Who was Eutychus in the Bible?

The young man who when Paul was preaching fell, while asleep, from the third floor, and was restored to life by the apostle. Acts 20:9.

Assembled for this distinctive Christian service, Paul preached (or rather, discoursed) unto them, ready to depart on the morrow. And no doubt, conscious as he was of dangers looming in the distance (Acts 20:23), he was the more anxious to give the disciples all he could in his parting words. So he continued his speech until midnight. The room in which they were must have been of no small dimensions, for there were many lights in that upper chamber; yet we can fancy, what from the lights and from the company, the heat was great; and to one then present sleep was overpowering. For Eutychus, a young man, borne down by sleep, fell from the third story, and was taken up (not as, but) dead. Life was extinct. But Paul could restore him to life. He did. The sorrow of parting with the Apostle was not to be deepened by the death of the young man. The Apostle assured them that Eutychus was again alive. Joy must have pervaded the whole company on hearing that. And surely with fulness of heart must they all have taken part in the Lord's Supper which followed. Sleep was banished from the rest that night. For Paul had not finished speaking till break of day. Then he departed on his way to Jerusalem.

But the circumstances of this moment were peculiar. Paul was about to set out on the morrow, and extended his discourse till midnight. This gave occasion to the painful incident which befell Eutychus. It was not done in a corner; for 'there were many lights in the upper room where we were'. The youth so named was sitting on the window-seat; and being borne down with deep sleep, as Paul was discoursing at great length, he fell, overborne by the sleep, from the third storey to the bottom, and was taken up dead. It must be acknowledged that the inspired physician who wrote the account was a most competent witness. It is not merely that he appeared dead, or that he was taken up for dead, as some have said. He was really dead, but Paul went down, fell upon him, as the prophet of old notoriously did, and clasping him said, 'Trouble not yourselves, for his life (soul) is in him.' Assuredly the apostle in these words had no desire to make Light of the power of God which had wrought in this miracle.

It may be well to compare with this Luke 8:49-56, where 'the spirit' of the Jewish maiden had departed. But the Lord's words were enough; and 'her spirit returned'. Here it was not so: 'his soul is in him', said the apostle, though divine power alone could retain it or hinder the proximate break-up.

Paul was on his third and last missionary journey so he took full occasion to minister the Word. This he did till midnight. Many lights were in the upper chamber. Paul spoke for long. One young man, Eutychus, overpowered by sleep fell from the third loft and was picked up dead. Whereupon Paul went down to where the dead man lay, fell on him, and embracing him, said to the bystanders, “Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.” Then Paul partook of food, talked a great while till break of day, and so departed.

'And on the first [day] of the week, when we1 were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed to them, about to depart on the morrow, and prolonged the word till midnight. And there were many lights in the upper room where we were gathered together. And a certain youth, by name Eutychus, as he was sitting2 in the window, being overpowered with deep sleep, as Paul was discoursing yet longer, fell overpowered by the sleep down from the third storey, and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and clasping him round said, Be not troubled, for his life [soul] is in him. And when he went up and broke the3 bread and had eaten, and conversed with them a long while till daybreak, so he departed. And they brought the boy alive and were not a little comforted' (vers. 7-12). {1 ℵABDE, some twenty cursives, and all the Ancient Versions, as against the Text. Rec., τῶν μαθητῶν HLP, and most cursives, probably to square with αὐτοῖς. So σἦαν in verse following with the scantiest support. 2 καθεζόμενος seems better than καθὴμενος. 3 τόν ℵpm. ABCD--, which Text. Rec. omits with most.}

It is evident from this incidental notice, that it was the established custom of the early Christians to come together on "the first day of the week" for the understood purpose of "breaking bread." We have here the main object and the ordinary time of their coming together. "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them." (See also 1 Cor. 16:2; John 20:19, Rev. 1:10) Even the apostle's discoursing, precious as it was, is spoken of as a secondary thing. The remembrance of the Lord's love in dying for us, and all that into which He has brought us as risen again, was, and is, the first thing. If there be an opportunity for so ministering the word, as to gather up the thoughts and affections of the worshippers to Christ, it is well to embrace it; but the breaking of bread ought to be the first consideration, and the main object of the assembly. The celebration of the Lord's supper on this occasion was after sunset. In early times, it was observed in some places before daylight; in others, after sunset. But here the disciples were not obliged to meet in secret. "There were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together." And Paul continued his speech until midnight, ready to depart on the morrow. It was an extraordinary occasion, and Paul avails himself of the opportunity to speak to them all night. The time had not come, as some one has said, when the warm earnest utterances of the heart were measured by the minute — when the burning agony of the preacher over lost souls was timed by the icy coldness of the mere professor, or the careless indifference of the worldly Christian. Eutychus, a young man, overcome with sleep "fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead." This has been viewed by some as a penalty for inattention, but a miracle was wrought; the young man was raised from a state of death by the power and goodness of God through His servant Paul, and the friends were not a little comforted.

