- Jesus embarks on a journey to fulfill his destiny. He is baptized by John the Baptist, tempted by the Satan, teaches and heals people,and gathers followers attracting the attention of the Sanhedrin and the Roman authorities.
- Yelling,"In the name of Jesus Christ!",A medieval cavalry charges.A wounded soldier in a modern war yells,"Jesus!,Jesus!,Jesus!,".Jesus(Jeremy Sisto) wakes up from the dream.Joseph(Armin Mueller-Stahl) also wakes up.They rise and continue their journey to find work as carpenters.In Jerusalem,Pontius Pilate(Gary Oldman),the new procurator of Judea, arrives and meets Livio(G.W.Bailey),a Roman historian aka spy.In Nazareth,Mary(Jacqueline Bisset) waits for Jesus and Joseph to return.Joseph and Jesus offer to work for a farmer,but the farmer has been kicked out of his land by the Romans.The farmer complains that God has abandoned them.Pilate meets with Herod Antipas(Luca Barbareschi),the tetrarch of Galilee,his lover Herodias(Elena Sofia Ricci),and step-daughter Salome(Gabriella Pession).Pilate insults Herod's father creating a rivalry between them.Herod warns Pilate of bringing Roman guards and insignia into God's Temple,but Pilate doesn't listen to him.Pilate enters the Temple and meets the high priest Caiaphas(Christian Kohlund) and the other high priests.Pilate orders that Roman guards and insignia be placed in the Temple,but the priests only allow it over their dead bodies.With Livio's advice,Pilate gives up and leaves the Temple.Jesus and Joseph find work in Bethany.They work for their relative Lazarus(Peter Gevisser) and his sisters,Martha(Maria Cristina Heller) and Mary(Stefania Rocca).Mary is in love with Jesus,but Jesus isn't interested in marriage even though somebody has asked for her hand in marriage.Back in Nazareth,Roman soldiers looking for taxes raid Joseph's house while Mary is alone.When Joseph and Jesus return,Joseph pressures Jesus into "ending this suffering",but Mary encourages Jesus to follow his heart.Joseph suffers a stroke and dies.Jesus prays to God addressing him as his father and asks him to raise Joseph back to life.To encourage Jesus,Mary tells Jesus the story of his nativity.She tells him to go on his way to God.Jesus leaves Mary and goes to Bethany.He visits Mary and tells her that his life is not his and that she must live her life without him.Lazarus throws Jesus out of the house,but Mary accepts Jesus's destiny.
In the Jordan River,John the Baptist(David O'Hara) preaches repentance from sins.He tells people to demonstrate their repentance by being baptized in water.Since they are cousins,Jesus visits John.They remember their first visit to the Temple.Jesus got lost ,and Joseph and Mary search for him.They found him in the Temple talking to the priests.When Joseph and Mary scold him,he counters that he was in his father's house.On their way to Nazareth,they see a group of men on crosses.After reminiscing,Jesus asks John to baptize him,and John agrees.After his baptism,Jesus rises from the water,and a glowing light descends on him.A voice from heavens says that Jesus is his son and that he loves him.John says that Jesus is the lamb of God and he will take away the world's sins.Jesus heads out into the desert and doesn't eat.A woman in red appears to him and tells him that the Spirit(glowing light) has brought him here to be tested by her.She also tells him to let go of his power so that he may be properly tested,and he agrees.The woman's tunic turns into the being,Satan(Jeroen Krabbe).He tempts Jesus into feeding himself and the world.Jesus answers that he can't use his power without the God's permission.Satan takes him to the top of the Temple.Satan tells him to jump off the Temple so that angels might catch him proving that he is the son of God.Jesus refuses to test God for his own purposes.Satan shows Jesus the whole world.He offers to give it to Jesus if he worships Satan.Jesus tells Satan to leave and that he only worships God.He also says that he will rule by being a humble lamb of god.Satan tells Jesus that he will see him again and leaves.
