Well, given the church calendar, it may seem premature to talk about Easter today, but since

this is a weekday podcast, and because there is so much to say about Easter, or closing

out the week with two episodes on the implication of Christ's resurrection, and today we welcome

Matthew Harmon to the podcast. Dr. Harmon serves as professor of New Testament studies

at Grace College and Theological Seminary, and he is the co-author of a really good

new book, along with Benjamin Glad. It's titled Making All Things New, Inoculated Eschatology

for the Life of the Church. And today I want to talk about Easter, Dr. Harmon. Thank you

for joining us. Well, thanks for having me, Tony. I really appreciate it.

Certainly. Of course, Easter is a few days away, and you claim that the resurrection of Jesus

Christ changes everything. Explain this. Why is such a bold statement like that? No exaggeration.

Well, at first it can seem like to claim that the resurrection changes everything is an example

of hype, but as you read the Bible and you understand all that flows out of Jesus' resurrection,

it is no exaggeration to say that Jesus rising from the dead literally changes everything,

and we could talk for days about the implications and things that come out of that. But in the

short time I have today, I want to focus on 10 things that Jesus' resurrection tells us about him,

what it did for us, and what it did for creation itself. So first, Jesus' resurrection embodies

the new creation and launches God's end time kingdom into this present world. So when Jesus rose

from the dead, it was the beginning of a new era in human history. Ever since Adam and Eve had

rebelled against God, the world has been under the curse. But throughout the Old Testament, God had

promised to redeem his people and transform creation itself through a descendant of Eve. And in

Ezekiel 37, God describes that redemption of his people as an act of resurrection. God putting

flesh and skin on dry bones, raising people from their graves, and breathing his spirit into them.

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