Saul was sent to Tarsus by the Jerusalem church in order to keep him safe from the persecution which arose when he preached to the Jews who were part of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Acts 9:29–30). Tarsus was a natural place for him to go since it was the town where he was born and would have had many connections (Acts 21:39; Acts 22:3). While he was in Tarsus, he fulfilled his apostolic commission by proclaiming the gospel in the surrounding area (Galatians 1:21–24).1
25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,