Why did Saul hate anything about Jesus?
Saul hated anything concerning Jesus because he was a devout religious Pharisaical Jew, zealous for Jewish tradition and the religion of his fathers. As a Pharisee of Pharisees from the tribe of Benjamin, he persecuted the church of God beyond measure and led the rebellion against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Les explains that Saul of Tarsus, later known as the Apostle Paul, was not just a casual onlooker at Stephen's stoning; he was consenting to his death and actually driving it as the main force. In Galatians 1:13, Paul writes that he persecuted the church of God beyond measure and wasted it—the Jewish church at Jerusalem. That testimony came from his own pen by Holy Spirit inspiration. Saul was the leader of the rebellion and hated anything concerning Jesus of Nazareth. The reason, Les points out, is that he was a good religious Pharisaical Jew. Saul himself writes in Romans that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, of the tribe of Benjamin. His intense religious zeal and strict Pharisaic background fueled his opposition to Jesus and His followers.