What is the difference in response between Zechariah and Mary?

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In Luke 1, we read very similar accounts of two births foretold. In the first, the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth will bear a son to be named John. In the second, Mary is told by Gabriel that she will conceive a son, Jesus. Both seem to respond in a similar manner to the angel. Compare:

18Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

34“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

Luke 1:18, 34 (NIV)

In response to Zechariah, the angel silences him until the time of John’s birth; but in response to Mary the angel addresses her question by giving an explanation that the Spirit will overshadow her. What would account for the disparate reactions by the angel Gabriel to their questions?

17 Comments

  • Varnel Watson
    Reply December 22, 2016

    Varnel Watson

    In response to Zechariah, the angel silences him until the time of John’s birth; but in response to Mary the angel addresses her question by giving an explanation that the Spirit will overshadow her. What would account for the disparate reactions by the angel Gabriel to their questions?

  • Nelson Banuchi
    Reply December 22, 2016

    Nelson Banuchi

    Zechariah asked doubting it would be fulfilled. He asked: “How can I be sure of this?”, or, “How do I know you’re really going to do this? It’s quite impossible as we are both over the age of child-bearing?”

    While Mary didn’t asked whether or not it can be done or would be fulfilled, only how, that is, she asked, “How will you do this since I have never been in intimately with a man?”

    There is a difference. Whereas the former doubted it’s fulfillment, the latter reflects, perhaps, a curiosity as to how it will be fulfilled.

  • Varnel Watson
    Reply December 22, 2016

    Varnel Watson

    Do you know who preaches the powerful word going around the internets that talks about Mary said Magnifieth my soul the Lord

  • Jeffry Woolston
    Reply December 22, 2016

    Jeffry Woolston

    The difference I see is Zechariah had a lapse of faith and Mary had a leap of faith. God used the son of Zechariah to prepare the way and the son of Mary was and is The Way. The son of Zechariah was the product of God giving life to his dead seed and the son of Mary is the seed who gives us all abundant and eternal life.

  • Varnel Watson
    Reply December 22, 2016

    Varnel Watson

    Well now Zechariah wasnt really pregnant of the Holy Ghost now was he – in order to give anywhere close Mary’s response. The correlation is however well observed.

    The lievitical offspring from the law could not provide root-link for the Messiah. The livitical law was too old age wise and in doubt

    The new move of the Holy Ghost however was no subject of the law but a fulfiller of law and prophets. Age wise Mary was young contrary to Zechariah being old. A new thing was coming – God thing – God’s plan for salvation of His own people

  • Deacon Joseph Bell
    Reply January 10, 2020

    Deacon Joseph Bell

    What is interesting is how the angel greets Mary. The angel says, in Greek, “caire kecaritwmenh o kurios meta sou euloghmenh su en gunaixin”, or “be-you-rejoicing HAVING-been-gracED the Master with you being blessed you in women.” You can see in kecaritwmenh, cari, or charis, which is grace. The only other person in the Bible to be called “graced” is Jesus in John 1:14. : plhrhs caritos kai alhqeias or “full of grace and truth.” The sense is that Mary has been graced while Jesus contains grace in an of himself. It may be that the Angel defers to Mary as the Mother of Jesus, who is God incarnate.

    • Reply January 10, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      you mean like in
      hail Mary full of grace 🙂

      pls give the other NT verse where κεχαριτωμένη is used of Jesus or someone else

      Perfect passive participle of charitoo and means endowed with grace (charis), enriched with grace as in Ephesians 1:6 Full of grace is way far fetched meaning of κεχαριτωμένη which means favored with grace …. The word is used nowhere else in the Scriptures or in secular Greek literature. The technical name for such a novel, unique word is hapax legomenon. Hapax legomenon–which comes to us from Greek–means “expressed once.” This sort of word is sometimes also referred to as a nonce word. In this case, it is a one-of-a-kind word for a one-of-a-kind person in a one-of-a-kind situation. No one else in human history is κεχαριτωμένη – grafitificata as the pope may say it sometimes

    • Deacon Joseph Bell
      Reply January 11, 2020

      Deacon Joseph Bell

      Troy Day I don’t know what the Pope has to do with it and I wrote nothing of “full of grace.” My point is that the difference in the angel’s greeting may have something to do with Mary’s maternal relationship to the Son of God.

    • Deacon Joseph Bell
      Reply January 11, 2020

      Deacon Joseph Bell

      Mary is the first person to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.

    • Reply January 11, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Deacon Joseph Bell this is true and also first one to preach the GOSPE BUT all that has nothing to do with your OP and the claim there It is a simple papistic approach to Hail Mary that is NOT Biblical

    • Deacon Joseph Bell
      Reply January 11, 2020

      Deacon Joseph Bell

      Troy Day I don’t think you and I are reading the same posts.

    • Reply January 11, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Deacon Joseph Bell read the OP decide for yourself

    • Deacon Joseph Bell
      Reply January 11, 2020

      Deacon Joseph Bell

      Troy Day yep, read it again. I mentioned nothing about Mary being full of grace nor did I mention the Papacy.

    • Reply January 11, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Deacon Joseph Bell the comparison between the favoring of Mary and Jesus is a papal fallacy and we all know it The greek words are quite different as I showed you You have failed to produce a verse that prove your point

    • Deacon Joseph Bell
      Reply January 11, 2020

      Deacon Joseph Bell

      Troy Day what was my point?

    • Deacon Joseph Bell
      Reply January 11, 2020

      Deacon Joseph Bell

      Here is my post : “What is interesting is how the angel greets Mary. The angel says, in Greek, “caire kecaritwmenh o kurios meta sou euloghmenh su en gunaixin”, or “be-you-rejoicing HAVING-been-gracED the Master with you being blessed you in women.” You can see in kecaritwmenh, cari, or charis, which is grace. The only other person in the Bible to be called “graced” is Jesus in John 1:14. : plhrhs caritos kai alhqeias or “full of grace and truth.” The sense is that Mary has been graced while Jesus contains grace in an of himself. It may be that the Angel defers to Mary as the Mother of Jesus, who is God incarnate.”

    • Reply January 12, 2020

      Varnel Watson

      Deacon Joseph Bell its a faulty comparison The words are quite different you see and do not denote what you forcing them to mean

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