S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Eutychus, whose name means "fortunate," had the misfortune of falling out of a window-and the fortune of experiencing a miracle directly afterwards. The account of Eutychus's accident is found in Acts 20:7-12.

 The setting is the tail end of Paul's third missionary journey. He has sailed from Philippi and is on his way back to Jerusalem with a gift for the church there. He spends a week in Troas, and "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. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. 'Don't be alarmed,' he said. 'He's alive!' Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted" (Acts 20:7-12).

 Luke, a medical doctor and eyewitness to this incident, plainly states that Eutychus was dead. The fall from the third-story window had been fatal for the young man. But Paul, a true apostle of Jesus Christ, was given the power to raise Eutychus back to life again. This is one of very few resurrections recorded in the Bible-others include miracles performed by Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24), Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-37), Peter (Acts 9:36-42), and, of course, Jesus Himself (Luke 8:49-56; John 11).

 After Eutychus was restored to life, the church in Troas had a meal, Paul continued preaching, and, as would be expected, Eutychus's friends and family were "greatly comforted" to not be planning a funeral (Acts 20:12).

 Some may try to use the story of Eutychus to warn against the dangers of sleeping in church-or of preaching too long-but the point of the story is simply the power of God to heal. Luke includes the story in order to show the great, life-giving power of God and to further authenticate Paul's message as one who had "the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles" (2 Corinthians 12:12).

See http://www.gotquestions.org/Eutychus-in-the-Bible.html

October 03 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College graduate and Dallas Seminary graduate

Eutychus was a young man who fell asleep during a sermon. Paul knew he only had a short time with them so he preached all evening and eventually all night. 

Anyone who has experienced the unfortunate situation of being sleepy during a sermon like Eutychus can relate to Luke’s statement in Acts 20:9, “Paul talked on and on.”Sometimes I get really tired during a sermon and start to nod off, but have never fallen asleep for more than a few seconds, fortunately.
(When you get older, it's harder getting enough sleep). 

Anyway, See this one comment by a commentator which is hard for me to believe: Eutychus, a careless backslider received Paul's words with indifference and inattention (Acts 20:9). This, to me, is difficult to believe because Paul was the speaker of the hour. Hours actually. And it was the last day of a weeklong visit to Troas. He talked until about midnight. That would surely cause me to fall asleep, too! (I'm a morning person). But since Eutychus was sitting on a windowsill at the time, he fell asleep, fell out of the window, and fell down 3 stories to his death. At this time, Paul ran and hugged him. 

Eutychus revived--was resurrected, because he was dead. 
This, too, happened when Elijah and Elisha hugged young ones who had died. (Miller). -- 1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:34.
I heard in a sermon once that Eutychus fell asleep (Acts 20:9) because the oil lamps made people lethargic. Acts 20:8 “And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.”

“Lights”: The fumes given off by these oil-burning lamps help explain why Eutychus fell asleep (Acts 20:9). 
As time came to dismiss her class, a Sunday School teacher asked: “What do we learn from Eutychus?”
One little girl’s hand shot up, “That the pastor shouldn’t talk too long.”
That little girl may have been absolutely right.

Locker says, "Eutychus [Eū'ty̆chŭs]—happy or fortunate. A young man of Troas who fell asleep during Paul’s long sermon, fell off his window seat, broke his neck, and was taken up as dead. Paul, however, revived him (Acts 20:7-12). Dr. Alexander Whyte speaks of Eutychus as “the father of all such as fall asleep under sermons.”

January 27 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report