Why did Saul of Tarsus hate Jesus so intensely?
Saul of Tarsus hated Jesus intensely because he viewed Him as an imposter trying to destroy Judaism, the Mosaic Law, and the religion that was his whole life. As a Pharisee of Pharisees, he thought persecution was doing God a favor by stamping out this perceived threat.
Les explains that Saul was totally religious—an absolute believer in the Old Testament, Judaism, and the Mosaic Law. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Jew through and through. Yet he hated Jesus with a passion because he felt Jesus was an imposter trying to destroy that which was his whole life. Saul believed Jesus was destroying the bulwarks of Judaism, so the only way he could do God a favor was to overcome and stamp it out with persecution, all in the name of religion. At the Damascus road, a light from heaven shone and a voice asked, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"