The Holy Family

The people of Jerusalem are suffering under the reign of HEROD, and are hoping to be delivered from the Roman occupiers by the Messiah whose arrival, it is rumored, is to take place very soon. Unlike his nephew JUDAS, who wants to join the zealots (freedom fighters), the 35-year-old widower JOSEPH is not interested in participating in any fighting against the Romans.

When Jesus is taken off the cross at Golgotha, THOMAS arrives there. Like most of the other disciples, he had worriedly taken refuge with friends in Jerusalem after Jesus's arrest. After Jesus's burial, the disciples decide to leave Jerusalem quickly, but Thomas refuses to leave Jesus' body behind, as he fears that the tomb may be desecrated.

It is 90 AD, and the Roman Empire is being run by the Emperor Domitian, who has declared himself to be God and ruler over heaven and earth. The Christians, who do not recognize his divinity, are a thorn in his side and he is having them cruelly persecuted. The small village in Asia Minor to which the aged apostle John has withdrawn is also attacked by Roman soldiers.

PILATE and the Roman legate VETURIUS look on worriedly as JESUS is celebrated as the new messiah in Jerusalem, fearing an uprising. Veturius decides to have Jesus arrested as soon as a suitable opportunity presents itself. JUDAS is delighted by the reception Jesus is receiving, and quickly wants to win over the influential merchants to the cause # which would make him the king and the liberator of the Jews.

King of the Persians, summons his attractive wife Vashti, to show off her beauty to the guests, the proud queen refuses to come. The king promptly bans her from ever entering his presence again, and gives orders for the most beautiful young virgins in the land to be brought to him. The young Jewess Esther, adopted daughter of her uncle Mordecai, is among the girls selected;

Employed as a spy and given the task of investigating the threat posed by John the Baptist, Mary Magdalene is overwhelmed by John's powerful message of the coming of the Messiah. Gazing into John's eyes before he dies, Mary is left with the certainty that her place is at the side of this great man, Jesus Christ.