Impious and gentile, ill with purulent and ulcerous wound, a person affected by menstrual or bloody flow and human or animal dead body were considered by the law of Moses as impure or impurity transmitter: whoever had contact with them or with objects touched by them, became impure, letting the whole day go by and afterwards practice a washing ritual in order to be pure again.

Si tan sólo un insecto caía en un guiso, la Ley ordenaba desechar el guiso y destruir el traste y el fogón, indirectamente contaminados por el insecto. Los leprosos tenían la obligación de gritar: “¡Impuro!”, por los caminos, para alertar a las personas de que su sola cercanía acarreaba impureza; y habitaban fuera de la ciudad, para no contaminarla.

To the followers of the Law of Moses, Jesus was impure before dying, when the high priest declared Him as Blasphemous, that is, impious, hence rips his vestments. Since then, to Jewish people, to touch Him implied becoming impure, thus disabled to participate in Easter holidays- which was already inserting the eve when Jesus was prosecuted- with the celebration preparing. The accusers of Jesus didn’t go into the Pretorius where Pilatus attended, because, as a gentile Hall, it transmitted impurity to them. So Pilatus had to go out to attend them.

John refers to this when he writes that Jesus was buried without being touched, according to the Jewish tradition.