Like thousands of others, I watched this trial unfold and was appalled at the verdict rendered by the Anthony jury.  I am persuaded, without so much as a shadow of a doubt, that Casey Anthony planned and carried out the murder of her daughter.   

Over the course of the past few days, I’ve spent much time searching my own thoughts and feelings to ascertain what it is I find so very disturbing about this jury and its verdict.  Having finally arrived at what I believe that to be, the following is submitted for your thoughtful consideration:

In my view, there was a collective inability on the part of the jury to cognize – that is, to notice, perceive, and recognize. 

The truth was not arrived at because they failed to perceive and recognize the manipulation in play by the defense that shifted their focus away from Anthony and onto her father.  The miscarriage of justice occurred at the very moment Casey Anthony was accepted by the jury as a victim and, as we know, ultimately evidenced itself in the final delivered verdict. 

They failed to perceive and recognize the genuine grief exhibited by George Anthony while on the witness stand.  As a career-toughened cop, he has likely been witness to more violence, death, and gore than most of us would like to even think about, yet he simply could not hold back the tears of gut-deep anguish he continues to suffer at the loss of his granddaughter.  That this jury could even entertain the notion that this grandfather might in any way have been involved in her death is simply inconceivable to me.

Reasoning reflective of common sense appeared to be absent from this jury.  For example, even if they were unable to fully grasp all aspects of the scientific evidence, a stepped-back overview of the collective pointed directly to Casey Anthony as the only person who stood to gain anything from the death of this child.  The remainder of the family experienced loss and each, in his or her own way, exhibited the pain of that loss.  The one with something to gain remained impassive from Day One.  Even animals in the wild mourn the loss of their offspring. 

It’s disturbing to me to see that 12 people without an ability to deduce can be appointed to determine the guilt or innocence of another.  I’ve never served as a juror so am unfamiliar with all that happens throughout the process.  However, in my view, if a questionnaire containing some sort of basic reasoning exercise is not part of that process prior to final jury selection, then it needs to be.  I submit that the truth in any circumstantial case simply cannot be found without jurors’ ability to reason and infer, and that the subject case spoke directly to that issue. 

This jury failed to recognize or acknowledge intrinsic duties of parenthood by refusing to assign any responsibility for the overall well-being of this child to her mother.  Implicit in this verdict is blanket absolution from all care-taking responsibility normally, and rightfully, associated with the role of a parent.  Its message is this:  a child can suffer harm at the hands of another, up to and including loss of life, without anyone being held answerable.  I find that abhorrent – and unacceptable.                            

Being a grandparent myself, I have absolutely no doubt that the one pure joy in George and Cindy Anthony’s life was their granddaughter.  That relationship carries with it a love like no other.  It would have been infinitely kinder to drive a stake directly through their respective hearts than to forever rob them of that joy.  Such an act speaks to a cruelty few of us can fathom. 

As a born-again Christian believer, I know that the spirit who is Caylee Anthony has returned to Almighty God who gave her and that she is safely in His loving care.  I know that the very best I can do for George and Cindy Anthony is pray that the Lord will boldly manifest His comforting presence in their lives and bring them peace. And I know beyond doubt that a day of reckoning is coming for their daughter when God will, at His appointed time, call her to stand before Him and answer for the taking of her child’s life.  Meanwhile, how she is, where she goes, what she does, and who she does it with is of zero interest to me.  She’s made her bed with Satan.  So be it.  Let the chips of that sleeping arrangement fall where they may.

“Anthony told some people it was Jesus Ortiz, a high school classmate who died in a 2007 car crash nine months after Caylee was born…Anthony’s mother testified during the trial that her daughter said it was a man named Eric Baker who lived in either Kentucky or North Carolina…Baker, too, was killed in a 2007 car crash …McLean told the Beast’s Diane Dimond that her son, Michael Duggan, often visited Florida and talked of fathering a child with Anthony…he, too, was killed in a 2007 car crash …Anthony claimed her baby’s father was a man named Josh who worked at Universal Studios and had a one-night stand with Anthony in an Orlando hotel…he was also killed in a 2007 car crash.”[1] Caylee Anthony’s skeletal remains were found in December 2008 in a wooded, swampy area near the Anthony home.

Anthony jurors liked vaudeville theatrics – and rendered their verdict accordingly.  The defense team handed them a villain (George Anthony), a victim (Casey Anthony), and the heart-tugging “accidental death” of a little girl (Caylee Anthony).  The prosecution gave them fact after substantiated fact – things that actually happened and/or were true – yet “let’s pretend” won the day.  In my view, that speaks volumes not only about this jury but about the overall trend across our society to excuse away bad behavior, deem everyone a winner, and shy away from holding people directly responsible for their actions and any attendant consequences.  A rising state of lawlessness is occurring and each of these contributes to that state in its unique way.

