I’ll never forget the day when my wife walked into the room where I was and announced to me, “Baby, I’m pregnant.” My initially feelings were a mixture of excitement and nervousness like, “Wow, this just got real.” After a moment of letting this exciting announcement wash over me with a flood of emotions, I then followed it up with the question, “Are you sure?”, to which she said, “Yes, I’m pretty sure.” She then proceeded to show me 6 tests that she took which all came back positive. Nine months later we would welcome our first child, Tommy, into the world.
Today we’re being ushered into two of the most famous baby announcements ever recorded in human history. In both cases, like when I heard my wife and I were having a baby, the announcement was followed up with a question. It is to these two questions that our attention is being drawn to today. Luke opens up his account of the Good News about Jesus by using a pattern he’ll use throughout his book. He’ll tell two back to back stories of a male and a female with the intent of comparing and contrasting their experiences. Thus we are introduced to a man named Zechariah and a girl named Mary. Both of them have the angel Gabriel sent to them from the throne room of God with the announcement that they’ll each be having a son. As their stories unfold in Luke chapter 1, it can appear like each of their encounters with the appearance and announcement of Gabriel were exactly the same. For example, both of them were troubled by the appearance of the angel Gabriel, to which he would reply to each of them, “Do not be afraid.” Gabriel then gives each of them the reason for the miracle birth. To Zechariah he tells him the child’s name would be called John. To Mary he tells her her Child’s name would be called Jesus. Zechariah is told his child will be great and Mary is told her child will be very great. Zechariah’s son would be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb and Mary’s Son would be conceived through the Holy Spirit! Then in both cases the child’s mission is given, which is then followed by a question. In each case, after the question is asked, Gabriel will then provide proof or an explanation, however Zechariah’s question get’s rebuked, but Mary’s question get’s no rebuke. So what’s going on here? In Luke 1:18, Zechariah’s question regarding Gabriel’s baby announcement was…
““How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.””
Then in Luke 1:34, Mary’s question is…
““But how can this happen? I am a virgin.””
Two questions, but only one rebuke. So now I have a question. And maybe you’ve wondered about this too. When it comes to the angel Gabriel’s baby announcements, what was the difference between Zachariah’s question and Mary’s question? Well first, let’s begin by taking a closer look at Zechariah’s story and then we’ll look at Mary’s story to see what we find.
When Luke introduces us to Zechariah, he’s someone we’d expect to receive favor from God. He’s a faithful Levitical priest from the line of Abijah, whose married to a faithful wife named Elizabeth from the priestly line of Aaron. As a matter of fact, they’re described as righteous in God’s eyes, obedient to His commands and regulations, yet also very old. Then we’re hit with the surprising bombshell that they’ve had the culturally unfavorable predicament of being unable to conceive for quite some time. Now one has to appreciate that they stayed faithful to Yahweh even though their prayers seemed to go unanswered. Then finally one day, as Zechariah is serving in the holy place of the Temple by burning incense in intercession for the people, the angel Gabriel suddenly appears to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. As a faithful Jewish priest, Zechariah would’ve known that for this angel to be standing on the right side of the alar meant good news, because this was the side of God’s favor. Secondly, he would’ve know the name of Gabriel from the book of Daniel and his association with the coming of the Messiah. Thirdly, when you consider all the allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures contained in Gabriel’s baby announcement to Zechariah, it becomes very clear that this encounter was designed by God to inspire confidence in the faithfulness of His word. Yet consider the response of this man, who was so full of spiritual privilege, in verse 18…