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.
A firefighter pilot blames himself for the death of his previous colleagues and gets a new assignment with a raging forest fire in Portland, Oregon, that has the whole city in jeopardy.
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), 35 year old widower Joseph is not interested in participating in any fighting against the Romans.
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.
