“How Can This Be?”
During our morning study, my husband came up with the question of why, in Luke 1, Zacharias was struck mute… So, I just HAD to do some serious study on that… I always have to ask those 6 inquisitive questions, “who, what where, when, why and how”. So, here is my result for this study.
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Sometimes the simplest questions in Scripture open the deepest wells. One small phrase, “How can this be?”, appears more than once in the Word, and each time YHWH responds differently. Abraham asked it and was given a covenant. Mary asked it and was given revelation. Zechariah asked it and was struck silent. Same question, same YHWH, yet three very different outcomes. That alone should make us pause and wonder, in wonder.
It’s almost as if the Lord is asking us to look beneath the words themselves and listen for the tone of the heart that spoke them. Because the issue was never the question. It was what lived inside the one asking said question. Some questions come from faith that longs to understand, and others come from doubt that demands proof. The difference is subtle to the ear but thunderous to YHWH. And I get that!
Abraham’s voice rose from wonder, Mary’s from trust, and Zechariah’s from weariness. And in each, we see a picture of ourselves, sometimes bold in faith, sometimes quietly afraid, sometimes so familiar with the holy that we forget it’s still miraculous. But through them all, the heart of YHWH doesn’t change. He listens, He answers, and sometimes He even hushes the noise long enough for His promise to take root in silence.
It began with Abraham, the father of faith, standing beneath a sky full of uncountable stars. The promise had already been spoken: “Look now toward YHWH, and tell the stars, if you be able to number them… so shall your seed be” (Gen 15:5). And Abraham believed YHWH. That’s the first thing the writer wants us to see, he didn’t wait for proof, he simply trusted that if YHWH said it, it was already true.
But faith doesn’t silence curiosity. In Gen 15:8, he asks, “Lord YHWH, how shall I know that I will inherit it?” In Hebrew, בַּמָּה אֵדַע כִּי אִירָשֶׁנָּה (Bammah eida ki irashennah) carries the sense of “By what means (how) will I come to know; by what sign of Your faithfulness will You show me?” It’s a question from someone who already believes but longs to see the covenant sealed.
YHWH doesn’t rebuke him. Instead, He meets the question with one of the most mysterious and tender gestures in all of Torah: He calls Abraham to prepare a covenant offering. When the pieces are laid out and the sun goes down, a deep sleep falls on Abraham, and the presence of YHWH passes between the divided pieces as a smoking furnace and a burning lamp. It’s as though YHWH Himself walks through the blood, saying, “If this covenant fails, let Me be torn asunder instead.”
In that moment, Abraham’s question, “How will I know?” is answered not with words, but with blood-bound assurance. That’s how YHWH always answers faith that seeks understanding, with deeper revelation of His own heart.
Even later, when Abraham laughed at the idea of Sarah bearing a child, the Hebrew word צָחַק (tsachaq) means “to laugh with joy, to exult.” It wasn’t mocking laughter, it was astonishment bursting out of faith too full to stay quiet. And YHWH didn’t mind that laughter; He named it Isaac, Yitzḥaq, He laughs. It’s as if He smiled and said, “Yes, keep that joy, because every time you call your son’s name, you’ll remember that I am the YHWH who does the impossible.”
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Fast forward many generations, and we meet Mary, a young woman of quiet faith in Nazareth. Her life is unremarkable to the world’s eye, yet YHWH has chosen her for a moment that will echo throughout eternity. When the angel Gabriel appears, she is startled, yes. Yet her heart is wide open, ready to receive what is coming.
Gabriel tells her she will bear a son, the promised Meshiach, and Mary responds with the question that mirrors Abraham’s in form but differs in tone: “How shall this be, since I know not a man?” (Luke 1:34) In Greek, Πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; (Pōs estai touto, epei andra ou ginōskō?), “How shall this be?”, carries no trace of doubt. The verb ginōskō means to know intimately, and Mary’s question comes from curiosity and trust, not disbelief. She believes Gabriel, she trusts the Word, and yet she naturally seeks to understand the how within her human reality.
Gabriel answers her in the most tender of ways. He tells her of the overshadowing by the Holy Spirit, of the miracle that will honor her purity, and even points her to Elizabeth, a living sign that nothing is impossible with YHWH. Mary does not demand proof; she leans into revelation. Her heart attitude is faith seeking understanding, and it is met with explanation, encouragement, and blessing.
Her response, “Behold the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38), is a perfect harmony of trust and surrender. She does not know the details of conception, growth, or the suffering ahead, but she recognizes that YHWH’s promise is trustworthy. In her humility, the Word of YHWH finds a dwelling place.
Mary’s question, like Abraham’s, invites revelation rather than resistance. It reminds us that faith does not silence wonder; it channels it. When we ask how, when our hearts seek understanding without disbelief, YHWH responds with insight, grace, and the unveiling of His ways.
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And then we come to Zechariah. As I studied this one, which drove me to this study in the first place, it took me to be completely amazing… YHWH, fulfilling His plans to bring Yeshua into our lives and away from tradition.
Zechariah was a priest of the old covenant, standing in the Holy Place before the incense altar, performing the duties of generations of faithful Levites. Everything about him is steeped in ritual, in the patterns of the Law, in the repetition of sacred duties. And yet, when the angel appears, his question mirrors those of Abraham and Mary in form: “How shall I know this?” (Luke 1:18). But everything about it carries a different weight.
