This six-hour-plus long miniseries which has aired regularly on network television most Easters since the early 1980s is so thorough that the first hour is devoted solely to the story of Christ's birth.

Robert Powell's portrayal of Jesus is arguably the most iconic in film history with his appearance almost identical to that of the Jesus portrayed in European art yet ironically its also very likely historically inaccurate appearance-wise given blue-eyed middle-Easterners are few and far between. That said, his performance as Jesus is reverent and authoritative, though too ethereal, more successfully evoking Christ's transcendence than his humanity.

Director Franco Zeffirelli’s choice to only have Jesus blink once as an adult throughout the film also creates a subconscious visual mystique about the character that differentiates him from all other characters. It is eerily effective but contributes to his other-worldliness.

According to the Bible it was the sinless life that Jesus lived and the sacrificial death he died that truly distinguished him from humanity, not some alien sage-like disposition. 1 John 7 reminds us of the significance of Christ's life and death for us. "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."