But Paul had miscalculated the spirit of his Jewish brethren. The same fury that had burst forth upon Stephen was visited upon himself. He saw that he must separate from his brethren, and sorrow filled his heart. He would willingly have yielded up his life, if by that means they might have been brought to a knowledge of the truth. The Jews began to lay plans to take his life, and the disciples urged him to leave Jerusalem; but he lingered, unwilling to leave the place, and anxious to labor a little longer for his Jewish brethren. He had taken so active a part in the martyrdom of Stephen that he was deeply anxious to wipe out the stain by boldly vindicating the truth which had cost Stephen his life. It looked to him like cowardice to flee from Jerusalem.{LP 37.1}

Men Paulus fejlvurderede sine jødiske brødres ånd. Det samme raseri som blev udgydt over Stefanus, blev nu hjemsøgt over ham selv. Han så at han måtte skille sig af med sine brødre, og sorg fyldte hans hjerte. Han ville gerne have opgivet sit liv, hvis det betyder at de kom til en kundskab om sandheden. Jøderne begyndte at lægge planer for at tage hans liv, og disciplene tilskyndede ham til at forlade Jerusalem; men han blev der, ville ikke forlade stedet, og ivrig efter at arbejde lidt længere for sine jødiske brødre. Han havde taget så aktiv del i Stefanus martyrium at han var meget ivrig efter at udslette den plet, ved at tydelige forsvare den sandhed, som havde kostet Stafanus livet. For ham var det som at han flygtede krysteragtigt fra Jerusalem.