At first glance, this passage of Scripture can seem a little disorienting. It feels like a weird story about a long-winded preacher who literally preaches someone to death, sandwiched in between two really boring GPS maps.
1After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.
13But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after we went to Miletus. 16For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.
#1: GPS MAP NUMBER ONE (VV. 1 – 6)
In verses 1 – 6, Luke describes Paul’s jumbled up journey from Ephesus to Macedonia, to Greece, and then back through Macedonia to Troas. All the running around from one region to the next here, seems to be prompted by a threat to Paul’s life that caused him to change up his travel plans to avoid being assassinated (v. 3).
Sandwiched right in the middle of this first portion of the text is a description of the super diverse crew of men that accompanied Paul in his mission to encourage the churches in those areas (v. 4). All in all, this first portion of the text feels like we are reading a map of locations that Paul visited as he sought to encourage the churches in those areas. If I am being honest, it seems more than a little, blah!!
#2: EUTYCHUS DIES DURING A LONG-WINDED SERMON (VV. 7 – 12)
In verses 7 – 12, Luke’s story gets a little bit more exciting as he describes an all-night worship gathering in Troas where Paul seems to have preached all night long and a young man named Eutychus falls asleep and falls out of a window to his death prompting Paul to raise him back to life, and then after grabbing some food, he goes back to preaching until the next morning.
Seems like a rocking good time to me; no better way to get everyone to stay awake in church than to have someone die and then raise them back to life again!!! Amusingly, a friend of mine reminded me this week that Eutychus is a funny example of the fact that “Youda cussed too (get it… Eutychus!) if you fell asleep and fell out a window to your death listening to another long-winded sermon!” Maybe this portion of the text is supposed to be used to curb long winded preachers! We will come back to that in a few moments.
#3: GPS MAP NUMBER TWO (VV. 13 – 16)
In Verses 13 – 16, Luke describes Paul’s journey towards Jerusalem through a series of traveling by land on his own as his crew travels by sea and then a few evenings sailing by sea with his crew from one place to the next, avoiding Asia, until he lands in Miletus. It almost makes you yawn with boredom again as you read this second account of Paul’s GPS route. There are very few people who really enjoy sitting down and recounting places on the map while traveling!
WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS ENTIRE SECTION OF TEXT?
What is the main thrust or the main point of this passage? What is the significance of the first GPS map in verses 1 – 6? What is the point of the story of Eutychus in verses 7 – 12? And what is the significance of the second GPS map in the final portion of the text in verses 13 – 16?
I think the main thrust of the entire passage is centered around Paul’s ministry of encouragement as he heads towards Rome (three times in this passage (vv. 1, 2, 12), the word encouragement or comforted is used); as one commentator points out, this passage teaches us that “Paul’s ministry of encouragement [in these verses], was primarily a ministry of – preaching – the Word of God”.2
When you survey the text in its entirety, I think you can see many instances where God’s people needed to be encouraged. It would be deeply discouraging to have someone put an assassination hit out on your life. It would be deeply discouraging to have someone die suddenly during a sermon. It would also be deeply discouraging to have your travel plans constantly interrupted by a hit squad chasing you all over the country. Just think with me for a minute about the seasons of your life where you have felt deeply discouraged.
WHERE HAVE YOU FELT DEEPLY DISCOURAGED?
Have you ever been discouraged because someone you trusted turned against you? Have you ever been discouraged because of the sudden death of a loved one? Have you ever been discouraged because you desperately wanted to get somewhere quickly or achieve some deeply held dream but had to make sudden changes to your plans due to some unforeseen circumstances?
Discouragement is not hard to find in this life; there is more than enough discouragement to go around. The question is, where can you find true encouragement as you try to weather the storms of this life? I do not know about you, but I have found a ton of encouragement in this life that only lasts momentarily. My heart longs for encouragement that will stand the test of time.
EARTHLY ENCOURAGEMENT DOES NOT LAST
All the escape mechanisms of this life only offer momentary encouragement – if it can be called encouragement at all. All the self-help books, all the pithy self-encouragement statements, all the self-worth psychobabble in the world, do not offer the kind of sustainable encouragement that our hearts thirst for as we navigate all the storms of this life.
Where can you find sustainable, lasting, encouragement that stands the test of time against all the storms this life throws at you? I think the simple answer from the text in front of us is this: True, lasting, sustainable, encouragement is found in the preaching of God’s Word. While some people may want to jokingly make this text all about curbing long winded preachers, (to their own demise in my opinion) I think this text is all about showing us that we need to make more room for more preaching in our lives if we are to ever be truly encouraged.
