Acts 8:3 Cross References

Acts 8:3

3: Saul was going everywhere to devastate the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into jail.

even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.

And zealous? Yes, in fact, I harshly persecuted the church. And I obeyed the Jewish law so carefully that I was never accused of any fault.

You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion--how I violently persecuted the Christians. I did my best to get rid of them.

For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God.

"'But Lord,' I argued, 'they certainly know that I imprisoned and beat those in every synagogue who believed on you.

All who heard him were amazed. "Isn't this the same man who persecuted Jesus' followers with such devastation in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And we understand that he came here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests."

They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The official witnesses took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

"I used to believe that I ought to do everything I could to oppose the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
Authorized by the leading priests, I caused many of the believers in Jerusalem to be sent to prison. And I cast my vote against them when they were condemned to death.
Many times I had them whipped in the synagogues to try to get them to curse Christ. I was so violently opposed to them that I even hounded them in distant cities of foreign lands.

Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath. He was eager to destroy the Lord's followers, so he went to the high priest.
He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them--both men and women--back to Jerusalem in chains.
As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him!
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?"
"Who are you, sir?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!

And yet, you insult the poor man! Isn't it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. At his feet I learned to follow our Jewish laws and customs very carefully. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just as all of you are today.
And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, binding and delivering both men and women to prison.

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