t.
Because he was dead.
 
Until he wasn’t.
Because of Jesus.
Stop being skeptical. The miracle was real.
 
III. Transforming Tragedy
 
Jesus really transformed the situation. He really transformed the tragedy.
 
(1) Jesus Transforms Tragedy into Celebration.
 
Look at what happens next:
 
Then Paul went upstairs again. He broke bread and ate. (v.11a) Which...praise the Lord, the potluck food is finally being eaten. At least by Paul, probably by anyone else who didn’t want to be rude and hadn’t eaten while Paul was speaking. After the tragedy of falling out a window, people aren’t sobbing and crying tears, but laughing and eating some potluck eclairs! Jesus transformed the situation so that now they’re having a dinner party.
 
Jesus still transforms tragedy into celebration even today.
 
Because Jesus said that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (Jn. 3:16)
Just to prove his power to make that promise, Jesus brought people like Eutychus back to life.
 
But better than that:
Jesus brought himself back to life.
 
He died on the cross.
Hundreds of people watching his bloody, lifeless body taken down from the cross.
No one! Not a single person stopping to say: “Wait, he’s just knocked out.”
Nope. He was dead, dead. Dead, dead, dead.
Dead enough to be wrapped up in clothes and placed in a grave.
 
But…
 
Three days later,
Jesus came back to life.
He breathed.
He moved.
He walked.
 
Jesus has power over life and death.
He provides believers with eternal life even when they die.
 
It’s why at the last funeral that we had here at Gethsemane.
And people were feeling sad.
And people were thinking it was a tragedy.
 
But then, we read the Gospel.
Then, we heard about Jesus promises.
Then, we remembered that our dear brother was in heaven above residing in eternal life.
 
And suddenly, people are in the fellowship hall, talking, laughing, swapping stories and in general, celebrating!
 
Because Jesus transformed tragedy into celebration.
 
(2) Jesus Enables ministry to Keep Going…Even when Tragedy Strikes.
 
Because sometimes when tragedy happens, life comes to a stand-still.
 
Even during lesser tragedies! Like Spiderman. This past week Sony Pictures and Marvel/Disney ended their deal working together. As of right now, Spiderman cannot appear in the MCU anymore.
 
And…tragedy. People are on social media like HOW CAN I MOVE ON!?!
 
The same is true for bigger tragedies.
People stop.
They’re shocked.
They need a moment to process. 
 
And to be fair, for a moment that evening in Troas, Paul stopped his sermon. The people stopped listening. Everyone needed to process.
 
But once Jesus brought Eutychus back to life, Paul grabbed some food and continued doing ministry. He kept talking until morning. (v.10b) Then, he set off for the next stop on the missionary journey.
 
Jesus enables ministry to keep going even during tragedy.
 
He gives us comfort.
He gives us joy.
He keeps us uplifted and implores us to keep sharing the Gospel.
 
In fact, the fact that tragedy happens doesn’t decrease the need for ministry;
It increases the need for ministry.
 
Because awful things happen in this sin filled world.
Terrorism.
Racial hate crimes.
Hurricanes, car accidents, and horrific illness.
 
Somewhere something horrible happens every day.
 
That doesn’t mean we should run and hide.
But we need run and tell.
About the God who saw the sadness of tragedy.
About the God who saw the tragedies of this world.
About the God who saw the tragedies in your life.
And didn’t run from it.
 
But to it.
 
He came into this tragic world and died on the cross.
To rescue us from the tragedy of death.
To transform tragedy into celebration.
 
Through your message of the Gospel, he transforms the tragedies of others into celebration.
 
That’s our job.
That’s your job.
Whether it’s your child, your spouse, your friend, your neighbor, your coworker, or your followers on social media.
Because tragedy exists, God calls you to increase your ministry and share the message of Jesus. 
 
Because…
 
(3) Jesus brings GREAT Comfort
 
That’s the final verse of the account. It says that after Paul left, “The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.” (v.12) Because that evening, they heard about God’s grace for sinners and saw his power over death.
 
That message of Jesus still brings great comfort even today.
Even amid horrific tragedy.
 
This past week Monday I was on social media, because sometimes as a pastor of a small medium sized church you’re in charge of social media. So, I was sitting there trying to plan (what kind of posts should we have this week) when I came across a post from a friend’s account that shocked me.
 
It was from a former Precious Lambs’ parent. One that had been a part of our preschool family a while back. We had ministered to her. Talked with her. Shared the Gospel with her. The kid sang in worship. The parent attended, even got their phone out to record his dancing while he was singing.
 
I enjoyed them.
 
On Monday, I saw a Facebook post that said she had passed away.
Young mom.
Son of around 3rd grade.
 
She passed away.
 
Tragedy.
 
But…
 
When I looked closer at the post, I had seen that the one posting was her son.
He was writing from her account.
He had posted a picture of him and his mom and he had written this:
 
“I’m sorry to say that my mom is gone. But she is in heaven now. Thank you, Jesus.”  
 
Are you kidding me?
I’m tearing up as I’m reading about the tragedy.
I’m tearing up as I’m thinking about the tragedy.
 
This young man? He’s found comfort.
Great comfort.
Great comfort in his Savior.
 
May Jesus be the one who gives you great comfort, too. Amen.