Why did Paul ask the high priest for permission to go to Damascus?
He wanted permission to pursue the Jewish believers who had fled Jerusalem and Judea and were still in Damascus, continuing his campaign to stamp them out. He believed he had cleaned house at home, so he asked the high priest for authority to go after the remaining followers of Christ.
Les explains that Paul had made so much headway in Jerusalem and Judea that he thought he had pretty much cleaned house and there was nothing left to do. So he said to the high priest, “Let me go to Damascus. There are still some of these people up there.” Les notes that many Jewish believers had fled Jerusalem because of Saul’s and other religious persecutions, migrating to Galilee and some as far as Damascus. Beyond religious zeal, Les says money also motivated him: he profited in the Jews’ religion, and Judaism’s upper echelons had wealth drawn from the lower levels.