Did this jury ever ask themselves (or each other) “why?” during the course of this trial and their subsequent deliberations?  

The distinctive odor of putrefied remains was present in Casey Anthony’s car.  The swamp where Caylee’s skeletal remains were found was within easy walking distance of the Anthony home.  If George were involved in the “cover-up” Baez claimed, all he would have had to do was pick up the bags involved and walk them down there.  Had that been the case, the foul-smelling odor of human decomposition would not have been present in any vehicle, including his daughter’s.  Did the jurors ask themselves why it was present in Casey Anthony’s trunk?

Casey Anthony began staying regularly at the Tony Lazzaro (her former boyfriend) apartment in early to mid-June.  Roommates testified that was when they stopped seeing Caylee and a girlfriend of one of the roommates testified she was at the apartment several times a week and never saw Caylee.  When asked where she was, Anthony said she was with the nanny – who was proven in court to never have existed.  Did the jurors ask themselves why she created a non-existent person to explain away her daughter’s absence?

A neighbor testified that on June 18 around 1:00 p.m., Casey Anthony asked to borrow a shovel from him.  Was she known to be a gardener?  Had she ever asked to borrow a shovel from him before?  If those questions were asked and the answer was no, did the jury ask themselves why she did so on that date?

Did the jury ask themselves why Casey Anthony never reported her daughter missing?  Did they ask themselves why she lied to her own parents regarding her whereabouts?  Did they understand that if George had played any part in Caylee’s disappearance, no need would have existed for his daughter to lie to him about her whereabouts?

Most important, perhaps, is this:  did this jury ask themselves why they were unwilling to recognize and accept the obvious guilt evidenced not only by the state but Anthony’s own actions as well?  Why they were unwilling to hold her responsible for any wrongdoing in the death of her daughter?  Why they were willing to accept an imagined story as truer than factual evidence?  Why they chose the easy path of simply letting her go free over the hard path of working as long as it took to piece together the truth?  

I believe the State’s evidence is supportive of the following description of events:

Sometime during the approximate 60-hour period between June 16, 2008 and 1:00 p.m., June 18, 2008 Casey Anthony knowingly and willfully killed her daughter via the combined use of chloroform and suffocating duct tape.  She placed her daughter’s body, along with the child’s belongings, in the trunk of her car until such time as she could form an effective plan for the disposal of the remains.  She chose a swampy area familiar to her, knowing such an environment would rapidly decompose the body and leave little, if any, damaging evidence.  At an opportune time, she disposed of Caylee’s body and subsequently abandoned her car, continuing the norm of her lifestyle but interrupted from time to time by phone calls from her parents concerning their granddaughter to which she responded with an ongoing and increasingly creative series of fabrications.  Over the course of the past three years, Anthony has exhibited no remorse regarding the death of her child.

CONCLUSION

A jury of 7 women and 5 men decided Casey Anthony was not guilty of the above crime.  Today is the last day of her incarceration but she is not a free woman.  This crime will follow her wherever she goes for the rest of her natural life and only when her brain ceases to function will the knowledge of her actions,   whatever they may be, disappear.  Living the rest of her life unable to escape from herself and the consequences of her actions may very well be the most just punishment of all.

 …except by the Casey Anthony jurors.  They were unable to distinguish fiction from fact, theatrics from truth, and defendant from witness.  At the end of the day, facts were rejected and fiction accepted, emotional response to histrionics and melodrama replaced rational thinking, and George Anthony was tried by the jury instead of the accused. 

Webster defines fiction as “a making up of imaginary happenings; anything made up or imagined, as a statement, story, etc.”  That was the ploy embraced by Baez to delude jurors into accepting what was false as true.  From opening remarks forward, Baez spun an imagined tale that portrayed Casey Anthony as a victim and the death of her daughter as an accident – and the jury bought it hook, line and sinker.  Baez succeeded in shifting jury attention away from his client toward her father through unsubstantiated allegation, theatrical drama and histrionics.  Recall his play-acting of a yelling George.  The jury was led away from the perpetrator and the facts into an imaginary neighborhood where a child drowns, no one calls 911, and the child is fitted out in murder-victim attire and thrown in a swamp to cover up the ‘accident’.  Behind it all is that reprehensible bad guy, the victim’s grandfather, George Anthony.  The jury willingly chose not only to go there but remain there in lieu of reality.  They could not have arrived at their verdict otherwise.

Discernment is defined by Webster as “keen perception or judgment” and I submit that nothing has come to light to indicate any individual on the Anthony jury possessed that capability.  If even one did, the outcome would have been different – the jury would have been hung and the case retried. 

