What was Saul of Tarsus doing before his conversion?
Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was the great persecutor who wreaked havoc among early Jewish believers. He did everything he could to destroy that element of Judaism which had believed Jesus was the Messiah. He continued in this persecution until God saved him by grace on the road to Damascus.
Les explains that during Christ's earthly ministry Jesus dealt only with Peter and the other eleven apostles. After His death, burial, and resurrection, the book of Acts still centers on Peter and the eleven, with Matthias replacing Judas. But in the meantime, this other Jew, Saul of Tarsus, was doing everything he could to destroy the element of Judaism that had believed Jesus was the Messiah. Saul was the great persecutor who wreaked havoc among those early Jewish believers. Yet God commissioned him after saving him by grace on the road to Damascus, sending him into the pagan Gentile Roman Empire with the gospel of grace. Les also compares Paul's situation to people today who must be reeducated out of religious traditions, noting that it is not easy when something has been drilled into you since childhood.