Acts 20:7–12

On the first day of the week, when we had gathered together to break bread, etc.; that is, on the Lord's Day which is the first from the Sabbath, when we had gathered to celebrate the mysteries.

And he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room. Here we can allegorically say that the upper room signifies the height of spiritual gifts, night the obscurity of the Scriptures, the abundance of lamps the exposition of the hidden sayings, the Lord's Day the remembrance either of the Lord's or our resurrection; and to admonish the spiritual teacher that if at any time, by the sweetness of the resurrection and the joys of eternal life, he will invite his listeners to the heights of virtues, and by prolonged disputation touch upon any secrets of the Scriptures, he should immediately illuminate the same with the lamp of plain exposition for the sake of weak listeners. Just as the Apostle, when he said Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman, immediately explained: These are the two covenants, etc.

"And on the first day of the week, when they were assembled to break bread." On the day before his departure from Troas, Paul, continuing his speech until midnight, was teaching very earnestly and pleasantly, when it came to pass that one of the young men present, overcome by sleep, fell from the loft and was in danger of death. Paul, embracing him with religious affection, gave him back safe and sound to the people present. Then, having refreshed himself with bread and preached to the people until daylight, he departed for Assos by land. His disciples, traveling by ship as he had told them to, met Paul in the above-mentioned city. From there, they departed together for Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Miletus; for Paul had determined to leave Ephesus unvisited, so as to reach Jerusalem on Pentecost day.

But every Lord's day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you, until they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned. For this is that which was spoken by the Lord: In every place and time offer to me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great King, saith the Lord, and my name is wonderful among the nations.

"And upon the day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." It was then the season between Easter and Pentecost. See how everything was subordinate to the preaching. It was also, it says, the Lord's day. Not even during night-time was he silent, nay he discoursed the rather then, because of stillness. Mark how he both made a long discourse, and beyond the time of supper itself.

"When we came together," it says, "to break bread." At the very time of breaking bread the discourse having taken its commencement, extended: as representing that they were hungry, and it was not unseasonable: for the principal object which brought them together was not teaching, but they came together "to break bread;" discourse however having come up, he prolonged the teaching. See how all partook also at Paul's table.

It seems to me, that he discoursed while even sitting at table, teaching us to consider all other things as subordinate to this. Picture to yourselves, I beseech you, that house with its lights, with its crowd, with Paul in the midst, discoursing, with even the windows occupied by many: what a thing it was to see, and to hear that trumpet, and behold that gracious countenance!

But why did he discourse during night time? Since "he was about to depart," it says, and was to see them no more: though this indeed he does not tell them, they being too weak to bear it, but he did tell it to the others. At the same time too the miracle which took place would make them evermore to remember that evening; so that the fall turned out to the advantage of the teacher. Great was the delight of the hearers, and even when interrupted it was the more increased.

Then it was the feast of Pentecost and a Sunday. And even at night Paul did not rest, but conversed then all the more, since it was a time of leisure. See how long he spoke even after supper.

"And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead." But the Devil disturbed the feast-not that he prevailed, however-by plunging the hearer in sleep, and causing him to fall down. But observe, I pray you, the theatre, how crowded it was: and the miracle, what it was. "He was sitting in a window," at dead of night. Such was their eagerness to hear him!

But observe, I beseech you, so fervent was their zeal, that they even assembled in a third loft: for they had not a Church yet.

Eutychus, alone, banished from the wakeful ones keeping watch, entrusted to a window with limbs sunk in heavy sleep. O rest wrongly won! O hearts always given over to sleep, unprotected by good! How great the disasters he lies open to, whom night alone guards and who never raises his troubled head to better things! He who allows [himself] to fall asleep from God does not know how to be wakeful for danger. Why do you seek the empty chaos of the window, young man, or why are you restful in that place where you will come to disaster? It is a matter harmful for well-being to seek high, hanging [places] and to wish to snatch furtive dreams on a steep couch.

A certain young man named Eutychus was sitting at the window, etc. Eutychus in Hebrew means insane, in Greek lucky. One of these fits him who has fallen from the height of virtues due to youthful pleasure, the other to him who, by the preacher's condescension, will return to the height of virtues.

Awakened from sleep, he fell down from the third loft, etc. During the words of preaching, an opportunity for healing arose, so that the word might be strengthened by the sweetness of the miracle and the doctrine, and the labor of vigils might be warded off, and the memory of the teacher soon to depart might be more deeply impressed upon minds. Indeed, the three lofts in which Paul was disputing represent faith, hope, and charity. But the greatest of these is charity (1 Cor. 13). If anyone out of laziness deserts it, and does not fear to slumber among the voice of the Apostle, he will already be counted among the dead. For whoever offends in one point becomes guilty of all (James 2).

