Living the Story

Overview

Living the Story: The Witness of Eutychus

Many figures in Scripture come to mind paired with a single image—Adam and Eve with the apple, Noah with the flood, Abraham and Sarah with the covenant, David with Goliath. Eutychus, named only once in the New Testament, is usually remembered for one thing: falling asleep during Paul's sermon and tumbling out of a third-story window Acts 20:7–12. But there is far more to his story than a long sermon and a drowsy young man.

The setting matters. After the uproar in Ephesus over the silversmiths who profited from shrines to Artemis, Paul traveled through Macedonia and Greece, giving believers "much encouragement"—not a pat on the back, but the deep encouragement that comes from the Word of God itself. As Paul writes, "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" Romans 15:4. On the first day of the week in Troas, the believers gathered to break bread—a fellowship meal (the agape feast) followed by Holy Communion, in keeping with the pattern Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 11. Knowing he would not see them again, Paul poured himself into teaching until midnight, in a crowded upper room warmed and depleted of oxygen by many torches.

Eutychus, seated in the window for relief, was overcome by sleep and fell. Luke—a physician by training, and the "we" who was present—reports plainly that he "was picked up dead." Paul went down, embraced him, and announced, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." The young man was raised, the believers ate together, Paul preached on until dawn, and the church "were not a little comforted." This is the same gospel pattern we see with Lazarus John 11 and the widow's son at Nain Luke 7:11–17: death, resurrection, reunion.

That pattern is the shape of the Christian hope. "The wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23, and apart from the Lord's return, every one of us will pass through physical death. For those in Christ, death gives way to the conscious joy of being in God's presence, awaiting the resurrection of the body. The pain of separation is real for those left behind, but the gospel speaks a final word: Christ, the spotless Lamb, has shed His blood, His tomb is empty, and we have been washed into His promises in baptism. Death does not have the last word—life does. Eutychus lived that story in a way most of us will not experience this side of heaven, but the story itself belongs to every believer. So proclaim Christ to your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your coworkers—so that, by God's grace, the reunion will be complete.

Transcript

When you look at various figures, throughout the scriptures, oftentimes you can associate 2s

a word with them. 10s

For example, Adam and Eve, Apple, Noah, Flood, Abraham, and Sarah, covenant, David, Goliath, 12s

Thomas, Dowding, Judas, the Trailer, on and on, you go. 26s

And then you come to Eudicus. 38s

Eudicus. 43s

Can you put an image or a word next to Eudicus? 45s

Let's explore. 52s

Let's start. 53s

Please, chapter 20, verse 1. 55s

After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent four the disciples. 58s

We studied about the uproar last week. 66s

You'll recall that Paul had lingered a little bit in Ephesus. 68s

Ephesus was known for the worship of the goddess Artemis. 72s

So Paul's worship abounded in ancient day. 77s

And the economy, remember, in Ephesus, was based upon these people that would make 80s

these little shrines, would sell the shrines, and the people would put them in their homes. 86s

Oh, what was going on? 93s

Is that as the Christians just quietly and lovingly proclaimed Christ? 95s

More and more people were being brought to faith. 102s

And therefore, more and more people were leaving this idle worship. 105s

Well, that caused an economic problem then in society there. 112s

And so those that we've been making the shrines started this riot up against these Christians 118s

up against what Paul was doing, but then the dust settled down on that. 123s

That's the uproar that's being talked about at the beginning of chapter 20. 130s

We go on. 137s

And after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left for Macedonia. 139s

When he had gone through those regions and had given the believers much encouragement, 145s

he came to Greece where he stayed for three months. 151s

Notice the word encouragement, how it pops up twice? 156s

This is not the type of encouragement where you say, 160s

keep your chin up or you're doing a great job. 163s

Those phrases have its place, of course they do. 167s

But this is the encouragement that comes from the teaching of the word of God, 171s

where one is encouraged because what they're hearing is God's own voice, 177s

God's own word. 184s

Paul writes this in Romans 15. 185s

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction. 187s

So that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures, 193s

we might have hope. 201s

We go on. 205s

He was about to sit sail for Syria when a plot was made against him by the Jews. 208s

