Psalm 138

Thanksgiving and Praise

Of David.

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news^[a] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,^{(A) 2} through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.^(B)

³ For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures^{(C) 4} and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures^{(D) 5} and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.^{(E) 6} Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.^{[b] 7} Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.^{(F) 8} Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.^{(G) 9} For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.^{(H) 10} But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.^{(I) 11} Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 Once while Jesus^[a] was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, ² he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.^{(A) 4} When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”^{(B) 5} Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”^{(C) 6} When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”^{(D) 11} When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.^(E)