One is that of a young man, named Eutychus, falling from the third loft, during the preaching of the Apostle Paul, and who was taken up dead; and the other is, the sudden death of a prince in Israel, named Pelatiah, which occurred at the time Ezekiel was prophesying against the inhabitants of Jerusalem. (Acts 20:9-12; Ezekiel 11.) In the case of the former we find that God interposed in mercy, and the Apostle was used to restore him to life again, and, when he presented him alive, the friends "were not a little comforted." No such power, however, was employed in behalf of the latter. On the other hand, when the prophet saw that the prince was dead, he fell down upon his face, and cried with a loud voice, "Ah, Lord God! wilt Thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?"

The preaching of the apostle on the occasion referred to, was a means of testing the endurance of his audience, for he "continued his speech until midnight." (v. 7.) And the slumbering state of Eutychus, which resulted in his fall, showed how unequal he was to the occasion, and while exposing himself before all present, he sustained a loss which he never recovered. Through the tender mercy of God he recovered his life, but the portion of Paul's ministry, which he lost while he was sleeping, he never recovered. And who knows but that the last part was the best on that memorable night and very special occasion?

We are not to suppose that the failure of Eutychus, and the fall which attended it, is without an equivalent, and that there are none of the same class of persons to be found in the vast assemblies of professing Christians in the present day. The test is the Word of God, and the preacher, who is bold enough to apply the same, by presenting to his hearers the apostle's doctrine of the heavenly calling, and the heavenly association of the Church with Christ, will see if it does not reveal a state of soul answering to what was seen in the case of Eutychus. At the same time, it will serve as a demonstration of the fact that his followers have increased to a multitude.

It is easy to picture the scene. The crowded chamber; the youth perched in the window opening; the many lights adding to the hot oppression of the drowsy air floating out of the window; the sudden interruption as Eutychus collapses and falls. However the power of God was so manifested through Paul that instead of this episode breaking up the meeting and distracting everyone from Paul's message, their hearts were comforted and confirmed, to settle down and listen till daybreak. The Apostle was now starting his final journey to Jerusalem, the rightness of which may be open to question, but there can be no doubt that the Spirit of God was working through him just as of old. No more remarkable miracle than this was wrought through Paul. The story is marked by the absence of what is ceremonial and official, but it pulsates with power. In popular Christianity today the ceremonial holds the field and the power is absent. Alas, that so it should be!

413 The discourse was long, and they had not yet broken bread; the weather was hot, and there were many lights. Such is human weakness, that all this so affected a certain Eutychus, that he was overcome with sleep, as Paul was long preaching, and fell down from the third floor, where he was sitting by the window. He was taken up by the men dead. Paul naturally interrupts his discourse, goes down and throws himself on him, declaring that life is still in him. The separation had not yet taken place; he was stunned by the fall, and if the power of God had not interposed, he would have been caught in the clutches of death. Life, however, had not yet gone out of the body; and by the Spirit, Paul so works on it, that the functions of life are restored. The bonds between soul and body are re-established. In the case of the child restored to life by Elijah (1 Kings 17:21-22) the soul had already left the body, and returned to it. From these cases, as always elsewhere, we see that the soul is entirely distinct from the body; and though in our present state it works by means of the body, yet it is in its habitation; that life in this world is the activity of the soul by means of the functions of the body, the activity of which is restored by sleep, because we are feeble; that when the soul leaves the body, the man is definitively dead, but that the activity of the soul by the functions of the body may be interrupted, as is partly the case in sleep; and this action is re-established if the soul have not left the body, if God does so or permits it.

Eutychus pays the penalty of his inattention; but God bears testimony to His own goodness, and to the power with which He had endued the apostle, by raising him from a state of death. Paul says that his soul was yet in him: he had only to renew the connection between it and his physical organism. In other cases the soul had been recalled.