In Greek, Κατὰ τί γνώσομαι τοῦτο; (Kata ti gnōsomai touto?), is literally translated, “According to what shall I know this?” it is not curiosity seeking understanding; it’s a request for evidence, a demand for proof. His words focus on human limitation: “I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” Unlike Abraham or Mary, Zechariah’s heart hesitates at the impossible. His lips ask a question, but his mind clings to what seems naturally improbable.
Gabriel’s response is immediate, gentle, and firm: “Because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day these things take place” (Luke 1:20). The silence is both a correction and a sign. Zechariah’s muteness reflects the voice of the old covenant, the fading priesthood, a generation accustomed to ritual rather than wonder. The Word of YHWH will move forward through another voice, his son, John, the forerunner who will announce the dawn of the Meshiach.
Zechariah’s story shows us the subtle but profound difference between the posture of faith and the posture of doubt. Abraham’s question came from wonder, Mary’s from trust, and Zechariah’s from disbelief. One opens the door for covenant, one opens the door for revelation, and one pauses in silence until the divine plan unfolds.
Even in his silence, though, YHWH’s promise remains unshaken. Zechariah’s muteness is not punishment alone; it is prophetic. It signals the transition from the old to the new, from the priestly voice of ritual to the voice of a prophetic messenger, preparing the way for the Messiah who will come, not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.
In these three moments, we see a pattern: the same question, “How can this be?”, meets different heart positions and receives different responses. YHWH listens not only to the words but to the posture of the heart behind them. Faith that trusts, even when it does not fully understand, is met with covenant and revelation. Doubt that demands proof meets silence, a pause that makes way for something greater.
When we step back and look at these three stories together, a deeper pattern emerges, almost like a thread running through YHWH’s own handwriting. Abraham, Mary, and Zechariah are connected not only by the words they speak, but by the meaning of their names and the timing of YHWH’s promises.
Abraham (אַבְרָהָם) means “father of multitudes.” His life opens the covenantal story, the first to walk in faith and receive the assurance of YHWH’s promises. The number of his name, 248 in gematria, symbolizes the complete human body in Jewish tradition, faith made flesh, lived out in every part of life. His question, asked from a posture of wonder, leads to covenant and blessing.
Mary (מִרְיָם / Μαριάμ) means “beloved” or “wished-for child.” She stands at the pivot of history, carrying the promise of the Messiah within her very womb. Her Greek name’s gematria, 152, points to grace fulfilled through completion, showing that YHWH Himself encoded her role in the numbers of perfection. Her question, asked in trust and humility, opens her to revelation and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Zechariah (זְכַרְיָה) means “YHWH remembers.” His muteness is not the end of the story; it is prophetic. He embodies the old priesthood and the transitional silence that allows YHWH’s plan to unfold through the next generation. If we add up the numbers of the letters in his name, the total eventually boils down to 8, the number of new beginnings, showing that even silence can be full of purpose. His doubt, though human, becomes the stage for the coming voice of John, the forerunner who will prepare the way for the Messiah.
Together, their names read almost like a sentence from YHWH Himself: YHWH remembers His promise, bringing a beloved child through the father of faith. The story stretches across generations, from covenant to incarnation, from expectation to fulfillment. Each “How can this be?” shows us the posture, the attitude, of the heart that matters more than the question itself. Faith that wonders is beckoned deeper into covenant and revelation. Doubt that demands proof meets silence; but even then, YHWH’s promise does not fail.
And if we look at the science of it, it is very fascinating. Humanly impossible pregnancies, barren bodies opening to life, virgin conception, all of it occurs according to the laws YHWH set in place, but in ways that require His miraculous intervention. The cells, the womb, the timing, even the DNA respond to His word, revealing a Creator who speaks creation into obedience, who commands life out of what seems impossible. Faith does not bypass reality; it aligns with the One who sustains it.
Abraham, Mary, and Zechariah teach us that YHWH’s response is always tuned to the posture of the heart. When we ask in wonder, He reveals covenant. When we ask in trust, He reveals miracle. When we ask in doubt, He may silence us, not to abandon us, but to make way for something greater. The lesson echoes through every generation: faith invites revelation, and the attitude of your heart determines the way YHWH answers.
So we come to the quiet close of this story. Abraham, Mary, and Zechariah each asked the same question, yet each received an answer perfectly tuned to the attitude of their hearts. We see covenant, revelation, and prophetic silence, each showing us something about the YHWH we serve… a God who listens more to the heart than the words, who meets faith with blessing and doubt with careful timing, who orchestrates every detail across generations to fulfill His promise.
It tells us to pause and ask ourselves: when we stand before the impossible, when life stretches beyond what seems reasonable, what attitude do we carry in our hearts? Do we ask with wonder, trusting YHWH to act in ways we cannot understand? Do we ask with humility, asking His Spirit to show us what we cannot see? Or do we ask with doubt, demanding proof before we will believe?
The answer, always, is the same: YHWH’s Word will not fail. The promise will come. Even in silence, He is working. And if we carry faith like Abraham, trust like Mary, and patience like Zechariah, we will see His plan unfold; miraculous, perfect, and entirely according to His timing.
God ALWAYS has an ultimate plan. AND He carries those out according to HIS will.
And THAT, is….
image done by chatgpt at my direction