"And he said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?'  And He said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do.'  And the men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing o one.  And Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.  And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank."

Was Saul persecuting Jesus?

What a beautiful picture of the Lord for all of those who have ever been persecuted.  Jesus comes to Saul, who is killing Christians, and tells him that his focus is actually on the Lord.  In other words:  every blow to a Christian's back is really hurting Jesus.  Every lie against a Christians character is really a lie about Jesus.

Jesus is not only taking our sins, but our hurts.

This is how far our Lord's sympathy goes:  all the way.

I often wonder what Paul heard during the three days of sightlessness.  People talking about him?  Talking about the powerful God?  Talking about just punishment?

What Saul heard was the Savior saying He cares about His people!