What was Saul's purpose and attitude on the road to Damascus?
Saul intended to arrest believers in Christ in Damascus and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial, punishment, and often death, continuing his effort to stamp out all who proclaimed Jesus as Messiah. His attitude was absolute hatred toward anything contrary to Judaism, including those who embraced Christ.
Les explains that Saul had already largely cleansed the homeland and then went to the chief rulers, who had enough clout with the Roman government to extradite Jews from foreign countries such as Damascus and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial, punishment, and often death. On the road to Damascus, with a heart of absolute hatred for anything contrary to Judaism, he intended to arrest anyone in the synagogue he could find who were believers in Christ. Les notes that the Lord called him by grace, though Saul did not deserve it; like Israel at the Red Sea, Saul did nothing but helplessly asked what he should do.