Paul's departure from Miletus 20:36-38

20:36 Prayer for God's grace and protection undoubtedly bonded these men together in Christian love. The kneeling posture here, as elsewhere in Scripture, reflects an attitude of submission to the sovereign God. The normal position for praying seems to have been standing (cf. Mark 11:25), so kneeling implies a particularly solemn occasion (cf. 21:5).⁸³²

20:37-38 This record of the Gentile converts' affection for Paul (cf. Gen. 33:4; 45:14; 46:29) contrasts with the hatred of the Jews that he was to face soon in Jerusalem. Luke again obliquely pointed out that the Gentiles received the gospel but the Jews usually rejected it.

". . . through all this scene there runs one dominant feeling and that is the feeling of an affection and a love as deep as the heart itself. That is the feeling that should be in any Church. When love dies in any Church the work of Christ cannot do other than wither or fade."⁸³³

Paul may have left Timothy in Ephesus at this time. However, it seems more likely that that took place after Paul's release from Rome, his departure from that city, and his return to Ephesus (1 Tim. 1:3; 3:14; 4:13).