Who was Saul of Tarsus persecuting and why did he think it was so serious?
Saul of Tarsus persecuted believing Jews and disciples of the Lord who had supposedly followed the heresy that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. To him, nothing worse could have happened to Israel, so he tried to stamp out this way through persecution, imprisonment, and death.
Les explains that Saul of Tarsus was after the believing Jews who had supposedly followed the heresy that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. To this good Jew, nothing worse could have happened to Israel, so he tried to stamp it out by persecution, imprisonment, and death. He was not satisfied with the small towns of Israel but obtained letters to Damascus, wanting to go into Gentile territory and synagogues to find any of “this way,” that Jesus was the Christ, whether men or women, and bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed near Damascus, a light from heaven shone around him, he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
What kind of religious man was Saul before he met Christ?
Before meeting Christ, Saul was a Jew and a Pharisee, described as a religious fanatic who breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, persecuting Jewish believers who had embraced Jesus as Messiah. He sought letters to arrest men and women of this way and bring them bound to Jerusalem.
What was Saul of Tarsus's attitude toward the followers of Christ?
Saul of Tarsus exhibited intense hatred toward anything connected to the followers of Christ. His opposition was rooted in hatred. The scriptural account introduces this adversarial disposition as the backdrop for Acts chapter 9, showing he opposed those who belonged to Christ.
More Questions
Who were the disciples Saul was persecuting in Acts 9?
In Acts 9:1 the 'disciples of the Lord' that Saul was persecuting were ordinary Jewish believers in Jesus as the Christ, not the twelve apostles.
What was Saul doing to Christians in Israel before his conversion?
Before his conversion, Saul was trying to stamp out everyone in Israel who had proclaimed and believed Jesus was the Messiah.