Scripture: Acts 20:9-12. This is a restoration of a boy who fell from a window and was taken up dead.

Reports of resurrections exist today. Let’s not discount them. Let’s see what we can learn from this one

This boy’s resurrection is not the same as Jesus’s resurrection, for his body was transformed and glorified. The boy’s body simply recovered from the dead and when he was older he died, like everyone else of his generation. So we should probably call it a “resuscitation” from the dead.

The translations are mine, but if you would like to see many other translations, please go to biblegateway.com. I include the Greek text to bring out the nuances, but readers may ignore the left column, if they wish.

Let’s begin.

 

Eutychus Is Restored to Life (Acts 20:7-12)

7 Ἐν δὲ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων συνηγμένων ἡμῶν κλάσαι ἄρτον, ὁ Παῦλος διελέγετο αὐτοῖς μέλλων ἐξιέναι τῇ ἐπαύριον, παρέτεινέν τε τὸν λόγον μέχρι μεσονυκτίου. 8 ἦσαν δὲ λαμπάδες ἱκαναὶ ἐν τῷ ὑπερῴῳ οὗ ἦμεν συνηγμένοι. 9 καθεζόμενος δέ τις νεανίας ὀνόματι Εὔτυχος ἐπὶ τῆς θυρίδος, καταφερόμενος ὕπνῳ βαθεῖ διαλεγομένου τοῦ Παύλου ἐπὶ πλεῖον, κατενεχθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ τοῦ τριστέγου κάτω καὶ ἤρθη νεκρός. 10 καταβὰς δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἐπέπεσεν αὐτῷ καὶ συμπεριλαβὼν εἶπεν· μὴ θορυβεῖσθε, ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστιν. 11 ἀναβὰς δὲ καὶ κλάσας τὸν ἄρτον καὶ γευσάμενος ἐφ’ ἱκανόν τε ὁμιλήσας ἄχρι αὐγῆς, οὕτως ἐξῆλθεν. 12 ἤγαγον δὲ τὸν παῖδα ζῶντα καὶ παρεκλήθησαν οὐ μετρίως.

7 On the first day of the week, we gathered together to break bread. Paul dialogued with them, about to depart the next day, extending the word until midnight. 8 Several lamps were in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 A certain young man named Eutychus was sitting at the window, and fell into a deep sleep, while Paul was dialoguing even longer. He was overpowered by sleep and fell from the third story below and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul came down and threw himself on him and scooped him up and said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him!” 11 He went back up, broke bread, ate, and taught a long time until morning. And so he left. 12 They brought the child alive and were immeasurably relieved.

Comments:

In this passage we are privileged to view a service which Paul led. Teaching—Meal—Lord’s  Supper—More Teaching. Now we know how he did things. What about us today? In a hurry to get out of church? Quick teaching? Don’t take communion or the Eucharist very often?

7:

“break bread”: that’s a literal translation. This is a feast that included the Lord’s Supper or Table, in which they remembered the death of Jesus.

“dialogued”: it is the verb dialegomai (pronounced dee-ah-leh-goh-my), and it means how I translated it. Other translations have “talking.” I like my translation better. Please feel free to discuss Scripture with people and dialogue with those who may not know it or have a deficient understanding of it.

“word”: one could translate the noun logos to mean “talk,” but while he dialogued I like to believe he also ministered the word of God through the Old Testament. See v. 2 for a closer look. Also click here for a table of Messianic prophecies.

Messianic Prophecies

At that link, there is a table of quoted OT and NT verses, but Jesus fulfills more than those quoted verses. He also fulfills major themes and concepts and types and shadows, like all the temple sacrifices, the temple itself, and all the covenants.

This is the first mention in Acts of our Sunday. This shows the importance of this day in earliest Christianity.

Mentioning the torches or lamp lights is a great touch by the historian and storyteller Luke. The atmosphere must have not enough fresh oxygen, so that is why Eutychus sat by the window—to get fresh air. Yet his sound reckoning did not work, for he fell out of the glassless window.

Luke must have met the young man and learned his name. He must have heard the people call his name, which means, by the way, “Lucky.”

“fell”: Luke uses this word a few times in this passage: the boy fell to the ground (v. 9), and Paul “fell upon” him (v. 10), which I translated as “threw himself.” Then the Ephesian elders “fell” on Paul’s neck (v. 37), which I safely translated as “embrace.” Most translations play it safe too.

