Sort of. The part of the story that’s often overlooked is the original emphasis on the sale of animals for sacrifice.
Everyone zeros in on the money changers as if Jesus was worried about FIAT rates, and overlook that it was people selling animals to be sacrificed as sin offerings that was the whole reason the money changers were there in the first place, and then why it’s followed in Mark with a prohibition on carrying things (i.e. sacrifices) through the temple.
And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves, and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
Mark 11:15-16
The bit about not carrying things through the temple is noticeably missing from Matthew, despite copying the rest nearly verbatim from Mark.
So while yes, the commercialization of salvation didn’t seem very favorably considered, it may have had more to do with the of salvation part than the commerce part in general.
This attitude is further reflected in the apocrypha too, such as saying 88 of the Gospel of Thomas:
The messengers and the prophets will come to you and give you what belongs to you. You, in turn, give them what you have, and say to yourselves, “When will they come and take what belongs to them?”
[Matthew 19:24] "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ~Jesus
Yeah using Roman currency to purchase animals for sacrifice wasn’t allowed, it first needed to be exchanged for temple currency. The money changers charged fees on top of this, effectively using the temple as a business for themselves. So what was supposed to be a holy place was turned in to a place of bartering and commerce.
Sort of. The part of the story that’s often overlooked is the original emphasis on the sale of animals for sacrifice.
Everyone zeros in on the money changers as if Jesus was worried about FIAT rates, and overlook that it was people selling animals to be sacrificed as sin offerings that was the whole reason the money changers were there in the first place, and then why it’s followed in Mark with a prohibition on carrying things (i.e. sacrifices) through the temple.
The bit about not carrying things through the temple is noticeably missing from Matthew, despite copying the rest nearly verbatim from Mark.
So while yes, the commercialization of salvation didn’t seem very favorably considered, it may have had more to do with the of salvation part than the commerce part in general.
This attitude is further reflected in the apocrypha too, such as saying 88 of the Gospel of Thomas:
Yeah you don’t find Jesus smashing up moneylenders shops in general… just that one time when they were in a temple.
Get these mother fucking money lenders out my mother fucking temple.
IKR!!!
[Matthew 19:24] "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ~Jesus
Yeah using Roman currency to purchase animals for sacrifice wasn’t allowed, it first needed to be exchanged for temple currency. The money changers charged fees on top of this, effectively using the temple as a business for themselves. So what was supposed to be a holy place was turned in to a place of bartering and commerce.