This is the brief account of Zechariah, as the future father of John the Baptist; Mary as the future mother of Jesus; And Gabriel, as the angel sent with a message for each of them. It teaches us much about these faithful servants of God, their strengths, and to some degree their weaknesses. By knowing these individuals, as they are known to be friends of God, they help us to know God better.

Zechariah was a priest of Jehovah and was at this account carrying out the duties of his priesthood in the temple of Jehovah. He was not only a Jew but a priest among them. It should have been reasonable to associate any supernatural manifestation in the temple to be from God. Mary had questions as well. Gabriel dealt with both of them according to their needs and responsibility.

Luke 1:1-80 ALT
(1) Since many undertook to arrange in proper order an account about the events having been accomplished among us, (2) just as they were handed down to us by the ones having became eye-witnesses and attendants of the Word from the beginning, (3) it seemed good also to me, having closely followed [or, having investigated] every[thing] carefully from the beginning, to write [it out] to you in consecutive order [or, in an orderly fashion], most excellent Theophilus, (4) so that you shall know the certainty [or, exact truth] about which you were instructed. (5) [There] was in the days of Herod the king of Judea a certain priest by name Zacharias, from [the] division of Abijah, and his wife [was] from the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elizabeth. (6) Now they were both righteous before God, going in [fig., observing] all the commandments and regulations of the Lord blameless. (7) And no child was [born] to them, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days. (8) Now it happened, while he [was] serving as priest in the [appointed] order of his division before God, (9) according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to offer incense, having entered into the temple of the Lord. (10) And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. (11) And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, having stood on [the] right [side] of the altar of incense. (12) And having seen [him], Zacharias was disturbed, and fear fell upon him. (13) But the angel said to him, "Stop being afraid, Zacharias, for your petition was heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear a son to you, and you will call his name John. (14) "And [there] will be joy to you and great happiness, and many will rejoice at his birth. (15) "For he will be great before Lord, and he shall by no means drink wine and strong drink, and he will be filled [with the] Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. (16) "And he will turn many of the sons [and daughters] of Israel to the Lord their God. (17) "And _he_ will go before Him in [the] spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts [fig., inner selves, and throughout book] of fathers to children, and disobedient [ones] to the way of thinking of righteous [ones], to make ready a people having been prepared for the Lord." (18) And Zacharias said to the angel, "By what [fig., How] will I know this [will happen]? For _I_ am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days?" (19) And answering, the angel said to him, "_I_ am Gabriel, the one having stood in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to proclaim the good news to you [of] these [things]. (20) "And listen! You will be silent and not being able to speak, until which day these [things] occur, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their [appointed] time." (21) And the people were waiting for Zacharias, and they began wondering [why] he [was] delaying in the temple. (22) But having come out, he was not being able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And _he_ was making gestures to them and was remaining mute. (23) And it happened, when the days of his sacred service were completed, he departed to his house. (24) Now after those days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion [for] five months, saying, (25) "In this way the Lord has done to me, in [the] days in which He took notice of [me] to take away my disgrace among people." (26) Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee, to which [is the] name Nazareth, (27) to a virgin having been promised in marriage to a man, whose name [was] Joseph, from the house of David. And the name of the virgin [was] Mary. (28) And having come in, the angel said to her, "Greetings, [one] having been bestowed grace [or, shown kindness]! The Lord [is] with you. _You_ have been blessed among women." [cp. Eph 1:6] (29) But having seen [him], she was greatly perplexed at his word and was pondering what sort of greeting this might be. (30) And the angel said to her, "Stop being afraid, Mary; for you [have] found favor with God! (31) "And listen! You will conceive in [your] womb, and you will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus ["Yahweh saves"]. (32) "This One will be great, and He will be called [the] Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to Him the throne of David His father. (33) "And He will reign over the house of Jacob into the ages [fig. forever], and of His kingdom there will be no end." (34) And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be since I do not know a man [fig., since I am a virgin]?" (35) And answering, the angel said to her, "[The] Holy Spirit will come upon you, and [the] power of the Most High will overshadow you, and so the Holy One being born will be called God's Son. (36) "And listen! Elizabeth your relative, _she_ also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month to her, the one being called barren. (37) "For every word will not be [fig., For nothing is] impossible with God!" (38) And Mary said, "Look! The slave of the Lord! May it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (39) Now Mary having risen in those days, she went to the mountainous [countryside] with haste, to a city of Judea. (40) And she entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. (41) And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leapt for joy in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with [the] Holy Spirit. (42) And she exclaimed with a loud voice, and said, "_You_ have been blessed among women, and the fruit of your womb has been blessed! (43) "And why [has] this [happened] to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (44) "For listen! When the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy with great happiness! (45) "And happy [or, blessed, and throughout book] [is] the one having believed, for [there] will be a fulfillment to the [things] having been spoken to her from the Lord." (46) And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, (47) and my spirit was very glad because of God my Savior. (48) "For He looked with care upon the humble state of His slave. For, look! From now on all generations will consider me to be fortunate. (49) "For the Mighty [One] did marvelous [things] to me, and holy [is] His name. (50) "And His mercy [is] to generations of generations, to the ones fearing Him. (51) "He performed mightily with His arm; He scattered proud [ones] in [the] attitude of their heart. (52) "He brought down rulers from thrones, and He exalted lowly [ones]. (53) "Hungering [ones] He satisfied with good [things], and [ones] being rich He sent away empty. (54) "He helped Israel His servant, [in order] to remember [His] mercy, (55) just as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed into the age [fig., to his descendents forever]." (56) Now Mary remained with her about three months, and she returned her house. (57) Then the time was fulfilled to Elizabeth [for] her to give birth, and she bore a son. (58) And the neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord was magnifying His mercy with her, and they were rejoicing with her. (59) And it happened on the eighth day [that] they came to circumcise the young child, and they were going to call him by the name of his father Zacharias. (60) And answering, his mother said, "Not [so], _but_ he will be called John." (61) And they said to her, "[There] is none among your relatives who is called by this name." (62) So they began making gestures to his father [as to] what he might want him to be called. (63) And having asked for a writing tablet, he wrote, saying, "John is his name." And they were all amazed. (64) Then his mouth was immediately opened and his tongue, and he began speaking, praising God! (65) And fear came on all the ones living around them, and all these sayings were being discussed in all the mountainous [countryside] of Judea. (66) And all the ones having heard [these things], they themselves kept [fig., reflected on] [them] in their hearts, saying, "What then will this young child be?" And [the] hand of [the] Lord was with him. (67) And Zacharias his father was filled with [the] Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, (68) "Blessed [is the] Lord, the God of Israel, because He visited and made redemption for His people. (69) "And He raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant, (70) just as He spoke through [the] mouth of His holy prophets, the [ones] from antiquity, (71) [announcing] salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all the ones hating us, (72) [in order] to do mercy with [fig., show mercy to] our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, (73) [performing the] oath which He vowed to Abraham our father, (74) to give to us, [by] having been delivered out of the hand of our enemies, to [be able to] sacredly serve Him without fear, (75) in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life! (76) "And _you_, young child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before [the] face [fig., presence] of [the] Lord to prepare His ways, (77) to give knowledge of salvation to His people by [the] forgiveness of their sins, (78) because of [the] bowels of mercy [fig., tender mercies] of our God, with which the Rising [Sun] from on high [has] visited us, (79) to give light to the ones sitting in darkness and [the] shadow of death, to guide our feet into [the] way of peace." (80) Now the young child was growing and was being strengthened in spirit, and he was in the deserts until [the] day of his public appearance to Israel.

