Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist. 

Mary was the mother of Jesus.

But let’s look at them before either of those events took place.

He was a priest, a descendant of Aaron.

According to Luke 1:7, Zechariah was advanced in years.  All Levites, including priests, were only allowed to work until age 50(although they could assist after the age of 50) – Num. 8:24-26.  He would have been less than 50 years old, but still advanced in years.

He was upright in the sight of God and blameless in terms of keeping God’s commands(Luke 1:6).  He was a faithful and obedient member of God’s chosen people.

Mary was a young woman.

She was betrothed to Joseph(Luke 1:26-27), who was from the tribe of Judah, and a descendant of David.

Mary’s age in not given.  She was to be married, and at the time, a young woman usually would have been married in her mid to late teens.  This would likely place her age between 13 and 19.

{Of the two, who do you think will have greater faith when God reveals part of His plan to each of them:  the older priest who is considered blameless, or the young girl about to be married?  Let’s take a closer look and find out.}

Mary was someone who had found favor with God; she was blessed among all women(Luke 1:30).  Of all the women that God could have chosen to bring His Son into the physical world, He chose Mary.  Let me say that again, God chose Mary.  She wasn’t just some random girl; God knew her heart and chose her accordingly.

When Zechariah was approached by an angel and told that he would have a son, he had questions.  He expressed his disbelief, as both he and his wife, Elizabeth, were advanced in years(Luke 1:20).   They did not have any children and their likelihood of having children was remote, at best.  As a result of his lack of faith, he was rendered speechless until after the child(John the Baptist) was born.

When Mary was approached by the same angel, the angel told her that she would have a son.  She questioned how that was possible, since she was a virgin(Luke 1:34).  After being told that she would be impregnated by the Holy Spirit, and even though she still couldn’t understand it all, her response was that she was God’s servant.  She believed God’s message, even though she didn’t understand how it would work out.  She expressed her faith and trust in God.

Faith involves things we do not know.  We have some information, but we don’t know for ourselves.  Some people think that faith is blind, but Biblical faith is based on information, just like the information Zechariah and Mary were given.  It was highly unlikely that Zechariah and Elizabeth would have a child, and it was impossible that Mary would have a child(being a virgin).  Neither had any way of knowing how their individual prophecies would work out.  Zechariah responded with disbelief, while Mary responded with belief.

You wouldn’t think that a young girl would have more faith than a priest who had probably been serving at the Temple for longer than she had been alive.  It can be really easy to judge people based on their appearance, or even their experience, or lack thereof.  Faith doesn’t require a Ph. D.  It doesn’t require a set number of years of service or study.  It simply requires a heart that says. “I might not understand this, but I’m going to trust God.  He said it, so I believe it.”  That was Mary’s heart.

During the course of our lives, we are going to find ourselves in circumstances where we just don’t understand how this will work out.  That’s fine.  We don’t have to know; we have to have faith(not in ourselves, but in God).