Lucas 1:28

The fact that Gabriel greeted Mary as he did and did not greet Zechariah the same way shows Mary’s favored position. Gabriel’s greeting was customary: Hail! or Greetings! (Gr. chaire). Mary was highly "favored" (Gr. kecharitomene) because God chose to bestow special grace ("favor," Gr. charis) on her (cf. Ephesians 1:6, the only other New Testament occurrence of kecharitomene). She would be the mother of the Messiah, which was an honor most Jewish mothers prayed would be hers. God did this without any special merit of her own (cf. Luke 1:47). Roman Catholic commentators dispute this point, but competent scholars have refuted their arguments. [Note: See Marshall, The Gospel . . ., p. 65, for further discussion.] The Lord’s presence with Mary guaranteed His help in the assignment she would have to fulfill (cf. Judges 6:12; Ruth 2:14-16).