They didn’t like George – and their point is?  George was not on trial.  George was never a suspect.  George would have been the defendant if probable cause had existed to arrest him for having a role in Caylee’s death.  Whether the jurors liked any of the witnesses should have been totally irrelevant.  This trial was not a personality contest.  It was a bona fide effort to seek justice, under the law, for the murder of a two-year-old child.  I can summon no sympathy for the “disgust” expressed by the Jury Foreman - such was the consequence of his choice.  He could have made a different one. 

During the course of this trial, prosecutor Jeff Ashton stated that Casey Anthony said she had borrowed a shovel from a neighbor to “dig bamboo shoots”.

Anthony’s statement as to the reason for the borrow is false.  Bamboo shoots, which grow at the top of the plant’s canes, cannot be dug.  A reasonably thoughtful individual would be compelled to ask (1) why, then, was the shovel borrowed, and (2) on what date did the borrow occur?  To the best of my knowledge, such a discussion among jurors has not been documented.

Missed Clue:  What Casey Anthony Didn’t Do    

One of the jury consultants remarked in a televised interview that, to paraphrase, too much was being made of Anthony’s party behavior while her child was missing, that said behavior was nothing new and had indeed been Anthony’s lifestyle for some time. 

Precisely the point.  Anthony’s behavior, in fact, did not change in any way regardless of the fact that her 2-year-old child was unaccounted for.  What does that tell you?  What should it have told the jury? Why weren’t they able to discern the utter disregard exhibited by Anthony for the whereabouts and well-being of her daughter?  A woman is defined as a mother solely because she has physically borne a child.  The type of mother she becomes following that event is separate and distinct from the physical birth process.  Did the jury wrongfully assume that because Anthony gave birth she automatically loved the child she bore? Did they perhaps allow their own emotions on this topic to cloud their ability to see the indifference in Anthony … or to process the fact that children are, literally and figuratively, disregarded and discarded virtually every day of the week by ‘mothers’ who bore them but don’t want them around?  If one is a loving parent, the notion of treating children in that way is so foreign that it becomes nearly impossible to imagine.  Nevertheless, the facts are as they are and the reality is that moms and dads will and do kill, torture, mutilate, maim, and physically throw away (to name a few) their offspring.  Police Blotters across the country speak to that.  Endowing Anthony with a compassion or concern for her child that was never evidenced reflects the jury’s unwillingness to recognize and accept the truth and extent of her indifference toward her daughter.

As a narcissist, Casey Anthony had every reason to want her daughter out of her life.  Narcissism, as defined by Webster, is characterized by an “excessive interest in one’s own appearance, comfort, importance, and abilities”.  Throughout this trial, one theme consistently recurred:  Casey’s world revolved around Casey – period.  I submit that because Caylee naturally became the center of George and Cindy Anthony’s attention as their only grandchild, her mother perceived her as a rival and was, in fact, jealous of the attention paid to her daughter instead of her.  She would find that attention to someone else unacceptable because her own “importance” was being undermined…she was ‘playing second fiddle’ to her daughter.  The way to ‘fix’ that was to take Caylee out of the picture and I am persuaded beyond any doubt that is precisely what she did.  Recall that we’ve seen over and over a preening, winking, “I’m hot, look at me” Casey Anthony.  One so self-centered has no room in her life for competition from any source – up to, and including, her own innocent child.

“to think coherently and logically; draw inferences or conclusions from facts known or assumed; to think logically about; think out systematically”

The jury in the Anthony trial reflected an utter lack of those critical thinking skills.  They were individually, and collectively, unable to logically and systematically connect the dots in the trail of evidence pointing to Casey Anthony as the killer of her child.  The following is submitted for your thoughtful consideration:

1.         Caylee Anthony was last seen alive in the company of her mother on Father’s Day Sunday, June 15, 2008.

2.         In mid-July, the abandoned car of Casey Anthony was towed and a phone call made to her parents.  At that time, both the tow truck operator and Cindy Anthony (a nurse) identified the distinctive smell of human decomposition as present in that vehicle.

3.         Family statements are noteworthy in two well-publicized conversations:  (1) Cindy Anthony’s 911 call where she identified the smell of a dead body in Casey Anthony’s car, and (2) George Anthony’s question to Casey in a jailhouse call:  ”What have you done with my granddaughter?”  Note the presumption and certainty present in that question. 

4.         The celebratory behavior of Casey Anthony during that approximate 30-day period is well documented.  It is reasonable to logically conclude that (a) since her car smelled of human decomposition, a human body had decomposed in it, (b) since Caylee had been missing since June 16 and Casey hadn’t reported it, she knew where she was, and (c) since enough time had elapsed for Caylee’s body to have decomposed in the swamp where she was found, a celebration was indeed in order for she was no longer encumbered by that child.  Hence, she immediately assumed the lifestyle of a young, single female and acted accordingly.  She moved out of her parents’ home, moved in with friends, and went on from there to enjoy her newly-gained freedom from both her daughter and her family. 

