This is a good story, with excellent actors and scenery. Visually it rivals some of the classic Biblical epics. After an engaging start it slows down and is hard to keep interest.
There are a number of historical inaccuracies though. In one of the early episodes, villagers are celebrating Easter and Pentecost before the death and resurrection of Jesus. (The whole reason the Easter holiday exists is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus). To get such a simple thing wrong makes one wonder how many other inaccuracies there are.
For example, the marriage customs and the harsh treatment of Jewsish women in the show seem like it would belong more to another middle Eastern religion that wasn't born until a number of centuries later. This did not seem correct for the Jewish tradition. So I went and read about the treatment of Jewish women which in reality turns out to be much more respectful. So this is another major error in the show as it drives much of the plot.
Even the portrayal of Jesus, while well-acted and interestingly conceived, has inaccuracies. There are a number of times when he deviates from the teachings of the Bible to teach modern New Age and Liberal philosophies. These are seamlessly tied together with Biblical re-enactments so it is hard to distinguish what is Biblical and what is made up if you did not grow up with thorough Biblical teachings.
With these errors it also makes you wonder how accurate the portrayal of the Roman empire itself is.
What is incredibly good though is the portrayal of the twelve disciples. They have their own lives, families, problems, and doubts. They literally come to life and make you think again about many of the things that you assumed about them. There are also a number of other strong characters in the narrative such as Herod, Herodias, Lazarus, and Barrabas. Mary Magdalene herself is written as an intriguing and engaging character.
But because of the inaccuracies I had to start seeing this show as taking place in a fantasy world such as that of The Lord of the Rings instead of as historical fiction. In other words, the show only makes sense if you realize that very little of it is history at all. This makes one lose interest in the show as what is the point of watching something that has so many errors. For a story set in a historical context, you would think that they would have made a better effort to get simple facts correct.
