Acts 20:37

And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way to the ship.

As Dummelow put it, "This is a striking example of the intense affection which the apostle's converts felt for him."[24] Regarding the question of whether or not Paul ever came back to Ephesus, it was surely the truth that, for some of them at least, this was the last time on earth they would ever see him. In a sense it is true of every audience, that never again on earth shall exactly that same concourse be brought together again; and every minister of the gospel has keenly felt this as tearful goodbyes were said at the conclusion of some glorious meeting.

And they brought him on his way to the ship ... This custom of going with a departing guest as far as possible or convenient was repeatedly observed by Paul's converts; and we shall meet with it again and again. An element of sorrow remains as one contemplates this fond farewell on the seashore at Miletus. The greatest of all human preachers was on the way to prison, and eventually to death; and those whom he loved watered the occasion with their tears. Paul's true love of them all was the most priceless earthly possession that any of them would ever have, and they seemed to sense an irreparable loss in his leaving them to continue his glorious service of Jesus Christ our Lord.