💫WEB · John 11:55
What does John 11:55 mean?
"Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves."
— John 11:55 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death.
Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim. He stayed there with his disciples.
Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.
Then they sought for Jesus and spoke one with another, as they stood in the temple, “What do you think—that he isn’t coming to the feast at all?”
Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had commanded that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him.
Explanation
John 11:55 is a brief transitional verse, but it carries real weight in setting the scene for the climactic events of Jesus's life. In plain language, it simply notes that the Jewish festival of Passover was approaching, and that many people were traveling from the surrounding countryside up to Jerusalem ahead of time in order to ceremonially purify themselves before the feast began. This purification was a common Jewish practice — a person could become ritually unclean through various means (contact with a dead body, certain diseases, and other causes outlined in the Law), and such uncleanness needed to be removed through prescribed rites before one could properly participate in the Passover celebration and enter the temple precincts.
The Gospel of John was written by the apostle John, likely toward the end of the first century, for an audience that included both Jewish and Gentile believers who needed help understanding Jewish customs and, more importantly, understanding who Jesus truly was. John often pauses to explain Jewish practices (as he does here) because not all his readers would have been familiar with them. This verse comes right after the account of Lazarus's resurrection (John 11:1-44) and the subsequent plot by the religious leaders to kill Jesus (John 11:45-53). John is now shifting the narrative toward Jerusalem, where the final Passover of Jesus's earthly ministry — the one during which he would be crucified — is about to unfold. The mention of crowds gathering early "to purify themselves" also sets up the very next verse, where these same crowds are seen searching for Jesus in the temple, wondering a
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