oRead Acts 9:1-9. 9:5: "I am Jesus."

Jesus is all in all in this passage.  First, see Christ in the name given to God's people.  They were called "the Way."  Christ is the Way (Jn. 14:6), but to the world believers are the Way because they are the best picture of Christ the world can see.  Thus they are "the" Way, not "a" way.  Second, see Christ in the persecution.  Saul did not persecute the Church; he was persecuting Christ (v4,5)!  Remember that the burden is Christ's.  People are not making your life hard; your life is in Christ, so they make His life hard.  And third, Paul's 3 days of blindness help us see his own identification with Christ who was 3 days in the tomb.  Three days with no sight; but also 3 days of afflicting his soul.  From the start he understood: "I am crucified with Christ."