It’s almost too familiar, the Easter story.

Jesus’ arrest, trial, scourging, crucifixion and resurrection. God’s remarkable story of redemption settles in our hearts, but we often lose the awe.

A perfect man, the Lord Jesus Christ, was wrongly accused by a group of people who felt threatened by Him. They conspired against Him and had Him beaten and executed.

Most Christians understand the spiritual implications of Jesus’ sacrifice, that He

• bore the weight of our cross,
• took our punishment, and
• paid the penalty for our sin.

But we often lose sight of what happened in the physical realm, that the beating Jesus received left Him bloody and unrecognizable.