The film opens in the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus of Nazareth prays as his disciples sleep. He faces temptation from Satan and betrayal by one of his own, Judas Iscariot, who leads the temple guards to arrest him. Following his capture, he is taken back to Jerusalem and brought before the high priest, Caiaphas, where he is accused of blasphemy and plotting against the Roman Empire. Despite his silence and the lack of evidence, Jesus is condemned by the Jewish authorities, who then demand a Roman trial to sanction his execution.

Brought before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, Jesus finds himself at the center of a political and moral dilemma. Pilate, aware of the tumultuous atmosphere and the Passover celebrations, seeks to release Jesus, finding no fault in him. However, pressured by the crowd and Caiaphas's insistence, Pilate reluctantly agrees to punish Jesus in an attempt to appease the masses. Jesus is then subjected to brutal scourging and humiliation by Roman soldiers. Despite Pilate's final attempt to release him by offering the crowd a choice between Jesus and a notorious prisoner, the crowd chooses to free the prisoner, sealing Jesus's fate. The plot meticulously follows the traditional accounts of the last hours leading up to Jesus's crucifixion, portraying his suffering and the complex interplay of political and religious powers that led to his death sentence.