“threw himself”: as noted, this means he fell upon him.

“scooped”: it comes from the verb sumperiballō (pronounced soom-peh-ree-bahl-loh), and it combines sun– / sum– (with or together), peri– (around) and ballō (threw, or even put, place, lay or bring), so Paul threw both arms around him together, and brought / sat him up.

“Don’t be alarmed”: the present imperative of the verb means that they were already screaming. People cannot make a fuss and scream, when God must act. Such panicky reactions, while natural, do not flow from faith. God can give you faith even during a disaster that just happened.

“life”: it comes from the noun psuchē (pronounced psoo-khay, and the “p” in ps- is also pronounced). It can be translated as “soul.” As Renewalists generally believe, the soul is made up of the mind, will and emotions. Here it means “life.”

Is Humankind Two or Three Parts?

Word Study on Spirit, Soul, and Body

We are witnessing a miracle, as the parallel accounts about Elijah, Elisha, Jesus (Luke 7:14-15; 8:54-55), and Peter (Acts 9:40) demonstrate.

Upper Room (20:8): see 1 Kings 17:19; 2 Kings 4:10-11, 32-33; Acts 9:37

In his arms (20:20): see 1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:34-35

His life is in him (20:10): see 1 Kings 17:23; 2 Kings 4:36; Luke 8:51

Keener, p. 498 (slightly edited)

“immeasurably”: The word hides a litotes (pronounced lih-toh-tees), or an understatement that expresses the affirmative by a negative! In this case it is “‘not measurably’ encouraged.” Luke likes litotes: Acts 12:18; 14:17, 28; 15:2; 17:4, 12, 27; 19:11, 23; 20:12; 21:39; 26:19; 27:20; 28:2.

“relieved”: it is parakaleō (pronounced pah-rah-kah-leh-oh). It is related to the noun paraklēsis (pronounced pah-rah-klay-sees), and the Greek in the Gospel of John is paraklētos (pronounced pah-rah-klay-tohs) (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:6). The three words are related and can mean the following things, depending on the context—or they can mean all of them at the same time.

Application for Ministry Today

I believe we can learn how to minister as the apostles did, because of the nine gifts of the Spirit are available to all believers (1 Cor. 12:4-11). Three gifts are discernings of spirits, the workings of miracles (which happened here) and gifts of healings, as the Spirit distributes them. All Bible-based leaders should pray for and welcome these gifts and the six others in that passage, when people need healings and deliverances. Let me number my points in this section for clarity and order.

1.. Many actions are covered in vv. 11-12. It shows that Paul loved close fellowship.  They came together on the first day of the week, to break bread (v. 7). Some teach that because they broke bread, Eutychus was healed. The boy was taken up for dead when Paul went down outside. Then the boy was alive. It was a resuscitation from the dead. Then he broke bread and ate. It is a possible interpretation, but the sequence of events is a little off. Eutychus ate bread after he was brought back to life (v. 11).

2.. What do you need from the Spirit? Here are some options from the Paraklete: Counselor / counsel, Advocate (defense attorney), Helper / help, Comforter / comfort, Encourager / encouragement, Strengthener / strength, and Intercessor / intercession. They got this comfort when Eutychus was taken up alive. Miracle stories can encourage us.

3.. As I write in all the healing posts:

Let it be noted that the disciples never went in for or “decree and declare.” Name one time they used such verbiage during their prayer for the sick. Thus even the first-generation of disciples never arrogated this much power to themselves.

Instead, while Jesus was alive, God the Father through his Son who was anointed by the Spirit performed miracles of healing and deliverance (Acts 10:38). And it is easy to believe that the disciples followed Jesus, in Acts.

4..We too should develop life in the Spirit (Gal. 5), so we can hear from the Father through the Spirit, in Jesus’s name and authority granted to us. We will never heal as Jesus did, because he is the Anointed One without limits (John 3:34). But after the cross and the Son’s ascension, the Spirit can distribute the gifts of healings (plural) as he determines (1 Cor. 12:11), not as we “name and claim” or “decree and declare.” Let the Spirit work, and you listen and obey, and then rebuke a disease (not the person) or pray for healing.

4. Gifts of the Spirit: Gifts of Healings

Kenneth Copeland Gets a Pacemaker

Is ‘Decreeing’ Biblical for Christians?

What Is Biblical Confession?

For more commentary and context, click on the entire chapter:

Acts 20