JESUS HAD JUST COME DOWN a mountain with Peter, James, and John, where they had seen him change miraculously into a dazzlingly bright figure, having a chat with Elijah and Moses. Zechariah had been afraid at the appearance of an angel, even though he was an experienced priest—so imagine the terror of these three fishermen as the Transfiguration took them by surprise.

When the four rejoined the other disciples, they found them in the midst of a large crowd, embroiled in an argument with some teachers of the law. A man had brought his spirit-possessed son to the disciples, but they had been unable to drive the spirit out. Beseechingly, the man said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:22, NIV).

“If you can?” Jesus replied, repeating back the man’s doubtful words. “Everything is possible for one who believes” (vs. 23). Chastised but hopeful, the desperate father replied with one of the most honest statements of complicated faith to be found in Scripture: “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief” (vs. 24).

Jesus, of course, did not say, “Nope, sorry. I can’t help you if you still have a shred of doubt. When you manage to purge yourself of unbelief, give me a call.” Instead, Jesus compassionately and graciously healed the boy and gave him back to his father.

The reality is that even faithful people have their doubts. Zechariah was an honorable priest and a righteous man who was careful to obey God’s commands. But when Gabriel promised that his wife would bear him a son, he doubted. You might think that the sudden and terrifying experience of having a heavenly being appear before you would be convincing enough. But the situation seemed impossible: Elizabeth was too old to have a child. And after years and years of anguished prayer, the couple may simply have given up hope, telling themselves that it just wasn’t God’s will. Can we blame them?

For his failure to believe, Zechariah was rendered temporarily mute. But again, it’s important to remember that the promise of a son was not annulled. It was still God’s plan.

So: what about Mary? The two annunciation stories are highly similar. Would she respond as Zechariah did?

Here’s what Mary said back to Gabriel after hearing his announcement that she would become pregnant and have a son:

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34, NIV)

At first blush, it might sound that her response was as doubtful as Zechariah’s, leaving us to wonder why Zechariah’s doubt resulted in a reprimand and Mary’s did not. But her situation was different, and her question needs to be understood accordingly.

First, unlike Zechariah and Elizabeth, she had not been praying to have a child. Why should she? She was young (perhaps 12 or 13 years old) and engaged to be married. Motherhood would come soon enough, in its proper time. Gabriel’s announcement, therefore, came completely out of the blue.

Second, she would not have known of any precedent for a virgin being able to conceive; such a thing had never happened. Zechariah and Elizabeth, by contrast, could have looked back to the story of Abraham and Sarah, who not only conceived in old age but had to wait 25 years for God’s promise of a son to be fulfilled.

Mary’s question, therefore, is probably less about doubt than curiosity. She simply cannot understand how a virgin like herself can have a child. Gabriel answers accordingly, giving her the explanation she needs:

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” (vss. 35-37)

As any high school biology student will tell you, that’s not much of an explanation. But it’s all the explanation Mary needs; essentially, Gabriel tells her, “God will do it,” and reiterates the importance of the child. Then he gives Mary another bit of news: her cousin Elizabeth is pregnant too, and already in her sixth month. Mary would not have known this, since Elizabeth had secluded herself. The angel’s words again highlight the impossibility of such a pregnancy by referring to Elizabeth’s “old age”—but no promise or word from God will fail.

Faithfully, Mary responds:

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (vs. 38)

Even if she doesn’t understand everything she’s being told, Mary accepts that this is God’s will. “I am the Lord’s servant,” she says, surrendering herself to the authority of God. She echoes Gabriel’s language back to him: the angel had said that no “word” of God can fail, so Mary obediently replies, “May your word be fulfilled.”

This is no simple matter. Mary isn’t saying, “Sure, why not? I don’t have anything better to do.” She knows that what’s about to happen is going to cause problems for her; what will people say when they see that she’s pregnant before she’s consummated her marriage to Joseph? What kind of scandal will they imagine, and what gossip will they spread? Indeed, as we read in Matthew’s gospel, when Joseph discovered that she was pregnant, he decided to quietly cancel the wedding, so as not to cause a scene. It took an angelic visitation to set him straight.

All of this is a lot to ask of a sixth-grader, though back then, more was expected of young women her age. Still, in the story as we have it, Luke doesn’t give us any reason to expect such a faithful response from Mary. Zechariah is the one in the story who has all the marks of status—but Mary is the one who better embodies the humble obedience God wants.

That humility has been her claim to fame ever since.