9:5 whom thou persecutest. Jesus regards any persecution against His followers as persecution against himself (note John 15:20).

9:5 kick against the pricks. The future apostle is addressed here as behaving like a stubborn animal, rebelling against the pain caused by the goads in his harness. The Lord already had been speaking to him, as he would recall Stephen’s dying prayer (Acts 7:60), and possibly also through the testimony of Christian relatives (Romans 16:7). He must also, with his training and position, have learned something about the teachings of Jesus, and especially the evidence of His resurrection. Yet he had been rejecting all this testimony.