Isaiah’s Call and Mission

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet. With two they flew. ³ One called to another and said,

⁴ The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the one who called, and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ Then I said, “I am doomed!^[a] I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies!”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷ He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.”

⁸ Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”

The Calling of the First Disciples

5 One time, while the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.^{[a] 2} He saw two boats there along the lakeshore. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. ³ Jesus got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore. He sat down and began teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water, and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered him, “Master, we worked hard all through the night and caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets were about to tear apart. ⁷ They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord.” ⁹ For Peter and all those with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

Jesus said to Simon, “Have no fear. From now on you will be catching people.”

¹¹ After they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

¹² So there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord is Lord of all, who gives generously to all who call on him. ¹³ Yes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”^[a]

Israel Rejected the Message God Sent

¹⁴ So then, how can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one about whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news of peace,^[b] who preach the gospel of good things!”^[c]

¹⁶ But not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our message?”^{[d] 17} So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through the word of Christ.^[e]