Christmas Season · Year B
First Sunday after Christmas Day
December 27, 2026
Overview & Insights
“My eyes have seen your salvation, a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” (Luke 2:30-32)
This scene completes the account of Jesus’s infancy. His circumcision and naming echo those of John in 1:59–63, but, as with the account of his birth, the subsequent incidents are unique, and they lift the reader’s expectations and theological understanding to a higher level. This scene provides the setting for the third of Luke’s canticles in chapters 1–2, Simeon’s song of praise, the Nunc Dimittis. This song, with its explicit recognition that Jesus is to be the Savior of the world, not just of the Jews, brings into the open a theme that so far has been only hinted at.
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Commentary
Luke 2:22-40 Working Preacher
Lutheran exegesis reading Simeon and Anna as spokespeople for the salvation Israel awaited, and Luke's childhood stories as kerygma rather than biography.
Luke 2:22-40 Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed commentary on the temple presentation and how Luke frames the long wait for consolation fulfilled in a child.
Holy Family, Cycle B Loyola Press · Sunday Connection
A Catholic reflection tying the presentation to the Law of Moses and to the example of the Holy Family, with questions for reflection.
Christmas 1 sermons Sermons That Work · Episcopal Church
An Anglican collection for this Sunday, offering finished preaching models rooted in the Episcopal lectionary tradition.
Luke 2 Enduring Word · David Guzik
An evangelical verse-by-verse walk-through of the chapter, useful for tracing Simeon's Nunc Dimittis and the prophecy to Mary.
Classic commentaries on Luke 2 BibleHub
A classic aggregator stacking Barnes, Ellicott, Gill, Meyer and others verse by verse.
Background & Word Study
All Flesh Shall See the Salvation of God Left Behind and Loving It
A phrase-by-phrase Greek reading of the passage, surfacing nuance in Simeon's song that English translations flatten.
The Presentation of Jesus in Luke 2 Psephizo · Ian Paul
Scholarly background on the purification and presentation rites and Luke's deliberate male-female pairing of Simeon and Anna.
Overview: Luke BibleProject
An animated literary overview of Luke's structure and themes, orienting the infancy narrative within the Gospel's whole arc.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What is the Presentation in the Temple?
Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to be presented to the Lord, where old Simeon takes him up and sings the Nunc Dimittis, and the prophet Anna gives thanks.
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