What did Saul still intend to do with the believing Jews he found in Damascus?
He remained intent on apprehending believing Jews in Damascus—men, women, and children alike—and bringing them back to Jerusalem to be committed to prison or to death. Whether men, women, or children, it made no difference to him. No second thoughts stopped him; God’s grace intervened instead.
Les explains that Saul never paused to have second thoughts or ask whether he was being overzealous. He was still intent on getting those believing Jews even from Damascus. It made no difference whether they were men, women, or children; he planned to take them back to Jerusalem, commit them to prison or to death. But God in grace did not wait for Saul to reconsider. He stopped him in his tracks with a penetrating light from heaven, which Les suggests knocked him from his horse. From his prostrate position on the ground, Saul looked up, knowing that shining light was coming from heaven, and asked, “Who art thou, Lord?”