What kind of persecutor was Saul before his conversion?
Before his conversion, Saul was a religious zealot and merciless persecutor of Jewish believers, even putting them to death. He also profited financially from the Jews’ religion, motivated by money as well as zeal, and he sought to pursue believers as far as Damascus.
Les teaches that Saul had made so much headway in Jerusalem and Judea that he thought he had cleaned house, leaving nothing left to do. He then sought permission to go to Damascus because some believers were still there. Les describes Saul as a religious zealot who had no mercy and no compunction about putting Jewish believers to death. On top of that, money motivated him: he profited in the Jews’ religion. Les notes that religions often accumulate tremendous wealth from their lower-level members, and Judaism was no different.