In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
Luke 1:5-6 NIV
Zechariah and Elizabeth were an old couple whom God enabled to have a son. The one we now call John the Baptist. Luke records for us a bit of their ancestry. And then includes an interesting tidbit. They were both righteous in the sight of God, observing his commands and decrees blamelessly.
Considered Righteous
I hear the question raised occasionally about how people might have been saved before Jesus. And I believe that Zechariah and Elizabeth can help us to understand that. When the comment concerning their righteous standing was made about them, Jesus had not yet even been conceived. Yet they were righteous in God’s sight. To be clear, Luke does not say that they were righteous. But that God viewed them as being righteous. They were like Abraham who, because of his faith in what God had told him, was considered righteous (Gen 15:6).
Zechariah and Elizabeth were not considered righteous simply because they obeyed the law blamelessly (Rom. 3:20). But because they lived by faith (Rom. 1:17). And it was because they placed their faith and hope in the God of Israel that they lived in such obedience to him. While they knew nothing of Jesus’ atoning work on their behalf, nevertheless, because of their faith, they were saved by his blood. In a sense, they were saved by looking forward to God’s salvation. While we are saved by looking back at, and trusting in, what Jesus did.
Does the bible say that they lived by faith?
It does not explicitly make that claim. But I do believe it is implied in what Luke says about them.