Let us look closely at the Gospel portion of the day and see how our fathers wished to guide our thoughts towards Christ. At first glance, it seems strange that two events are being told in this portion; the first has Christ telling His followers that He will die and rise in three days, the second shows a scene in Capernaum where He and Peter are asked to pay the temple tax. But, in actuality, the Bible portion is referencing merely one continuous message. Let us look at another time where Christ foretold His death and resurrection, in John 2:19 Christ states, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The temple is referring to His own Body rather than the building. Now in terms of the physical temple St. Hilary of Poitiers explains that the temple tax, which was a didrachma (a silver coin worth two drachmas), was for the redemption of soul and body, which is ultimately a type of salvation in Christ, for we are to offer up a type of didrachma, we are to offer ourselves both in soul and body.