And so he decided to return through Macedonia. 213s

He was accompanied by sopeter son of Ferris from Burya, 217s

by Aristacarcus and Cundus from Thessalonica, 222s

by Gaeus from Durby and by Timothy, 226s

as well as by Ticacus and Trophamus from Asia. 229s

They went ahead and were waiting for us in Trowes. 234s

But we sailed from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread 239s

and in five days we joined the metros where we stayed for seven days. 244s

Notice the reference to we. 252s

Gears of Popquas. 256s

You ready? 258s

Who wrote the gospel of Luke? 260s

Oh, come on now. 265s

Let's try it again. 269s

Who wrote Luke? 270s

Luke, right. 271s

There we go. 272s

People, church. 273s

Oh, right. 275s

Now, who wrote Acts? 275s

Remember what we studied about two years ago? 278s

Luke, right. 282s

Okay, here's the more difficult question. 283s

What was Luke's profession? 287s

He was a doctor, right? 289s

He was a doctor. 291s

And just keep that in mind when we get later on into the text. 292s

The we hear then that will pop up in the book of Acts. 296s

Since Luke is the author, he's communicating. 300s

I was there in the, at that particular time. 305s

So the we here is Luke saying, I was with them. 309s

This is what we did on this verse seven. 313s

On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, 319s

what's that? 325s

Well, the first day of the week, that's Sunday. 326s

Remember for the Jew, the Sabbath was Saturday. 328s

Christians, they moved it to Sunday as a memory of Christ coming out of the 331s

two. 337s

So on the first day of the week on the Sunday, they met and they were breaking bread. 338s

This is what was called the agape feast. 343s

Agape is a Greek word for love. 345s

We read about it in 1 Corinthians 11. 349s

The Christians would get together. 352s

They would have fellowship. 354s

They would break bread. 355s

And invariably, they would celebrate holy communion after the time of fellowship. 356s

So on the first day of the week, Sunday, when we met to break bread, 364s

what was we gathered here in as part of the gathering, 368s

it was the agape feast and after the agape feast was this celebration of holy communion. 371s

It says, Paul was holding a discussion with them since he intended to leave the next day. 378s

He continued speaking until midnight. 384s

Jump down into verse 25, please, of chapter 20. 389s

And now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom 394s

will ever see my face again. 400s

So it's the understanding here that there's about ready to be a good buy. 405s

And so what Paul does is he pours himself into them. 409s

He teaches them. 413s

And he is teaching until midnight pouring into them the teaching. 414s

This is where Uticus comes in. 424s

Verse 8, there were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. 431s

The lamps would have been really torches. 439s

So it would have made the room hotter. 442s

It would have also taken oxygen out of the room. 447s

So the torches are lit, heating up the room, rooms crowded here. 452s

Verse 9 says, a young man named Uticus, who was sitting in the window. 457s

Uticus has a prime spot here. 467s

The history of window, we think of window as that which we look out and it opens up a building. 470s

But the history of window is actually window. 477s

And so in ancient day, the window would start in the ground and it would really go high up 481s

on these buildings because it was how they would ventilate the buildings. 486s

So if Uticus is higher up here, he's got a prime spot. 491s

Remember, it's crowded, the torches are lit, it's pulling the oxygen out of the room. 496s

And he's sitting there in the window. 502s

So that's going to be one of the coolest, even though he's up high, it's going to be one of the coolest spots in the house. 505s

Verse 9 again, a young man named Uticus, who was sitting in the window, 513s

began to sink off into deep sleep. 519s

And I don't you love this right? 523s

Well, Paul talked still longer. 524s

Now remember, he's pouring himself in here, right? 527s

So he's preaching to midnight. 531s

They've gathered, they've had worship, they have the fellowship meal, they have communion. 533s

He's pouring himself into them because he's about ready to depart from them with the understanding 537s

