The project was conceived after Pope Paul VI congratulated producer Lew Grade on the TV film Moses the Lawgiver and expressed hope that his next project would be about the life of Jesus.

The Pope personally insisted that Franco Zeffirelli, a Roman Catholic he knew from his time as Archbishop of Milan, direct the film, saying either Zeffirelli would make it or no one would; Zeffirelli initially rejected the offer before finally accepting shortly before Christmas 1973.

To ensure accuracy, producers consulted experts from the Vatican, the Leo Baeck Rabbinical College of London, and the Koranic School at Meknes, Morocco; despite Rabbi Albert Friedlander's objection that Bar Mitzvah ceremonies only began in the 15th century, Zeffirelli insisted on including such a scene.

Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino were both considered for the role of Jesus, but Zeffirelli ruled them out partly because at 5'6" they did not match the roughly 6-foot figure depicted on the Shroud of Turin, on which traditional artistic images of Christ are based.

Robert Powell was cast as Jesus after Lew Grade's wife told him the actor had 'wonderful blue eyes' following his performance in a BBC adaptation of Jude the Obscure.

Powell faced criticism from religious groups for living with his partner, dancer Barbara Lord, before playing Jesus; the couple married shortly before production began.

Powell deliberately avoided blinking throughout the entire film, echoing similar choices by H. B. Warner in The King of Kings (1927) and Max von Sydow in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), with dark blue eyeliner used on set to accentuate his eyes.

For the crucifixion scene, Powell went on a diet of only cheese for twelve days beforehand to appear suitably worn and gaunt.

Filming took place in Morocco and Tunisia from September 1975 to May 1976, with Monastir, Tunisia standing in for 1st-century Jerusalem and synagogue scenes shot using extras from the Jewish community on the island of Djerba.

Because many local extras spoke poor English, Zeffirelli often avoided recording sound on set and had the principal actors dub their own dialogue later in the studio.

The standing sets built for Jesus of Nazareth in Tunisia were later reused by Monty Python for their 1979 comedy Life of Brian.

Filming coincided with the nearby shoot of Star Wars in Tunisia; actress Koo Stark recalled that a malfunctioning remote-controlled R2-D2 unit once wandered onto the set of Jesus of Nazareth.

American Protestant fundamentalists led by Bob Jones III denounced the film as blasphemy before it even aired, prompting 18,000 letters of protest to General Motors, which then withdrew its $3 million sponsorship; Procter & Gamble stepped in and bought the US rights for about $1 million.

At the suggestion of theologian Ted Baehr, a simulated resurrection scene was added to satisfy protesters before the miniseries could be broadcast in the US.

The series was a massive ratings success worldwide, drawing an estimated 90 million viewers in the US, 21 million in the UK, and being watched by 84% of TV owners in major Italian cities.