Resurrection

Clavius (FIENNES), a Roman Tribune of Legio X Fretensis, supervises the crucifixion of Yeshua (CURTIS as Jesus) and orders his men to guard the dead body. The body disappears, and the soldiers claim Yeshua's followers stole it to make it appear that he rose from the dead. So Pontius Pilate (FIRTH) orders Clavius to find the body, to quell an imminent uprising in Jerusalem before the Emperor arrives. Clavius and his aide Lucius (FELTON) question people who claim to have seen Yeshua after the resurrection. Numerous leads are dug up, and their accounts soon become increasingly miraculous and difficult to believe. Some of the followers, such as Mary Magdalene and Bartholomew, seemingly speak only in riddles and refuse to betray any others. Clavius' intense investigation begins to disturb both Romans and Hebrews alike; and Pilate, under pressure from many sides and fearful of Caesar's wrath, becomes increasingly distant and unsupportive. Running out of new leads, Clavius revisits a disgraced Roman soldier, assigned to guard Yeshua's cave tomb, now a drunkard, and vehemently shakes the drunken man out of a lie that he had previously stuck to. The soldier recounts a fantastic story that, on the morning Yeshua disappeared, a blinding flash had appeared, during which the stone and ropes sealing the tomb disintegrated, and a figure appeared, accompanied by a booming voice that sent him and a fellow soldier fleeing in fear. Clavius does not believe him. During a raid through a Jewish enclave, Clavius unexpectedly discovers a seemingly resurrected Yeshua with his apostles in a solitary abode. Stunned, he calls off the search, barring Lucius and his men from finding Yeshua and the apostles. Clavius goes inside the house and makes eye contact with Yeshua. Clavius is in disbelief as he saw Yeshua be crucified. That night, another Roman raid, led by Lucius and Pilate, attacks the building that Clavius had forbidden them from entering, and finds it empty, save a note from Clavius, who has decided to follow Jesus and the disciples. Having abandoned Roman polytheism and the god Mars, Clavius, at first distrustful of the group, soon joins Yeshua and his followers on a journey to determine the validity of his mortal rejuvenation, during which he talks to and befriends both Yeshua and the apostle Peter. Pilate deduces that Clavius has apparently betrayed him, and dispatches a contingent of Roman troops, led by a promoted Lucius, to pursue him and Yeshua. Clavius assists the disciples in evading the Roman search party, and, when caught by Lucius, Clavius disarms him, then convinces him to let them pass quietly. Consequently, Clavius witnesses Yeshua's miraculous healing of a leper, and then the ascension of Yeshua into Heaven; after which the Apostles split up to resume their journeys, and Clavius bids farewell to Peter. Later, communicating his travels to a stranger in a remote dwelling, Clavius acknowledges the strangeness of the tale and its veracity, feeling he will never be the same.