Acts 20:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

NIV: The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

NASB: They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

CSB: They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.

NLT: Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

KJV: And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

NKJV: And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

An assortment of companions, including Paul and Luke (Acts 20:4), leave the church in Troas for Jerusalem. Paul had planned to sail directly from Corinth, but the machinations of the Jewish leadership there forced him to revisit the churches in Macedonia and the province of Asia, in southwest modern-day Turkey, instead (Acts 20:3). Most of Paul's companions will catch a ship in Troas while Paul will travel by land and meet them in Assos, not far down the coast (Acts 20:13–14).

Paul and his team spend all week in Troas, culminating in an all-night discussion in a third-story room. At midnight, a young man falls asleep, likely from the heat and the lack of air, and falls out the window, dead. Paul brings him back to life, the group shares communion, and they continue their conversation until daybreak.

The resurrection of Eutychus serves several purposes. It acts as the Holy Spirit's affirmation of Paul's authority. It comforts the church members. And it will serve as a reminder of their own future resurrection. No matter what challenges they face, they know they have hope.

It's unclear if Paul ever returns to Troas, but it appears so. He is going to Jerusalem where he will be arrested then imprisoned for two years in Caesarea Maritima, then another two years in Rome (Acts 24:27; 28:30–31). Scholars believe he goes on a fourth and last missionary journey, perhaps finally reaching Spain, before being imprisoned in Rome again. During that final imprisonment, he writes to Timothy, asking him to bring the cloak, books, and parchments he left in Troas (2 Timothy 4:13).

Acts 20:7–12 records a famous story from Scripture which is often referenced in humor. Paul is in Troas on his way back to Jerusalem. On the first day of the week, he meets with the church in a third-story room, and proceeds to lead a discussion that lasts for hours. One of the young men falls asleep by the window and tumbles out to his death. Paul brings him back to life, takes a meal that likely includes communion, and resumes the conversation. When dawn breaks, he and his team continue their journey.

Acts 20 finishes Paul's third missionary journey. He leaves Ephesus after three years and travels to Macedonia and Corinth. Threats from the Corinthian Jews send him and his team back to Macedonia and Troas. In Troas, Paul gives a very long sermon and raises Eutychus from the dead after he falls—both asleep and out a window. In Miletus, Paul meets with the Ephesian elders. He reminds them to beware of false teachers and tells them he is going to be imprisoned and will not see them again. After a tearful farewell, he boards a ship for Judea.

Acts 20 records the last stages of Paul's third missionary journey. He started by visiting the churches he and Barnabas had planted in central modern-day Turkey (Acts 18:23). From there, he traveled southwest to the province of Asia, where he established a church in Ephesus (Acts 19). In Acts 20, he visits the churches in Macedonia and Greece before returning to Judea. When he lands, he meets briefly with Philip the Evangelist in Caesarea Maritima before going to Jerusalem and getting arrested. He will stay in house arrest for the next two years before embarking on a dangerous sea voyage to Rome (Acts 21—28).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.