In this episode, we learn of a young man who paid the ultimate price for “falling asleep in church.” In Acts 20:7-12, during the Apostle Paul’s long midnight preaching in a warm, stuffy third-story chamber, Eutychus dozes off in a windowsill, sinks into a deep sleep, and falls to his death. Paul immediately goes down, embraces the lifeless body, and raises Eutychus back to full life through God’s power. Like it was God who gave life to Eutychus through Paul, it is Christ Who gives life to the Church in this age of grace through the preaching and truth found in Paul’s epistles.

This lesson details the story of Dorcas (Tabitha), a beloved disciple in the seaport of Joppa, who was known for her selfless good works. When Dorcas falls sick and dies, the believers, hoping for a miracle, summon the Apostle Peter from a nearby town. After Peter arrives and kneels in prayer, he simply commands “Tabitha, arise,” instantly raising her to full life as she opens her eyes and sits up. Beyond the miracle itself, the account illustrates that Israel’s kingdom program will one day be raised from the dead and be a great blessing to the world.

Many go through their lives not dealing with the thought of their inevitable death. They block it out of their minds and try to pretend it won’t happen. But we can’t escape the reality—death is a power against which each of us is helpless. This episode recounts the miracle from Luke 7:11-17, where Jesus encounters a funeral procession of a young man—the only son of a grieving widow—and raises him to life in front of his overjoyed mother and a stunned crowd. This miracle reminds us of our mortality, but it also shouts to us of Christ’s power over death and the grave.

As we have a loving Father in heaven Who is always there for us in the midst of our struggles, the love of an earthly father for his child is seen in the account of a man seeking help from the Lord to save his daughter. In this episode, we witness Jairus, a desperate synagogue ruler, begging Jesus to heal his dying 12-year-old daughter. En route, Jesus is interrupted by the healing of a woman with a 12-year bleeding issue, after which messengers report the girl has died. Yet Jesus tells Jairus, “Be not afraid, only believe,” and then raises the girl to full life and health. As was Jairus’ daughter, we, too, are a witness to Christ’s power, grace, and glory in saving us and giving us life.

When Lazarus of Bethany falls deathly ill, his sisters Mary and Martha send word to Jesus, who is in another town 20 miles away. Four days after Lazarus has died and been buried in a cave-tomb, Jesus meets up and weeps with the grieving sisters for His departed friend. But Jesus commands the stone of the tomb be rolled away and cries with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” Lazarus immediately walks out alive, still wrapped in his graveclothes, which becomes a powerful preview of the future resurrections, when all who are in their graves will hear the voice of the Son of God and come forth.

In this episode, we learn of the first recorded resurrection in Scripture. In the midst of a drought, God sends Elijah to the pagan town of Zarephath, where a destitute Gentile widow feeds the visiting prophet a portion from her final meal. As promised by Elijah, God later miraculously multiplies her supplies so that she never runs out for the rest of the famine. When her young son suddenly dies, however, the grieving mother accuses Elijah of punishing her for her sins by taking her son’s life. Still, Elijah compassionately cries out to the Lord in prayer and the child is revived. This miracle authenticated Elijah as God’s true prophet and showed that life comes only through faith in the living God and His Word.

A generous, childless Shunammite woman and her husband build a private room in their home for the prophet Elisha, prompting him out of gratitude to prophesy that she will bear a son the following year, and she does. We go on to learn in this episode that years later the boy suddenly dies while working in the fields and his mother secretly lays his body on the bed of Elisha, races to Mount Carmel, seizes the prophet in faith, and brings him home—where Elisha prays and stretches himself upon the dead child twice, after which the boy is fully revived. The account foreshadows how spiritual life comes to us today “in Christ” when we believe the gospel of grace that He died for our sins and rose again.

The unbelievable but true story of how a deceased prophet Elisha raised a person from the dead is chronicled in this episode. A mortally sick Elisha dies and as was the custom, is buried in a cave or rock tomb. After his burial, the funeral for an anonymous Israelite is interrupted by an invading band of Moabites, causing the panicked pallbearers to cast the dead man’s body through the opening of Elisha’s sepulcher. Upon the corpse touching Elisha’s, the man is instantly revived and stands up, showing that God’s power continued even after the prophet’s death and providing a picture of the gospel message that saves today.