Ce film est basé sur l'histoire de Saül de Tarse, juif citoyen romain, devenu Paulus (Paul) après sa conversion, apôtre du Christ, emprisonné au Tullianum par l'empereur Néron alors que Luc l'évangéliste cherche à le rencontrer. Le prisonnier se remémore sa vie, lorsqu'il s'appelait Saul et qu'il persécutait les chrétiens avant de se convertir au christianisme après avoir rencontré Jésus-Christ ressuscité.
The film begins with a clip from the previous film, showing its central characters Marcellus and Diana going to be martyred for their Christian beliefs on the order of Emperor Caligula. Before being executed, Diana hands the robe to Marcellus' servant Marcipor (David Leonard), telling him that it is "for the Big Fisherman," meaning Peter, who was a fisherman before being called as an apostle.
Satan has been cast out from hell and banished to Earth under decree of heaven. He can return, only through a series of temptations. However, for every soul who gives in to his tempting, one hundred years are added to his sentence. For every soul who resists, one thousand years are removed from his sentence. The film follows Satan throughout much of recorded history.
The structure of the musical is, in large part, retained: a series of parables from the gospel of Matthew, interspersed with musical numbers. Many of the scenes take advantage of well-known sites around an empty, still New York City. John the Baptist gathers a diverse band of youthful disciples to follow and learn from the teachings of Jesus. These disciples then proceed to form a roving acting troupe that enacts Jesus's parables through the streets of New York. They often make references to vaudeville shtick.
The Roman tribune Pontius Pilate then runs Jesus Christ and then, never mind, allows Christ to be executed after being scourged. Crucified and dead, Jesus Christ promises to the faithful that would be resurrected three days after his earthly death. From this point Pontius Pilate begins to be opposed and hated by the Roman people that he realizes his mistake and that the Jews, who in turn are severely punished by the Emperor Tiberius.
Marie, a student, works at her father's Swiss gas station and plays basketball for a local team; she claims to be a virgin and maintains a chaste relationship with her boyfriend Joseph, a taxi cab driver and college dropout. Joseph remains loyal to Marie even though she will not sleep with him, and another girl, Juliette, entreats him to be with her. When a passing stranger named Uncle Gabriel (who arrives by jet plane and is accompanied by a small girl who acts as his secretary) informs Marie that she will become pregnant despite remaining chaste, she is at first shocked and confused. For his part, Joseph cannot believe that Marie can be pregnant and a virgin, so he accuses her of sleeping around. Gabriel aggressively schools Joseph to accept Marie's pregnancy, while Marie comes to terms with God's plan through meditations that are sometimes angry and usually punctuated by elemental images of the sun, moon, clouds, flowers, and water.