Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
And that's exactly what I did in Jerusalem. I locked up so many believers in prison after getting permission from the chief priests. When they were sentenced to death, I voted against them every time.
Paul's owning his dark past, he used to hunt down Christians before becoming one himself.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Acts, Paul is defending himself before King Agrippa and recounting his life as Saul, a zealous Pharisee who actively persecuted early Christians in Jerusalem. He had obtained authority from the chief priests to arrest and imprison believers, and he even voted in favor of their executions, as part of the broader conflict between Jewish religious leaders and the growing Jesus movement in the first century AD. This highlights the intense opposition faced by the early church shortly after Jesus' resurrection.
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