Asking Questions

Just asking the right questions is not always enough. Sometimes, they need to be asked the right way.

“How can this be?”

Zechariah asked that question when a messenger from Yahweh informed him that he would have a son supernaturally after a very long time of marriage. His wife Elizabeth had never been able to become pregnant, and they were both old. He responded to the angel, “How can this be?” (Luke 1:5-25)

Mary asked that same question when the same messenger from Yahweh informed her that she would have a son supernaturally at a very young age and before having had sex with any man. She was betrothed, or promised, to Joseph, which in practical terms meant that they were in the first stage of being married. They were not at the stage of the process of marriage at which they had lived or slept together, and therefore, she responded to the
angel, “How can this be?” (Luke 1:26-38)

When Zechariah asked the question, the response of the messenger implies that he was questioning the possibility of the prophecy being true. When Mary asked the question, the messenger’s response implies that she was seeking information about how it was going to happen. He replied by giving her the steps Yahweh’s Spirit would take to bring it about, answering her with “Here’s how:”

That’s the way we should ask Jesus, “Be perfect?! How can we do that?!” And maybe, the answer we get will be like the one Mary got. “Here’s how…”

This Article on the “Read or Download Articles” page goes deeper…