Why did Saul think persecution would be doing God a favor?
Saul, a Pharisee devoted to Judaism and the Mosaic Law, viewed Jesus as an imposter destroying the bulwarks of his faith. Because he believed he was defending God’s truth and his entire religious heritage, he thought persecution would be doing God a favor by stamping out the movement.
Les explains that Saul of Tarsus 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. He hated Jesus of Nazareth 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 very bulwarks of Judaism, and the only way he could do God a favor was to overcome it and stamp it out with persecution. Les notes he was doing it in the name of religion, and people are no different today when their cherished religion or hierarchy is challenged.