we're not going to see each other ever again. 543s

So there's Uticus. 546s

He begins to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. 547s

Overcome by sleep, interesting phrase isn't it? 553s

Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. 556s

Adam and Eve? 568s

Noah? 572s

Flood. 574s

Abraham and Sarah? 575s

Covenant. 578s

David? 580s

Galif. 583s

Thomas? 584s

Douding. 587s

Judas? 588s

The trail. 591s

Uticus? 594s

Falling asleep during a sermon and falling out of the window. 598s

That's it. 604s

This is the only verse on Uticus in the entire New Testament. 605s

This is it. 610s

And that's what he's known for. 612s

Falling out of the window, while Paul preached on, still longer. 615s

But this is what I would argue this morning. 623s

That Uticus? 627s

Uticus? 629s

He is known for much, much more than that. 631s

I think of Lazarus. 642s

John 11th chapter. 645s

Jesus was close to Lazarus. 647s

Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha. 650s

Scripture tells us. 653s

Lazarus dies. 654s

Jesus comes. 657s

And he goes to the grave. 659s

And he says, Lazarus, come out. 663s

Come out of that tomb. 666s

And Lazarus comes out. 671s

He's been resurrected. 672s

Then in the 12th chapter, John, there's this dinner. 676s

Jesus is there. 681s

And Mary and Martha are there. 683s

And Lazarus is there. 686s

You see, that's death. 687s

Resurrection. 695s

Reunion. 699s

Think of the gospel of Luke. 702s

Jesus comes across this funeral procession. 703s

And there is a young man who has died. 708s

And the Scripture says, he was this woman's only son. 710s

And she was a widow. 715s

And Jesus stops the funeral procession. 718s

Says, young man, I say to you, arise. 722s

And the young man is risen from the dead. 726s

Death. 733s

Resurrection. 737s

Reunion. 740s

Death Resurrection. 742s

Reunion. 745s

And with Uticus? 749s

Luke would make please, verse 10. 754s

But Paul went down and bending over him, took him in his arms and said, 760s

do not be alarmed for his life is in him. 765s

Some will say that Uticus didn't die. 771s

But remember what did Paul do for a living? 776s

I mean, excuse me, what did Luke do for a living? 779s

He was a what? 781s

He was a doctor. 783s

I think he could diagnose this when someone had died. 784s

So when Paul says, do not be alarmed for his life 788s

is in him. 792s

That is simply a communication of the confidence 793s

that indeed he would be raised from the dead, 797s

which is exactly what happens. 801s

Go on into verse 11. 804s

Then, Paul went upstairs and after he had broken bread and eaten. 807s

He continued to converse with them until dawn 813s

than he left. 817s

You see, nothing will deter this preacher, 818s

not even someone falling out of the window 822s

while he's preaching and dying and being raised to dead. 825s

He comes back, he simply eats and he preaches now 829s

until dawn, until dawn. 833s

Verse 12. 839s

Meanwhile, they had taken the boy away alive. 841s

Don't you love this? 847s

And we're not a little comforted. 849s

Isn't that beautiful? 853s

We're not a little comforted. 855s

It's death. 863s

Resurrection. 867s

Reunion. 871s

Death. 874s

Resurrection. 875s

Reunion. 878s

The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. 882s

And if the Lord continues to carry, 887s

we will all experience physical death. 890s

For the one who is in the Lord, 895s

there is the joy of immediately being in the very presence 898s

of God Almighty, awaiting for the day of resurrection 902s

when they will receive their new spiritual body. 906s

That conscious beautiful reality of being in the presence 911s

of the Lord. 914s

For those that are left behind, 917s

that's the pain, isn't it? 921s

Of the separation? 923s

That's the pain of knowing that this side of heaven, 926s

we will not see that person again. 933s

It's the pain of separation. 937s

Amits the times of death and amits the times of separation. 945s

That separation pain that we will all and we do all experience. 951s

Amits that time comes the word of the gospel. 959s

That Jesus Christ has paid our sin death. 963s

He's died for us on the cross. 968s

The spotless lamb of God has shed his blood 971s

and we are covered in that blood, 975s

that his tomb is empty, 977s

that death is overcome 980s

and that those promises we've been washed with them 982s

in our baptism. 986s

That word comes to us. 989s

It is God who says, 994s

Death doesn't have the final word. 997s

I have the final word. 1000s

And the final word is life. 1003s

Life eternal, life through Christ. 1008s

Life. 1016s

You to kiss, lived that. 1020s

Death, resurrection, and reunion. 1026s

You to kiss had what the overwhelming majority of us will not have. 1035s

That reunion again this side of heaven. 1042s

But it was still the same. 1047s

The same story wasn't it? 1048s

Death, resurrection, reunion. 1050s

So what do we remember Eudicus for? 1060s

Is he gonna be the guy in the one verse that's about him 1064s

in the whole New Testament 1069s

that we remember, oh, I remember Eudicus. 1071s

Hella sleep and fell out the window. 1075s

Or will we remember about Eudicus? 1080s

Eudicus, live the story. 1084s

Death, resurrection, reunion. 1089s

Proclaim Christ. 1100s

So that your spouse, your child, your neighbor, 1105s

your work associate, 1114s

we'll stand with you in heaven by the grace of God. 1119s

Death, resurrection, 1130s

reunion. 1134s

It was good news for Eudicus. 1137s

And it's good news for us. 1141s