THINK ABOUT THE BOOKENDS OF PAUL’S PREACHING
As I alluded to earlier, the center of the text is Paul’s all night preaching lab that is couched in the ministry of encouragement; three times, Luke mentions how Paul encouraged his listeners in Ephesus (v. 1), in Macedonia (v. 2), and in Troas (v. 12).3 Paul, no doubt, preached many sermons throughout his journey in our text today, but Luke chose to highlight the one we have here (vv. 7 – 12) where Eutychus falls asleep and then falls out of his window seat to his untimely death somewhere around midnight (v. 9).
And of course, we must remember that Paul does not hang up his preaching hat because something tragic happened; he raises Eutychus from the dead, gets some food, and then continues to preach until the break of dawn. But we would be absolute fools to miss the context of this long-winded sermon because the bookends of the sermon can tell us a lot about what Luke wants us to see in his writing; namely that Paul’s lengthy sermon is surrounded with the threat of death and interrupted dreams. Paul has an active green light assassination squad following him around and trying to kill him as his dreams of getting to Rome keep getting interrupted.
WHAT BOOKENDS DO YOU NEED TO FILL UP WITH GOOD PREACHING?
Have you ever feared for your life or for the life of a close friend or relative? That can be super discouraging huh? Or maybe you have experienced a lifelong dream – maybe even a dream that you believe to be most Godly – that you just cannot seem to see fulfilled. It could be a dream for marriage, or having a baby, or overcoming some besetting sin that you cannot seem to find full victory over. Either way, the threat of death and the experience of unfulfilled dreams can be some of the most discouraging experiences we face on this earth.
Now insert an all-night preaching lab right into the center of those bookends. Speaking of the threat of death, we actually see someone die and then get raised back to life by the words of the apostle Paul! Could there be any correlation here as to the centrality of preaching in bringing sinners back from their self-made, sin-sick, graves of death to brand new life? I do not want to stretch the meaning of the passage too far here, but I think we would seriously do the text an injustice to gloss over the fact that the preaching of the gospel is what brings the dead to life (Rom. 1:16).
THINK ABOUT THE DEADLY NAPS WE TAKE
Regarding Eutychus’ deadly nap, one commentator, with a tongue in cheek tone, says that some people proverbially fall asleep in church because they were never awake in the first place (they are unbelievers), or they are believers who are living in a compromising, backslidden state in regards to sin, or they are religious and are far too familiar with the status quo of religious activity but are not fully awake or alive to the transforming presence of God in preaching.4
Unbelievers, backslidden believers, status quo religious folks, these people do not have any desire to put in the hard work of sitting under the preaching of the Word of God and the result is that they live in perpetual discouragement and immaturity. They are too busy taking deadly naps instead of committing to the regular hard rhythms of being encouraged by sound biblical preaching that puts sin to death and breathes new life into dead and barely beating hearts as they are led to the bloody cross, the empty tomb, and the promise of heaven. My prayer is that this description does not fit any of us in this room.
THINK ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF THE WORLD ON PREACHING
The world we live in would never prescribe good biblical, gospel-centered sermons as the antidote for discouragement. The world would rather promote self-help, self-promotion, self-gratification, or self-expression (things that are all centered around self) instead of promoting sermons that center on dying to one’ self as we take up our crosses alongside our crucified, risen, and returning Savior.
The reality is that the world has influenced many of the pulpits in the Western church with its “Ted-Talk” focus on being expedient, quick, and sensitive to people’s already overburdened schedules. One commentator helpfully notes that “It is only in our highly time conscious, sound-bite, world that the Holy Spirit is restricted to 25 or 30 minutes” a week for doing the work of producing real transformation.5 What a shame!
Once again, it seems absolutely shocking to me that Paul preaches all night long, a dude takes a deadly nap, Paul raises him back to life again, and then instead of Paul calling it quits for the night, he goes back to preaching until daybreak. My question is, why does that shock me? Why do we get so uncomfortable or annoyed with the idea that a sermon may last longer than the slot of time we have alloted?
Would any of our Westernized disciples stick around long enough to even experience the deadly nap, or the miracle of a dead man walking again, or the subsequent hours of preaching that followed? I suspect that most of the Western church would have bailed out after sixty minutes, and that is being generous!
