The miracle of John’s conception is what we might call an “ordinary” miracle, like Sarah’s, or Hannah’s. We meet his elderly parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and see the encounter between Zechariah and the angel Gabriel. Zechariah responds with a question which sounds similar to Mary’s: “How will I know that this is so? But it is also ordinary: the same ordinary miracle experienced by Elizabeth, and countless other women, time out of mind. Luke has even provided a clue from the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, an allusion in the person of the angel Gabriel.

Source: The Times December 15, 2023 22:56 UTC