The Warnings of Eutychus' Death and Resurrection Story

Some of us may read the passage of Eutychus and be horrified. Others of us may be struggling to stifle back a snigger. In short, in the evening, Eutychus listens to one of Pauls' sermons. He dozes off, falls from a window, and dies. Literally. Thankfully, through a miracle performed, he is resurrected. They return upstairs, have communion, Paul preaches again, and they talk until morning, and everyone goes home. You can catch the whole story in Acts 20.

What a bizarre story to include in the middle of Acts, in between Paul's missionary work in Macedonia and Ephesus. Why on earth would the writer Luke sneak such a random blurb into the Bible. Well, we can learn a lot more from Eutychus than at first glance. Let's dive into who Eutychus was, why we should know about his story, and why Luke would find it fit to include this anecdote in the middle of the Acts of the Apostles.

Who Was Eutychus?

We really don't get much of a snapshot of this man. Canonical Scripture doesn't tell us about where he preached, what spiritual gifts he had, or how he met his second end (whether peacefully or martyred like so many others in the church). So let's dive into what we DO know about him.

He comes from Troas. A city that Alexander the Great had conquered back in the day, the city goes by the full name of Alexandria Troas. The name is reminiscent of Troy, that many of us read about in Homer's Iliad, which resided little distance from this place. It was a seaport Paul visited on his second missionary (some place it in his third missionary journey) journey after he received a vision in Acts 16 of a man asking for Paul's aid. According to the KJV Dictionary, on this journey, Paul carries the Gospel from Asia to Europe. The city had a great size and great significance in ancient times.

His name means "fortunate." He is unfortunate, ironically, because he falls from the window and dies. But receives good fortune when God restores him to life.

He was young. The passage refers to him as a youth. This not only proves that the spreading of the Gospel reached all ages and demographics, but that his youth could've played a role in his fall from the window. Perhaps like so many young people—such as myself—he took on far too much and ended up burned out when he reached the upper levels where Paul talked. Thus leading to his drowsiness and fall. More on this momentarily.

Aside from these facts, we don't know much about him from canonical sources. Church tradition says that people attempted to martyr him via fire and lions, but no methods appeared to work.

What Can We Learn from Eutychus?

We can definitely pull many lessons from the story that only occupies a few verses in Acts. Let's start with the most obvious one that many Christians seem to point to when reading this story.

Lesson One: The Dangers of Falling Asleep Spiritually

The Bible warns us to be watchful and vigilant, for Satan prowls like a lion.

1 Peter 5:8: "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

1 Corinthians 16:13: "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong."

We can easily point to the story of Eutychus and say, "See! He didn't pay attention in church. Instead, he dozed off and ended up dead because of his action." Perhaps people jokingly use this passage to say, "Well, this is why you shouldn't fall asleep during the pastor's sermon." But the application does have some merit. If we do not exercise discernment and vigilance, we could spiritually doze off, and run the risk of Satan, the lion, attacking.

But what else can we learn from the story?

Lesson Two: God Saw Value in Continuing Eutychus' Life

If church tradition holds up, this man simply could not stay dead for long. Eutychus made a mistake by falling asleep that night, but God decided to "put him back in the ring" anyway. I think this can offer us encouragement.

How often do we fall prey to temptation and drift off spiritually? And yet, God resurrects us and puts us back on our mission.

Lesson Three: Eutychus Teaches Us about the Dangers of Burnout

Stay with me here.

It was late. And if any of you can remember those late-night classes in college, you may be able to relate. He'd probably come from a hard day's work. Perhaps he was a fisherman or worked at the famous ports of the town—or had another job. 

Paul was droning on and on and on, and Eutychus just simply couldn't stay awake for one more commitment.

Perhaps you feel the same way, stretched so thin, that you go through the motions when you get to a church sermon or small group. God calls us to rest and Sabbath so that we can do our work here on earth diligently, both missionally and in the workplace itself. 

Lesson Four: Eutychus' Youth Shouldn't Be Lost on Readers

Some of our older readers might complain, "He's full of youth, why on earth was he falling asleep?" But I think there are some important lessons to pull from Eutychus' youth itself. How many of us, in our younger days, succumbed to the rat race? Felt we had to push ourselves beyond our limits to get ahead in the workplace? 

We do have to bear in mind that Eutychus came from a collectivist culture, so they wouldn't have exactly had the same industrious mindset that you may see in Western societies today.

But even in ancient works of literature, we see how youthful energy, boldness, and gumption can sometimes goeth ... before a fall. I often think of the Iliad (since Troas resided so close to Troy) and how Achilles' brashness led to his downfall. Or how Alexander the Great, too, died at such a young age in his 30s.

Youth can do so much for Christ's kingdom, but they also need the proper guidance of a seasoned mentor.

Why Did Luke include This Story in Acts?

We can point to a number of reasons why Luke would include this story in Acts—and no, it probably wasn't a dig at Paul for his long, not-so-exciting sermons.

First, the story shows God's love and power. It can overcome even death from falling from several stories.

Secondly, the story shows us the importance of priorities, especially in our youth. As Christians, we don't have to have it all. God wants us to work hard, but he also wants us to rest—and not rest near a window during a sermon delivery from the Apostle Paul.

Finally, the story is an excellent example of the Gospel in action. People fall prey to Satan's schemes and fall asleep to their death spiritually. But God has the ability to bring us back to life in Him so that we can fulfill our mission on earth to help bring others back to life. Eutychus goes on to continue to spread the Gospel because God gave him a second chance. Just like he does for us time and time again.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/AaronAmat

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.

This article is part of our People from the Bible Series featuring the most well-known historical names and figures from Scripture. We have compiled these articles to help you study those whom God chose to set before us as examples in His Word. May their lives and walks with God strengthen your faith and encourage your soul.

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