When a priest in the Temple urinated, he needed to clean his hands and feet for service by washing them. If he moved his bowels, he needed a complete immersion in a mikveh. In general, anybody who entered the Temple needed to go to the Mikveh first, even if he knew he was ritually pure.
Why are these extra measures of cleanliness? If one urinates, he may have drops left on his feet. Such drops may indicate the penis being cut in some serious way, in which case he may not be able to make a woman conceive. If he is married, people may think that his children are not really his, and to prevent this possible rumor, he needs to clean his feet. And since he will wipe the feet with his hands, he must now wash both.
On Yom Kippur, the High Priest will have to immerse himself in a mikveh five times, every time that he goes to a different part of the service. From here, we reason: if for going from one service to another a mikveh was required, then of course for entering the Temple to do the first service, certainly a mikveh was required – hence the requirement for anyone who enters the Temple to first go to a mikveh. Others say that the reason for the first immersion was different. While going through the water to purify himself, one may recall about an old, more serious ritual impurity that he had forgotten about. Thus it was only a device to remind him of his status.
Art: Pilate Washing His Hands by Rembrandt Van Rijn
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