[johngrace]

Luke 1

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 [c]In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ZECHARIAH ,[d] of the division of Abi′jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was ELIZABETH. 6 And THEY were BOTH RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD, WALKING in ALL THE COMMANDMENTS and ORDINANCES of the Lord BLAMELESS.

[boatbums]

So, now, Zechariah and Elizabeth get to join Mary in being without sin? Heck, couldn't God have made us ALL sinless and saved himself the trouble of the incarnation and the crucifixion?

ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All means ALL.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

Try reading a few versus farther, after Gabriel announces John the Baptist's conception (Luke 1:18-20):

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Zechariah was righteous, but he disbelieved God's promise, as communicated by Gabriel, so he was struck mute for a season, until John the Baptist was born. Do you know who else was 'righteous'? King David, a man after God's heart. You know, King David, the adulterer and murder. Job was also righteous, but he suffered more than I could likely take. He suffered because he was proud of his righteousness and adherence to God's laws.

ALL these folks were righteous, yet all sinned. As noted on another posting, Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Mary even confirmed her sinful nature when she said in Luke 1:47 "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior." Again, IF she is sinless, why would she need a Saviour? If Jesus did not come to save us from the wages of our sins, what did He come to save us from?