Why did the Lord appear to Paul according to Les?
According to the transcript, the Lord appeared to Paul over and over to give him encouragement in spite of all the sufferings and disappointments he had to go through, and to show that Paul also had direct contact with Christ as the God-ordained apostle of the Gentiles.
Les explains that Paul constantly defended his apostleship because the Corinthians, mostly Gentiles with some Jews, accused him of lacking authority compared to Peter, James, and John, who had been with Christ for three years. Paul shows he also had direct contact with Christ, not by walking Palestine's dusty roads, but the Lord appeared to him over and over, especially to give encouragement in spite of all his sufferings and disappointments. In II Corinthians 11:22, Paul further argues he was just as much a Hebrew, Israelite, and seed of Abraham as they were.