When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover Feast, many people went up from the countryside to Jerusalem for the special washing that would make them pure before the feast.
I had already been made pure and clean in the Jewish way when they found me offering sacrifices in the temple courtyard. There was no crowd with me, and I wasn’t stirring up any trouble.
Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning. The Jewish leaders didn’t enter the palace, because they didn’t want to be made unclean. They wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal. So
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Jesus had always loved his disciples who were in the world, and he now loved them to the very end.
There were six water jars nearby made from stone. The Jews used water from that kind of jar to wash themselves so that they would be pure and clean. Each jar could hold 20 to 30 gallons.
When the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, the chief priests and the teachers of the law got together to make plans to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him.
Go with them and join them in the Jewish practice that makes people pure and clean. Pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that these reports about you aren’t true in any way. They’ll know that you yourself obey the law.
The next day Paul took the men with him. They all made themselves pure and clean in the Jewish way. Then Paul went to the temple and reported the date when the days of cleansing would end. At that time the proper offering would be made for each of them.