The Last Time They Ever Saw Paul in This Life

Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, carrying the collection he has taken up from his Gentile churches in Europe and Asia back to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who are suffering the effects of a famine. He stops off near Ephesus and has some of the leaders of the Ephesian church meet him. He tells them they will never see his face again, and I find what happens next really moving:

36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. [Acts 20:36-38]

Paul was obviously a great preacher and a courageous leader, but what made him successful was how he loved his people. And they knew it.