1:18 — Zechariah asked the angel, "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well on in years."

Zechariah's response to the angel's pronouncement seems, at first sight, innocent enough. He and his wife were already old. But his response is unlike Mary's, "How will this be since . . ." but "How shall I know this?" (NRS, NKJ, ESV). It was not a question of how something so amazing can happen, but a question of the the angel's credibility. His own question, "How can I know this?" has already been answered; the angel had just told him. It was a question to the effect, "How can I know you are telling the truth?"