On 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. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And 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. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

13 But 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. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For 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. (ESV)

I think verse 12 must represent one of the great understatements in Scripture! The raising of Eutychus was another miracle which God performed through Paul, authenticating his ministry, and marking him out as one of the Scriptural greats like Elijah and Elisha. It also demonstrates the continuity between Old and New Testaments. It is also significant that this miracle happened on ”the first day of the week”. (It is also worth noting that Dr. Luke was an eye-witness of this event, and he would have been able to vouch for it).

Verses seven to twelve give us a rather lovely insight into an early Christian meeting. We can see that the church met ”on the first day of the week” (the day on which Jesus rose from the dead); that the meeting was held in a home – an upper storey to be exact – and that ‘breaking bread’ formed a part of it. Also, it seems, there was the ministry of the Word, although the Greek used suggests the teaching took the form of dialogue. It looks like the meeting occurred in an evening. Was this, I wonder, because Sunday would be a normal working day in the Roman Empire, so people would be unable to gather until later? You can imagine how sultry that room might have felt, situated upstairs, filled with people, and with extra soporific warmth from the candle light. It’s easy to sympathise with young Eutychus, who had possibly been at work all day, gradually losing the battle to stay awake. It’s a very human and realistic picture of what can (and does!) happen.

In verses thirteen to sixteen, I have highlighted the words ”intending” and ”decided”. There is a strong emphasis in the book of Acts on people being led by the Spirit. But this is not necessarily incompatible with human reasoning and planning (see 19:21 and 20:22).