Most of our Westernized disciples would have left early or stayed home altogether, attempting to encourage themselves with Fox News, or CNN, or the endless list of movies and shows that are available at the tap of a button. Some would have merely stayed home and found different preachers on YouTube to fit within their busy schedules or their preferred communication styles.
One commentator notes that “The focus of the story [in this text] lies entirely on the importance of preaching. Indeed, it almost takes one’s breath away [to see] how Luke describes that after Eutychus has been raised to life again, they celebrated the Supper, and then Paul spoke until daybreak”.6
That same commentator also says that “There will not be any great reformation in our churches or our personal lives if such thirst for the preaching of God’s Word is absent. If we are content to hear one sermon a week lasting twenty minutes [or even 60 minutes], then we are displaying a condition of spiritual sickness…[and] unless we cultivate an appetite for the exposition of Scripture, we will never grow as Christians”.7
See, it is no wonder that so many people – especially professing Christians – are walking around perpetually discouraged, if in fact, the spiritual attitude towards preaching in general or even the attitude towards being in spaces during the week where the Word of God is being discussed, is as dismal as it seems.
CONCLUSION…
In conclusion, we probably need to get a little more honest with ourselves here. It is no doubt that being in a church every Sunday is taxing on our schedules – especially if you serve in any area of ministry. It is equally taxing to commit to the regular rhythm of being in a community group, and a men’s or women’s Bible study.
I am reminded here that Hebrews 10:23 – 25 says, “Let us hold fast [to] the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near”.
Notice that the confession of hope, and the reminder that God’s promises are trustworthy, and the challenge to stir one another up to love and good works, are all centered on meeting together regularly. Yet, the Western church loves to take deadly naps while we skip out on Sunday gatherings and mid-week Bible studies. This truly is a shame!
I think we should all do the work of self-evaluation while asking the Spirit of God to reveal any areas of disobedience, or rebellion, or laziness, or complacency in our hearts as it relates to regularly sitting under the preaching of the Bible and studying the Bible on a weekly basis with other believers. And then respond accordingly with authentic repentance as we turn to Christ once again by faith. I would not want any of us to be caught taking a deadly nap when Jesus returns.
If we are really honest with ourselves, we fall into deadly naps as it pertains to preaching, because we get enamored with other false gods as our love for Jesus grows cold. Anyone who does not have a huge appetite for hearing the gospel preached, and for studying the Bible with other believers, has lost his or her appetite for Jesus.
Think about it, the eternal Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, preaching repentance, forgiveness, grace, and mercy through a bloody cross, an empty tomb, and the promise of eternity in heaven. Not only did Jesus constantly preach with his words, but he also preached constantly with his life – especially in the culmination of the cross, the empty tomb, and the promise of his return. Jesus’ one and only aim was to seek and to save the lost through the preaching of the gospel; to see dead men and women raised to new life and set free from the shackles of their sin and rebellion.
If you find yourself overcome with a general sense of discouragement or a general sense that you have been sleepwalking through life or a general sense that you have been taking a deadly nap, maybe you should wake up and fall in love with Jesus and fall in love with hearing his Word preached again.
Maybe you find yourself discouraged because of the threat of death, discouraged by rejection from someone you loved, or discouraged because of the unfulfilled dreams you have. Threats of death, rejection from loved ones, and unfulfilled dreams can cause a kind of deadly nap that does not seem too dangerous. And instead of leaning into increasing the preaching of God’s Word to your heart, maybe you have found distractions, or maybe you have found a way to fill the schedule enough to not have to think about those things.
But just because you found distractions and just because you found ways not to think about what discourages you, does not mean your soul is not still discouraged; in fact it is probably even more discouraged because it is being ignored instead of dealt with!
The only place your discouragements, your rebellion, your laziness, your disobedience, and your deadly naps will ever get dealt with once and for all is at the foot of a bloody cross, in the doorway of an empty tomb, in light of the promise of heaven – which is the place that all preaching and all studying of God’s Word with other believers is meant to take you.
The only question left is: Will you continue taking that deadly nap or will you wake up to the beauty of the gospel being preached and will you get yourself into those spaces multiple times per week?
1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).
2 Derek W. H. Thomas, Acts, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2011), 573.
3 Ibid., 562.
4 Kent, Hughes, Acts: The Church Afire, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 1996), 272 – 273.
5 Derek W. H. Thomas, Acts, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing, 2011), 569.
6 Ibid., 572.
7 Ibid., 570.