Awoken from sleep, he fell from the third loft. For the third loft, in Greek it is written "τριστέγου," which I wanted to mention so that the reader may know what is in Genesis, where Noah is ordered to build the ark: "Make in it lower, second, and third decks" (Gen. VI); for in Greek, "στέγη" means roof, and "τρίστεγα" means threefold roofs.

"And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead." And the wonderful circumstance is, that though he was a youth, he was not listless and indifferent; and though he felt himself weighed down by sleep, he did not go away, nor yet fear the danger of falling down. It was not from listlessness that he slumbered, but from necessity of nature.

Let us take shame to ourselves! "Aye, but a Paul," say you, "was discoursing then." Yes, and Paul discourses now, or rather not Paul, either then or now, but Christ, and yet none cares to hear. No window in the case now, no importunity of hunger, or sleep, and yet we do not care to hear: no crowding in a narrow space here, nor any other such comfort.

That young man was to rebuke all that are careless of the word, he whose death was caused by nothing else than this, that he wished to hear Paul.

And so, if it were agreed that even the blessed apostles had granted any such indulgence (to any crime) the pardon of which (comes) from God, not from man, it would be competent (for them) to have done so, not in the exercise of discipline, but of power. For they both raised the dead, which God alone (can do), and restored the debilitated to their integrity, which none but Christ (can do); nay, they inflicted plagues too, which Christ would not do.

Having weighed down the listener with sleep, the devil disrupted the feast. The young man was sitting on the window at night — so great was his desire to listen. And it is worthy of admiration that, being a young man, he was not careless, and, weighed down by sleep, he did not leave, nor was he even frightened that he might be pushed off, because he fell asleep not from inattentiveness, but by the demand of nature.

Upon whom when Paul had descended, he laid upon him. That he descended, laid upon him, embraced him, this is what he himself says: My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you. Indeed, more laborious is the resurrection of those who sin through negligence than those who sin through infirmity. And this is expressed through Eutychus, and that through Tabitha whom Peter raised. And therefore she, sick for days, dies; he falls down and dies in the middle of the night. She, washed after death, is placed in an upper chamber; he, fallen from the third loft, is mourned dead below. He in the presence and teaching, she with the teacher absent. To him Paul descended, to her Peter ascended to raise her. She, immediately seeing Peter, sat up; he, having died in the middle of the night, finally rises in the morning, and with the breath of the sun of righteousness, is brought back to life.

"And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him, said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him." He said not, "He shall come to life again, for I will raise him up:" but mark the unassuming way in which he comforts them: "for his life," says he, "is in him."

He did not say "he will rise, for I will raise him," but rather "his life is in him." Note his humility and his desire to comfort.

Far be it from us to accept this as affirming that the apostles were accustomed to fast habitually on the Lord's day. For the day now known as the Lord's day was then called the first day of the week, as is more plainly seen in the Gospels; for the day of the Lord's resurrection is called by Matthew "first day of the week" and by the other three Evangelists "the first day of the week," and it is well ascertained that the same is the day which is now called the Lord's day. Either, therefore, it was after the close of the seventh day that they had assembled—namely, in the beginning of the night that followed and that belonged to the Lord's day or the first day of the week—and in this case the apostle, before proceeding to break bread with them, as is done in the sacrament of the body of Christ, continued his discourse until midnight, and also, after celebrating the sacrament, continued still speaking again to those who were assembled, being much pressed for time in order that he might set out at dawn upon the Lord's day. Or if it was on the first day of the week, at an hour before sunset on the Lord's day, that they had assembled, the words of the text, "Paul preached to them, ready to depart the next day," themselves expressly state the reason for his prolonging his discourse—namely, that he was about to leave them and wished to give them ample instruction. The passage does not therefore prove that they habitually fasted on the Lord's day but only that it did not seem proper to the apostle to interrupt, for the sake of taking refreshment, an important discourse that was listened to with the ardor of most lively interest by persons whom he was about to leave, and whom, on account of his many other journeys, he visited but seldom, and perhaps on no other occasion than this, especially because, as subsequent events prove, he was then leaving them without expectation of seeing them again in this life.

"When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed." This thing cut short the discourse; it did no harm, however. Do you mark the frugality of the supper? Do you observe how they passed the whole night? Such were their meals, that the hearers came away sober, and fit for hearing.

"And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted," both because they received him back alive, and because a miracle had been wrought. The narrative requires the interpretation that this was a case of restoration to life, not merely of revival from suspended animation. This is established by the fact that Eutychus is said to have been taken up dead. Moreover "he was taken up dead" is opposed to "they brought him alive." He was dead; they brought him alive.

But we, in what do we differ from dogs? Do you mark what a difference between us and those men? "And they brought the young man alive, and," it says, "were not a little comforted," both because they received him back alive, and because a miracle had been wrought.