The Boy Who Fell Asleep

“And the people were greatly relieved to take the boy home alive.” — Acts 20:12

Paul was on his way back to Jerusalem. On the way, he stopped for a week in a town called Troas.

On Sunday, the first day of the week, the believers in Troas met together to break bread and remember Jesus. They met in an upstairs room, three floors up, lit by lots of oil lamps.

Paul was leaving the next day, and he had so much to tell them. So he kept on talking, and talking, and talking. He talked until midnight!

A young man called Eutychus was sitting on the window sill. It was late, and the room was warm with all the people and all the lamps. And as Paul talked on and on, Eutychus got sleepier and sleepier. His eyes closed. His head began to nod.

And then, fast asleep, he fell out of the window! He fell all the way down from the third floor to the ground.

The people rushed downstairs. And when they picked him up, he was dead.

But Paul went down and threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed!” Paul said. “He’s alive!”

Then Paul went back upstairs. They broke bread together and ate. And Paul kept on talking until daylight! Then he left.

And the people took Eutychus home alive. They were so relieved and so comforted.

This is a true story. It’s also a funny one, in a way. Have you ever fallen asleep when somebody was talking for a very long time? Eutychus did, and he fell out of a window!

But it’s also a wonderful story. God gave Eutychus his life back. Paul, like Peter, had seen Jesus raise people from the dead. Now God used Paul to do the same.

And look at what the believers did afterwards. They didn’t all go home. They went back upstairs and carried on! They loved being together, and hearing about Jesus, so much that they stayed up all night long.

Read it in your Bible: Acts 20:7–12

Dear God, thank you that you are stronger than death. Thank you for my church family and the times we spend together. Help me to listen well, even when it’s hard to stay awake! Amen.