In Nazareth,two followers of John the Baptist,Andrew(Gilly Gilchrist) and John(Ian Duncan), look for Jesus.John had told them where he lived. When Jesus arrives,they ask to be his followers.He takes them to his house where he reunites with Mary.After eating and recovering from his time in the desert,Jesus tells his mother that he doesn't think that he is ready to lead disciples.She tells him how when he was a baby,Eastern astrologers visited him.They gifted him incense,perfume,and gold.After Jesus learns a relative of his will be married,he and his followers go the wedding.Andrew is unhappy that Jesus has done nothing,but John insists on waiting.When the hosts run out of wine,Mary asks Jesus to make wine,but Jesus doesn't want to reveal his power.Mary still insists on it,and Jesus agrees to do it.He orders that some large jars be filled with water.He then transforms that water into wine.He takes a cup of wine to Andrew,and Andrew and John believe that he is the Messiah.
Herod with Herodias and Salome visit John the Baptist at the Jordan River.John criticizes him for having sex with Herodias since she is his brother's wife. Herodias wants to kill John,but Herod thinks that he is just a minor problem.Jesus with Andrew and John travel to Capernaum where they introduce him to their fishermen brothers,Simon(Luca Zingaretti) and James(Fabio Sartor).Simon and James haven't caught any fish all day.Jesus tells them to row out in to the deep water in order to catch fish.To prove that Jesus is a fake,Simon does what he wants.When they pull up the net,it is full of fish.Calling him Peter,Jesus invites him to become his follower and become a fisher of men.Jesus begins to gain fame as a miracle worker.A man asks him to heal his crippled son,but another man(Sean Harris) who doubts Jesus accuses of being a fraud.Jesus heals the man's son.James invites the doubter,Thomas,to join the followers.Herod imprisons John the Baptist in a dungeon in order to please Herodias,but she still wants him dead.A group of Roman soldiers and a Jewish tax collector(Sebastian Knapp) come to a village in order to collect taxes.A group of Jewish rebels lead by Barabbas(Claudio Amendola) attack the Roman soldiers with the help of an inside man(Thomas Lockyer),but the tax collector manages to hide.Jesus who is traveling in that area tries to stop the rebels,but Barabbas merely insults Jesus and leaves after killing the Roman soldiers.He promises that he will free Israel with a sword.When the inside man criticizes Jesus because he weeps for Roman soldiers.Jesus invites him to hear his teachings.Jesus finds the tax collector,Matthew, and takes him to the inside man.Jesus asks if he wants to kill Matthew,but the man doesn't want to kill him.Jesus and his followers go to Matthew's house,and Jesus invites the inside man,Judas Iscariot, to follow him.When they arrive at Matthew's house,The followers are reluctant to accept Matthew as one of them.On Herod's birthday,Salome dances seductively for him.He offers to give her anything she wants.Under Herodias's instructions,She asks for John the Baptist's head.Herod reluctantly agrees.Before he is beheaded,John says that he will live again in God's kingdom.In Jerusalem,Mary Magdalene(Debra Messing) rises up from bed after having sex for money.As she heads to the market.she sees Jesus entering the town with his followers.As Jesus and his followers celebrate and talk with the people,a group of men take a woman who allegedly committed adultery to Caiaphas and the priests.Caiaphas orders that the woman be taken to Jesus in order to expose him as a blasphemer. They take her to Jesus and ask him if they should obey Moses's law which says that they throw stones at her until she dies.The followers notice the trap.Jesus begins to draw on the ground and then he says the person without sin must throw the first stone.Stunned with his answer,they leave.Jesus says to the women that since no one condemns her, she can go.Mary Magdalene witnesses the whole thing.Jesus invites Mary Magdalene to join him,but she say that she is free.He tells that she could be free and reaches out to her.Jesus and his followers enter the Temple.People are selling doves and changing currency in the Temple. Livio sees Jesus and his followers enter the Temple.Jesus gets angry over the buying and selling and accuses the priests of forgetting God's laws.He also accuses of only being loyal to Rome. Livio asks if people should pay taxes to Caesar.Jesus takes a coin and shows Caesar's image on the coin.He orders to give to Caesar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to God.Yelling that they will make the Temple God's house again,Jesus and his followers overturn the money changers's tables.Jesus than takes a whip and runs out all of the people.Jesus and his followers leave the Temple in chaos.
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What is the broadcast (satellite or terrestrial TV) release date of Part 1 (1999) in Australia?
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