Acts 20:7-16--Eutychus Raised from the Dead

Acts 20:7-16
English Standard Version

Eutychus Raised from the Dead
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

​13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

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This is probably the first indication anywhere in the New Testament that the Christians might have started to gather together on Sundays to worship, though we have seen earlier in Acts that the early church gathered together for fellowship and communion every day of the week to start off, because they were sure that Jesus was coming back soon.  Perhaps at this point, the Christians, especially the Gentile Christians were less connected with the Jewish Sabbath and were starting to celebrate on the first day of the week, for it would certainly appear they were all gathered together for what we might call a church service as Paul was preaching and teaching all day long (and we get upset if the service interferes with our lunch plans).

Paul wanted to get through his sermon before he had intended to leave the next day so that he preached all day and all night, and the people stayed to listen to him, but one young man had been sitting in a window for there was likely no more room to stand in the house and the young man, Eutychus, fell asleep (I can't blame him as he would have been working on the first day of the week and then coming to listen to Paul preach all evening and well into the night.  Eutychus falls out of the third story window and died when he hit the ground, but Paul stopped speaking, came outside, took him by the arm and raised him up, telling everyone he was going to be alright.

They ate another meal together (probably breakfast now) and Paul continued to teach them until daybreak so that he was likely preaching and teaching them for more than twelves hours.  The crowd rejoiced that Eutychus was alive, though they were sad that it was time for Paul to leave them.  Much of the rest of the passage is Luke giving the itinerary of the ports that they put in at on their return to Jerusalem, for Paul wanted to make it back to Jerusalem for Pentecost, and he knew that if he went back into Asia, specifically to Ephesus where he had been for several years, then he would spend much time there and would miss the feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem, and he longed to be there for this pilgrimage feast.