And Zechariah said to the angel, "By what shall I know this?" for I am old, and my wife is old. The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, standing before God, and I have been sent to speak with you, and to preach these things to you; and behold, you will be silent, and you will not be able to speak until the day that it comes to pass, because you have not believed my words, which will come to pass in due time.

Although Zacharias was righteous and holy, yet, considering the extraordinary birth of his son, he did not easily believe. That is why the Angel tells him about his worthiness: "I am Gabriel," who stands before God, not a demon deceiver, but an Angel of God. Therefore, because you do not believe, you will be deaf and unable to speak. He is justly subjected to both – deafness and muteness, for as a disobedient one is punished by deafness, and as a contradictor – by silence. In addition, he foreshadowed what had happened to the Jews. For just as he, old and barren, and unbelieving, begat a son, greater than the prophets, so the Jewish church and hierarchy, although old and barren and unfaithful, and disobedient, nevertheless gave birth in the flesh to the Word of God, the Lord of the prophets, with Whose birth those who had previously been disobedient passed on to faith and confession.

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zacharias and were amazed that he was tarrying in the temple. And when he went out, he could not speak to them; and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple; And when the days of his service were finished, he returned to his house.

Do you see how the Jews waited and stayed until the high priest came out? And we, Christians, have just entered the church, as we already think that bad things will happen to us if we do not come out. Zechariah made signs to the people, who probably asked about the reason for the silence; but as he could not speak, he explained it by signs. It is also noted that Zechariah did not go to his house until the days of his ministry were over, but remained in the temple. For the hill country was indeed far from Jerusalem. Yes, the priest, if he had a house in Jerusalem itself, was not allowed to leave the courtyard of the temple during his time. And we, alas, how neglect the divine services! That Zechariah could not speak, but used signs, indicates the foolish life of the Jews. For having put to death the Word, they cannot give an account either of their deeds or of their speeches. Even if you ask them about anything prophetic, they do not open their mouths and cannot give you a word or an answer.

After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself for five months, saying, "Thus hath the Lord done me in these days, in which he looked upon me, that he might take away from me the reproach among men."

Elizabeth, being chaste, was ashamed and, having conceived in old age, hid herself for five months, until Mary also conceived. And when this (Mary) also conceived, and the child leaped in her (Elizabeth's) womb, she no longer hid herself, and even behaved boldly, like the mother of such a son, who even before his birth was honored with the dignity of a prophet.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man, whose name was Joseph, from the house of David; and the name of the Virgin was Mary. The angel came in to Her and said: Rejoice, O Thou of Grace! The Lord is with Thee; blessed art Thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled by his words, and wondered what kind of greeting it would be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace with God."

In the "sixth" month, counting from the time of John's conception. He says that the Virgin was betrothed to a man of the house of David, in order to show that she also came from the same family of David; for it was a law that both halves (in marriage) should be of the same gens and of the same tribe (Num. 36:6-9). Since the Lord said to Eve: "In sickness shalt thou bear children" (Gen. 3:16), now this illness is resolved by the joy that the Angel brings to the Virgin, saying: "Rejoice, full of grace!" Mary pondered over the greeting, whether it was not vile and vicious, such as the address of a man to a maiden, or divine, since the greeting also mentioned God: "The Lord is with Thee"? The angel, firstly, calms Her heart from fear, so that She accepts the divine answer in a calm position; for in a state of confusion she would not be able to properly listen to what is going to come to pass; then, as if to explain the above-mentioned word "Grace-filled," he says: "You have found grace with God." For to be blessed means to receive grace from God, that is, to please God. But this happiness is common, for many others have received grace from God, and the greeting offered to Mary does not yet go to anyone.

And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bear a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and his kingdom shall have no end.

