Saul/Paul had been a Jewish scholar from a family of highly respected Jews. In your own words, explain why you think some Jewish leaders, like Saul, were intent on putting followers of Jesus in prison or even killing them. Why would they want to be so harsh to those who believed in Christ?
This is a hard question, but a simple way of answering it is to say that it comes down to power and protection. The Jewish leaders held great power over the Jewish people, and even had alliances with some Roman leaders. When they saw many people following Jesus, they were concerned about losing power over the people. But they also wanted to protect their own beliefs. For thousands of years, the people of Israel had followed the one true God. When Jesus came and said that He was also God and was the Son of God, that He was the Messiah that had been promised, the leaders did not believe Him. Because they didn’t believe Him, they feared that He would lead people astray. They wanted to protect their beliefs and the Jewish people from someone they saw as a threat to their religion and even their way of life. Sadly, many Jewish leaders did not ever see their mistake, and they continued to attack Christians.