[oldbrowser]

That’s partly what the incident at the temple was all about in Matthew 21, when Jesus overturned the tables of money-changers. Some think money-changers were bankers.

I thought it was because Jesus didn't want the sanctity of the temple violated by commerce.
Thus the first separation of church and state.

[Moseley]

"That’s partly what the incident at the temple was all about in Matthew 21, when Jesus overturned the tables of money-changers. Some think money-changers were bankers."
I thought it was because Jesus didn't want the sanctity of the temple violated by commerce.

Yes, that, too. But part of the reason the sanctity of the temple was so violated was that the people buying and selling products and changing money in the temple were ripping people off -- similar to a tourist trap. Worshippers traveled a long way to come to worship God at the temple and offer their sacrifices. When they came there, animals to sacrifice were being sold at greatly inflated prices and those coming to worship God were being ripped off.

[Alberta's Child]

The money-changers were "bankers," in fact.

Mosaic law prohibited the use of Roman money in the temple, since the Roman coins contained the image of Caesar on them and were therefore considered "graven images" or symbols of idolatry. So anyone who wished to purchase doves or other small animals as offerings in the temple first had to exchange their Roman coins for the local currency. The money-changers were the ones who carried out this exchange.

In this sense they actually had a legitimate function in the temple, but when I read that Gospel passage it's obvious to me that they had strayed so far from their original mission and were ripping people off in the process.