Note that Zechariah displayed a lack of faith when Gabriel appeared to him in the temple, asking Gabriel for a sign in addition to that manifestation. It did not appear Gabriel had any problem knowing how to deal with Zechariah, giving him as his requested "sign" to become mute until the birth of his son John. Those who love Jehovah study his word, and strive to come to appreciate how and why God does things, and then to develop the ability to imitate him. There is no indication Gabriel contacted Jehovah to see how he should respond to Zechariah's lack of faith. As a friend of God, Gabriel knew what an appropriate response would be. In this way individuals learn to magnify God. By acting out of a mind and heart trained by the Bible, they can behave as God might do. Thus, faithful Gabriel could know how to render judgment over Zechariah's expressed lack of faith. "The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts," goes a phrase concocted by someone. This is the only example I have seen where it might actually be true. As individuals learn to know our Creator and then to obey and imitate him, they magnify God. As Job 36:24 says: "Remember that you should magnify his activity." As Mary said at Luke 1:46 in the American Standard Bible: "And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord."

Mary also had questions. She wanted to know about how the thing could be accomplished, as she was a virgin. It does not appear this was doubt on Mary's part, or perhaps more was required of Zechariah because he was a trained priest of Jehovah. Thus Gabriel explained in some degree that Mary would not need to have relations with a man, as God would be the child's Father. That settled Mary's concern. John apparently did not hide his sin of doubt from others; as his wife Elizabeth commented that Mary should be blessed for not doubting. This account gives us wonderful insight into our Creator and Father; By our knowing how those he loved and were used by him behaved in different circumstances. In the kingdom of Christ, these resurrected individuals will be our friends; If we take advantage of the opportunity afforded us through faith in Christ. In some measure, we have a chance to get to know them as friends right now, such as the Bible gives us insight. What a joy! Knowledge of the Bible can give you the friendship of that "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1) who are now dead, but who are living through the resurrection hope. (Matthew 22:32) It can also make you friends with all throughout the earth who love our Father Jehovah and his son Christ Jesus.

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