In passages such as Isaiah 42:6–7 and Isaiah 49:6, the prophet talks of a person to whom God will reach out his hand. This person would be a light to the nations, or a light to the Gentiles. And through this person, God would extend his salvation to the ends of the earth. One of the stunning aspects of Paul’s mission was that he appeared to have thought that he was the one to whom Isaiah was referring. In other words, Paul thought he himself was the one God had chosen to fulfill the prophecies of scripture.