“In a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead” (Acts 20:9).
A few years ago, Konrad Lightner and his wife were moving a box spring mattress when they noticed a three-year-old child tossing toys out of a third-story apartment window. Worried that the boy might follow his toys, they tried to warn him to stop and then called 911. When the toddler began climbing out, the Lightners set their box spring beneath the window, expecting the worst. After briefly tangling in some wires, the boy plummeted toward the ground and was caught by Konrad. Both child and rescuer fell onto the mattress, relatively unharmed.
Did you know that over 5,000 children fall from windows every year in the United States? About one out of four of these children end up in the hospital or die as a result of their injuries, and boys are more likely to fall from windows than girls. Young adults, too, often fall from windows and balconies as a result of drug and alcohol abuse.
So, it was a fairly common accident that took the life of Eutychus, the young man who fell from a third-story window in a home where Paul was preaching one night. But what happened next was anything but common.
Horrified by the sudden death of the young man, Paul ran downstairs and “fell on him, and embracing him said, ‘Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him’ ” (Acts 20:10). God worked a miracle for Eutychus, and the Bible tells us that this grateful group of believers “brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted” (verse 12). They were overjoyed!
Death is a cruel and heartless enemy but, according to Scripture, Jesus has already conquered it and will one day soon destroy it completely and permanently. When He returns, those who belong to God will be reunited with their loved ones, and they will be “not a little comforted.” They too will be overjoyed, and their joy will never end!
Dear Father, thank You for our Jesus who has conquered death and has destroyed its power.
For Further Study: Acts 20:7–12; 1 Cor. 15:26; 2 Timothy 1:10