5.         Given the volume and creativity of the myriad of lies Casey Anthony fabricated during this period, one can reasonably infer she was simply buying the time necessary for Caylee’s body to decompose to the extent that hard evidence would be difficult to extract, which was precisely the end result.

Webster defines suffocation as follows:

“to kill by cutting off the supply of air to the lungs so as to cause asphyxiation; to hinder the free breathing of; deprive of fresh air” 

Given the volume of duct tape and its location found on Caylee Anthony’s skeletal remains, one can reasonably infer (1) it didn’t get there by accident, and (2) she was, at some point, deprived of fresh air.  It is reasonable to conclude that she didn’t walk to the swamp with her backpack and blanket, crawl into a garbage bag, put duct tape over her own mouth, and thereby kill herself.  She didn’t search out chloroform, but her mother did.  Expert testimony verified trace evidence of both chloroform and human decomposition in the trunk of her mother’s car.  It is reasonable to infer that both chloroform and suffocating duct tape had a role in the death of Caylee Anthony, whose body was logically placed in her mother’s car trunk until such time as it could be effectively disposed of.  Once done, the car was no longer needed and subsequently abandoned, to be picked up by the tow company with the scent of Caylee’s dead body still present. 

Casey Anthony had the means, motive, and opportunity to carry out this crime.  The inability of the jury to piece together the evidence that led to her as the only plausible perpetrator underscores the inherent flaw in a society that relies on technology for its answers in lieu of common sense.     

An interesting side note:  Four of the five males named as possible fathers of Caylee Anthony died in car crashes in 2007.  If I were an investigator, I’d be examining the probabilities of that.

In summary, I respectfully submit that the jury in this case did not have, or chose not to apply, the mental acuity necessary to ferret out the truth.  Nor do I believe they were willing to accept what it would likely show: that a mother killed her  only child for a gain of personal freedom.  Unwillingness to acknowledge the presence of evil as a part of the human condition is naïve at best and, at worst, excuses those who commit evil acts from accountability for their actions.  Without accountability there can be no justice – which was evidenced at the conclusion of this trial.

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of birth pains … Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” 

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast … for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  This is what the ancients were commended for.  By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice.  He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”  Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.  By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 

And what more shall I say?  I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.  Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison.  They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword.  All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw and welcomed them from a distance.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  “And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.”

Author’s note:  All verbiage contained herein is taken directly from the Holy Bible, the Spirit-directed word of God.

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.  So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”  So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.  Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.  Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb.  He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head.  The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.

[I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another. - Job] 

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.  He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?  Look at my hands and my feet.  It is I myself!  Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”  When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”  They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.  He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”  Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, “This is what is written:  The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.”

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.  So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.  They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:  “Men of Israel, listen to this:  Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.  Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.  Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.  God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.  He is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 

“I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” 

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In his great  mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Remember this, fix it in mind…Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.  I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.  I say:  My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.  What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.

“Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

 THE CRUCIFIXION

“Father, the time has come.  Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.  For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.  Now this is eternal life:  that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley.  On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.  Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.  So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees.  They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.  Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”  “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.  “I am he,” Jesus said.  Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus.  They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year.  Then Annas sent him still bound to Caiaphas the high priest.  Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor.  So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you … we have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

[My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:  “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him.  Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.  Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.  They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. – A psalm of David]

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.  They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him.  And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”  Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him.  Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.  And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him out to crucify him.  They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).  Here they crucified him, and with him two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle.  Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.  Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross.  It read:  JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days; save yourself!  Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!  He’s the King of Israel!  Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God.  Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ 

It was the third hour when they crucified him.  It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.  When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”  With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath).  So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead.  Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died.  When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.  Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.  “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’  So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.  Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.  This last deception will be worse than the first.”  “Take a guard,” Pilate answered.  “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”  So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

 …. was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.  This is what the LORD says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty:  “I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no God.”

 THE LAW – And God spoke all these words:

 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.  You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.  Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.  On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.  Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.  You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

THE PROPHETS – I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them

The LORD said to Samuel “…fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem.  I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”  So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.  The word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying:  “Now then, tell my servant David, This is what the LORD Almighty says:  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.  The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.”

Ah, a sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption.  “Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers.”  They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. “The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”  Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.     

Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. 

THE MESSIAH – The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations

…God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.  The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  And everyone went to his own town to register.  So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” 

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts.  When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:  “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way – a voice of one calling in the desert ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’  And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

“I tell you the truth:  Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.  From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.  For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.”

John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  This is what I meant when I said a man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.  I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.

Then John gave this testimony:  “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.  I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.  He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.  He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.  Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”