Each year, as we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we read the familiar passages in the Bible about the birth of Jesus, especially Luke 1.  In Dan Darling’s fine new book, The Characters of Christmas, he looks at the characters who make up the story of Jesus’ birth. Two of those characters are Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth and future father of John the Baptist, and Mary, who would become the mother of Jesus.

SIMILARITIES:

• Both are visited by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:19; 1:26-27)
• Both are promised the miraculous birth of a son (Luke 1:13; 1:31)
• Both are equally unfit to have a child: Zechariah’s wife is barren, and Mary is a virgin (Luke 1:7; Luke 1:27)
• Both respond with equal perplexity—”How?” (Luke 1:18; 1:34)

The angel Gabriel appeared to both of them, delivering them each a shocking message. Both Zechariah and Mary question Gabriel, but their questioning is responded to quite differently. In a casual reading of the text, you could – and I have – wondered about their reactions and Gabriel’s differing response to them. Continue reading →