I must admit I was having a hard time staying awake. The guest speaker had been monotonously droning on for 45 minutes. According to the outline provided, he wasn’t even halfway through the sermon! “It isn’t my fault if I fall asleep,” I whispered to my wife. “Don’t be a Eutychus!” she replied, even as she poked me with her pen to keep me awake.
Let’s take a look at that famous sleeper’s story: The church in Troas had gathered for worship one Sunday. It was jam-packed. And since Paul “was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight” (Acts 20:7).
With heavy theological teaching flowing from Paul, a crowded house “with many flickering lamps” (Acts 20:8), and fresh air in short supply, drowsiness soon overcame one young man. Poor Eutychus fell sound asleep while the apostle Paul taught (Acts 20:9). This was clearly a no-no. And Luke was there to record his misdeed. How embarrassing! But even though Eutychus was the first person to be recorded dozing off during a sermon, you and I can be numbered among his successors today.
Personally, I think Eutychus has been misrepresented. He obviously wanted to hear more about God. That’s why he was still in the house listening to Paul at midnight. Even though the house was overcrowded, Eutychus found a place to sit—on the third-story windowsill. Not exactly the safest place to perch. But that shows how much he wanted to take in Paul’s words. So this story shouldn’t be entirely bad press for Eutychus.
We can learn from this young man. We need to be a Eutychus. No, not falling asleep during a sermon, but having an eager desire and undeterred resolve to hear God’s Word—even if it means having to sit uncomfortably on a third-story windowsill for hours!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Ephesians 1:3-23
More:
Read Nehemiah 8:1-8 and Acts 17:11. What were these people doing with God’s Word?
Next:
Pray for your pastor as he prepares and preaches God’s Word each week. Pray that you will listen attentively to the sermon. How else can you prepare yourself to listen to God’s Word?
Gene on November 29, 2012 at 7:51 am
It’s amazing the meeting went on even after Eutychus fell out of the wndow, died, and was brought back to life.
tom felten on November 29, 2012 at 9:43 am
Love this perspective, KT. It reminds that if I’m passionately seeking God, hearing God’s Word taught is something I’ll eagerly look forward to. My interest or disinterest is a reflection of my heart for Him.
mike wittmer on November 29, 2012 at 8:07 pm
K.T.: I like your take on this story. Sometimes we swing and miss when we’re in the game, but better to occasionally fail (or in this case, literally fall) than to play it safe and not play at all.
daisymarygoldr on November 30, 2012 at 2:50 pm
It was not Paul’s droning but the fact that it was a long day and a very long night that caused Eutychus to fall sleep. And KT, if you found it hard to stay awake during a sermon that prolonged past 45 minutes, how would you listen to preaching that extends beyond midnight?! Better be careful what you pray for, because when you get it, it may not be what you want.
Remember, unlike your guest speaker, Paul did not preach a scripted sermon. No outlines, power point slides, witty humor or pop psychology. Sermons crafted to overcome the short-attention span of a TV-bred generation that loves to be lulled to sleep with “feel good theology” is like soda with no fizz. When the church is coddled with cushy pew seats in air-conditioned sanctuary, why would we not sleep?
Personally, I have sat through sermons that stretched from morning till night, preached by anointed men of God who have no seminary degrees but had calloused knees. By God’s grace have never slept during a sermon. When we were about nine years of age, our Sunday school teacher encouraged us to write down what we heard. By eleven and thereafter we were taking copious notes. Back then, in that part of the world with no electric power we squat on hard cement floors, to read and hear God’s word in the light of lamps that used a fuel called kerosene. It constantly needed to be pumped, had a strong irritating odor and attracted nocturnal insects. Despite the lack of creature comforts, the church witnessed the miraculous power of God through the preaching of His Word.
Acts 20 is about God’s supernatural power working to confirm His word being preached by Paul. This incident is the same as Jesus restoring back to life, the dead daughter of Jairus. God used Luke the medical doctor to record these miracles (not misdeed 🙂 Wonders like this are a demonstration of the Spirit’s power— both in the preaching of the Word and in its confirmation by manifestations of the power of God.
God’s powerful presence is displayed in the church when His Word is preached in truth. Believers are not immune to sleep, sickness or death. But nothing can distract us from our loving devotion to God. The resurrection power that revived Eutychus can also revive death in the church today. For His own purposes, God honors the preaching of His Word. So “Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” (Matt 26:41)
winn collier on December 5, 2012 at 6:15 pm
Thanks for turning the story to a different angle. I appreciate that we can value those things so very human in Scripture’s characters.