Righteous, and childless
A teaching for couples · Luke 1:5–7
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah, and whose wife Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron. 6Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well along in years.
Context
Luke opens his Gospel not in a palace but with an ordinary elderly couple: Zechariah, a priest who served in the temple by rotation, and Elizabeth, a descendant of Aaron. In that culture, having no children was seen as a disgrace and, by many, as a sign of divine punishment. Elizabeth herself speaks later of the disgrace she carried before people. Luke, however, introduces the couple first by their faithfulness to God.
What the Bible teaches
Before mentioning the barrenness, Luke says: “Both of them were righteous in the sight of God.” The order matters. The text dismantles the idea, old and still alive, that having no children is a sign of sin or lack of faith. The couple was blameless and, at the same time, carried a pain the years hadn’t resolved. Both things fit in the same house.
Zechariah and Elizabeth later had a son, John the Baptist, but their story is not a promise that every couple who prays will have children. Many faithful couples won’t, whether by choice, by impossibility or through loss. What the text shows is something else: God saw that couple long before the angel’s announcement, and their life already had full worth. In another story, Elkanah asks Hannah, who was weeping because she had no children: “Am I not better to you than ten sons?” Marriage is not merely a means to have children; it is a complete covenant in itself.
Childless couples have a full calling: deep friendship, hospitality, caring for nieces and nephews, godchildren, children at church and older people, adoption when that is the path, freedom to serve. And the community has a task: stop asking intrusive questions and offer presence, not advice.
In practice
Agree on a simple, calm answer to intrusive questions about children, so that neither of you is left alone in that moment. Then choose a way to invest together, this week, in the life of someone from the next generation.
To talk about
What part of our story with children, without children or waiting for them have we not yet been able to talk about calmly with each other?
Prayer
Lord, you see us whole, with our joys and with the pains that don’t go away. Thank you that our worth and the worth of our home don’t depend on what we have or don’t have. Make our covenant a fruitful place of love, care and service. Amen.
See also: Elizabeth.