"And behold, thou shalt conceive" – no other virgin has ever been honored with this privilege. He said, "In the womb"; this shows that the Lord was essentially incarnate from the very wombs of the Virgin. The one who came for the salvation of our race is rightly called "Jesus," for this name translated into Greek means "salvation from God." Jesus, according to the interpretation, means Saviour, because salvation is also called "iao". "He will be," he says, "great, and will be called the Son of the Most High." John was also great, but he was not yet the son of the Most High, and the Saviour was great in His teaching, and the "Son of the Most High" was also in His teaching, for He taught as He who had authority and by performing wondrous miracles. The visible Man is called the Son of the Most High: for since the Person was one, the Man, the Son of the Virgin, was truly the Son of the Most High. The Word was the Son of the Most High before the ages, but it was not called so and was not known; but when He was incarnated and manifested in the flesh, then He who is visible and works miracles is called the Son of the Most High. When you hear about the "throne of David," do not think of the kingdom of the senses, but think of the Divine kingdom, by which He reigned over all nations by Divine preaching. The "house of Jacob" are those who believe both from the Jews and from other nations, for such are Jacob and Israel. How is it said that He sat on the throne of David? Listen. David was the least among his brothers; and the Lord was despised and reproached as one who loves to eat and drink wine, and the son of a carpenter, and in disgrace even among his brethren, the sons of Joseph. "For even His brethren," it is said, "believed not in Him" (John 7:5). David, in spite of his charity, was persecuted; and they slandered the Lord, who works miracles, and threw stones. David conquered and reigned with meekness; and the Lord reigned, taking up the cross out of meekness. Do you see, then, in what sense it is said that He sat down on the throne of David? As David accepted the kingdom of the senses, so the Lord accepted a spiritual reign of which "there shall be no end." For there will be no end to the reign of Christ, that is, to the knowledge of God and Christianity. For even in persecution we shine with the grace of Christ.

And Mary said to the angel, How shall this be, since I know no man? The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; wherefore also the Holy One who is born shall be called the Son of God.

The Virgin said, "How it will be," not because she did not believe, but because she, as wise and prudent, wished to know the image of the present event, for nothing like this had ever happened before, nor will it happen after this. That is why the Angel forgives Her and does not condemn Her like Zechariah, but also explains the image of the event. Zechariah is justly condemned: he had many examples, since many barren gave birth, and the Virgin did not have a single example. "The Holy Spirit," he says, "will come upon Thee," making Thy womb fruitful and making flesh for the Word of one essence. "And the power of the Most High is the Son of God, for Christ is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:24), will overshadow You," that is, it will cover You, it will surround You on all sides. For as a bird completely overshadows its young, covering it with its wings, so the power of God embraced the Virgin completely; this means "to overshadow." Perhaps some will say: just as a painter first casts a shadow, then paints it completely, so the Lord, creating His own flesh and forming the image of man, first set off the flesh in the womb of the Mother, mixing it from the blood of the Ever-Virgin, and then formed it. But this is doubtful. For some say that at the same time as the Lord overshadowed the womb of the Virgin, a perfect child immediately appeared, while others do not accept this. Listen, then, to what he says: "Therefore also that which is born is holy," that is, that which grows in thy womb gradually, and not that which suddenly appeared in a perfect form. Hence the mouth of Nestorius is stopped. For he said that it was not the Son of God, who dwelt in the womb of the Virgin, who became incarnate, but the simple man, born of Mary, who afterwards began to have God as his companion. Let him hear that he who was born in the womb was the Son of God, not another who was carried in the womb and another Son of God, but one and the same Son of the Virgin and the Son of God. See how He also pointed to the Holy Trinity, naming the Holy Spirit, the power – the Son, the Most High – the Father.

Behold, Elizabeth, thy kinswoman, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is now six months old, for with God no word shall be powerless. Then Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to Me according to thy word. And the Angel departed from Her.

Perhaps some wonder how Elizabeth was related to the Virgin, when the Virgin was of the tribe of Judah, and Elizabeth of the daughters of Aaron, for the Law required that marriages should be of the same tribe, and therefore the kinship was between those who came from the same tribe. To this we can also say that since the time of the captivity the generations have been mixed, or better yet, the following: Aaron had Elizabeth, the daughter of Aminadab, as his wife, and this was of the tribe of Judah. You see, Our Lady was a relative of Elizabeth from the beginning, from Aaron. Since Aaron's wife came from the tribe of Judah, from which the Mother of God was also born, and Elizabeth was from the daughters of Aaron, it follows that Elizabeth is a relative of the Mother of God. For her foremother, Aaron's wife, was of the tribe of Judah. Look also at the succession of kinship: Aaron's wife is Elizabeth, and Zachariah's wife is Elizabeth, as she is descended from her. But let's see what the Virgin says. "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be unto Me according to thy word": I am the painter's board; let the painter write what he wants; let the Lord do what pleases Him. Obviously, what was said before: "how it will be" was not an expression of unbelief, but of a desire to know the image; for if she had not believed, she would not have said: "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, let it be unto Me according to thy word." Know also that Gabriel means a man of God, Mary is a lady, and Nazareth is sanctification. Therefore, when God was to be made man, it is fitting that Gabriel is sent, which means: the man of God; and the greeting is performed in a holy place, that is, in Nazareth, for where God is, there is nothing unclean.