No Small Parts - Eutychus
March 14, 2021 Sunday Evening Study

You have heard me talk about something I call two by four learning - this method of learning which God often employs with me - where I simply do not get it until I’m hit across the head with a two by four. It is a tough way to learn, but effective, and there are times throughout the Bible where Jesus and the apostles employ methods which bring about that style of learning in many people. The truth about being a two by four learner is that it generally takes a shock to the system - a tragedy, and sharp pain, an unexpected turn of events - to shock us out of the status quo and recognize truth - truth which has often been in front of our eyes for some time.

Simon Lovell was 31 and a professional con man who had spun the gambling tricks he’d learned from his grandfather into a lucrative business fleecing strangers. Without hesitation or remorse, he left his marks broken in hotels all over the world. Nothing suggested that this day in 1988 would be any different.

Lovell was in Europe when he spotted his next victim in a bar, plied him with drinks, and drew him into a “cross”—a classic con in which the victim is made to believe he or she is part of a foolproof get-rich scheme. The con went perfectly. “I took him for an extremely large amount of money,” Lovell says.

After he was done, Lovell hustled the drunk man out of the hotel room where the fleecing had occurred, intending to leave him in the hallway for security to deal with. But then something unexpected happened. The mark went to pieces. “I’d never seen a man break down that badly, ever,” Lovell recalls. “He was just sliding down the wall, weeping and wailing.”

What followed was a moment Lovell would look back on as the hinge point of his life. “It was as if a light suddenly went on. I thought, This. Is. Really. Bad. For the first time, I actually felt sorry for someone.” He changed his life, unable to run the con anymore. He went back to doing tricks and sleight of hand to a point where his one man off-Broadway show was a considerable hit. He grew a fanbase and group of friends who, when Lovell had a stroke a decade later, sent monetary and emotional support, as he was loved and respected - this con man who had taken everything from multiple people now had the love and respect of his peers.

Please open your Bibles to Acts chapter 20. Sometimes this “Aha!” moment that comes from two by four learning isn’t just designed for us to finally understand a specific thing, but rather to understand the urgency of something we already know. Lovell knew that what he did was wrong, and had to be consciously aware that he was destroying the lives of his victims, yet it did not affect him. Then, he sees the brokenness he created manifest before him, and now suddenly he realizes the seriousness of what he is doing - the real pain and destruction behind his actions, and he has to make a change. You and I read the Bible everyday - but what about those days? You know, those days - where Bible truth isn’t having a bit of influence on the day where nothing goes right. How easy can it be to gloss over God speaking to us?

In this passage Paul has left Ephesus and is making his way throgh Macedonia and out the same way he came in, and stops in Troas - the place that seemed very ready for God’s word when they had passed through on the way to Philippi before. They arrived at the beginning of the week and waited and preached before leaving. Read Passage 20:7-12.

Let me first ask - when I am running long, isn’t it nice to know that when you nod off you won’t fall out of a window and die? Can you imagine - preachers would have death tolls. I can appreciate that even amid a very important lesson, we get a little bit of comic relief - even though it would not have been funny in the least to the people in town. I have a very different perspective on this sort of thing now - I had my struggles staying awake during sermons sometimes. I thought I was sly, that I kept people from knowing. Now that I am up here, I will tell you categorically, you are not sly and yes I know. But I also understand, so I don’t hold it against anyone.

So here we have one of the very first instances of the early church conforming to a type of worship experience which is not too far distant from what we do today. First off, this is the first mention of getting together for worship on the first day of the week which, according to the Roman calendar by which Luke has been writing, is Sunday. Originally Christians were meeting on the Jewish Sabbath of Saturday, and this is the first time that shift is made distinguishing the Christian Church from the Jewish faith. There is significance to this scene occurring as it did on the first day of the week - Resurrection day - which we will discuss later, but eventually following this pattern became the traditional day of worship for Christians.

They meet to observe the Lord’s Supper and to learn from the Word of God - to hear Paul speak. Since Paul was going to be leaving in the morning, both he and the Christians living in Troas were getting as much time together as possible, with Paul speaking late into the night. Eutychus, mentioned as being a youth, though the word used could signify anywhere from 14 to 30 years of age - is sitting by the window. Now there is mention of lamps burning in this upper room - giving off fragrances that likely would contribute to Eutychus’ inability to stay fully awake, which is likely why he was by a window where the air would be fresher.

And, as has happened to all of us, Eutychus slips away into sleep while the pastor drones on and on and pastors are wont to do. The youth falls out the 3rd story window to the ground - everyone rushes outside, but the boy is dead.

Now, as is with many miracles which occurred throughout the New Testament, there are many skeptics who try to remove the miraculous parts, making it only seem like a miracle. The primary argument in this story is that the man was not actually dead. Yet, the proof is right there in the passage - remember that our author Luke, a known physician, clearly pronounces the boy dead. Secondly, some have tried to add to the text - when Paul wraps his arms around the boy and declares that he is alive, many try to add the word “still” alive or “yet” alive - as if he had not actually died.

At this point we have several resurrection stories, from Jesus and from the apostles - and this is not even the first in Acts. We studied a few weeks ago when Peter was able to bring Dorcas back from the dead, and Jesus did it at least 3 times - with the widow’s son in Nain (Luke 7) and as we studied before with Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8) and again with Lazarus (John 11.) In each of these circumstances there was a huge impact to the community - this event, witnessed by many, spoke to the truth of who Jesus was and the power of His testimony shown through the lives of His followers.

For the people of Troas, we know that the Christian faith was new to them in this port city on the way to Macedonia. They had not experienced the signs and wonders that many others had from the apostles and from Jesus himself. Eutychus, while an unfortunate kid who did what many a teenager might do during a sermon running past midnight, really was likely representative of the people of the church in Troas who knew and believed enough to be there - but needed a fire ignited to keep them from falling asleep. Eutychus and his resurrection take the seriousness of all that Paul has been preaching and all that the church has been learning and creates that Aha! Moment for Troas - the two by four that they will not soon forget.

We are treated to absolutely nothing further about Eutychus. He fell out a window, died, and was brought back to life by Paul. There is nothing more about him in historical documents either, other than pieces of art dedicated to this scene. One thing we do know is that his name means “Fortunate” in the original Greek. I think that fits.

As we are nearing the end of Acts and the missions of Paul and the other apostles, we see this seed of faith taking root in many places - some where it will grow and thrive all on its own, and others, like Troas, where something amazing happens to cause it to spread all the faster. It strikes me as absolutely incredible that an incident that could so easily happen today in almost exactly the same way could serve as a teachable moment for the early church as well as for us - it is amazing how God’s Word remains relatable, amen? Let’s pray.