Day 8 - Luke 1:34-38
07 Dec 2023
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“And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” and the angel departed from her.”
The message Gabriel brings must have been almost impossible for Mary to take in. You cannot fully imagine how she must have felt. At first glance, it might seem like Mary responds in a similar way to Zechariah. Like him, she asks a question. But it is important to see that the two questions are very different.
Zechariah’s question is rooted in cynicism and disbelief. He asked how the message of the angel can be confirmed. (“How shall I know this”?) He didn’t accept the angel’s words as truth by themselves. He then gave reasons as to why the message couldn’t possibly be true (“I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years”).
Mary’s response is different. She genuinely asks how it will be possible that she is to conceive, as she is still a virgin (“how will this be?”). This is a perfectly reasonable question - and does not mean she didn’t believe the angels message. This is shown by the fact that instead of a rebuke, she receives an explanation. The Holy Spirit will come upon her, and she will conceive miraculously. Jesus Christ will be set apart for the Lord from his moment of entry into the world. He will not be called at a later date like the prophets of old.
Gabriel also gives her an extra assurance - the same God working in her has miraculously enabled her cousin Elizabeth to conceive in her old age.
Comparing Zechariah and Mary’s response to the messages they hear, and then seeing how the angels respond to them is insightful for us. The Lord does not expect an unthinking response to his word. He wants us to listen to what he says, and to “think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (as Paul says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:7).
The 20th century American apologist and evangelist Francis Schaeffer used to talk about the importance of giving “honest answers to honest questions”, and was greatly used by the Lord to reach young people in the 1960s and 1970s. Sometimes we may ask God questions and the answer will be “you don’t need to know” or “trust me”. But not all questions are sinful.
However, there is a difference between thinking and asking genuine questions, and cynical doubting. We mustn’t come to God’s word with an attitude of unbelief - not recognising that God is God, and not believing that he is all powerful and has all authority. We must check ourselves when we find those questions rising up within us, and be gentle yet firm with others here. Even here though the Lord is patient and merciful - he even submits himself to Gideon’s test. But we have no right to put him to the test!