“There was in (the temple) a crowd of merchants and others guilty of the charge of the shameful love of money. I mean money changers or keepers of exchange tables, sellers of oxen, dealers of sheep, and sellers of turtle doves and pigeons. All these things were used for the sacrifices according to the legal ritual. The time had now come for the shadow to draw to an end and for the truth to shine forth. The truth is the lovely beauty of Christian conduct, the glories of the blameless life and the sweet rational flavor of worship in spirit and in truth.
“The Truth, Christ as One who with his Father was also honored in their temple, commanded that those things that were by the law should be carried away, even the materials for sacrifices and burning of incense. He commanded that the temple clearly should be a house of prayer. His rebuking the dealers and driving them from the sacred courts when they were selling what was
wanted for sacrifice means certainly this, as I suppose, and this alone.”
[Saint Cyril of Alexandria: Commentary on Luke 19, Homily 132 (CGSL 522-23)]
