Imagine for a moment that Christ actually rose from the dead in bodily form after being in the grave for three days. How would His followers have reacted? For the sake of argument, suppose Christ did indeed rise from the dead. And I do not mean some vague floating mist. I mean a bodily resurrection. How would Jesus’ followers have responded?

You would think it would leave a movement in its wake. One that would continue to the present day. They would do and say things that otherwise would not make sense.

Psychological

There would be psychological differences in the group that followed Jesus. If the group was frightened after Jesus’ death, for example, hiding away, we would expect that after His bodily resurrection, they would be bold. They would be excited. They would tell people about Jesus.

In short, their psychological state would go from scared, disillusioned, and depressed to fearless, reassured, and energized. They would go from hiding in shame to hazarding their lives. 

Volitional

The transformation of their psychological state would transform their actions as well. So, we would expect His followers to tell others about it. In fact, they would go to great lengths and even suffer to share the news about Jesus. They would willingly be counted insane or even go to the gallows, so to speak. In short, they would show through their actions that they had seen and touched the resurrection. 

Religious

Religious texts would be reexamined and reinterpreted in light of the traumatic event. For instance, Jews would look at Isaiah 53 through a different lens. The group of followers would also have other practices that could not be explained in any other way except by the resurrection. For example, they may have a meal celebrating the work of Jesus. This practice would be strange by outsiders, yet they would still practice it because of its significance.

Traditions

Previously held religious traditions would be changed. Changes would happen that could not be explained except through a cataclysmic event. Examples of ingrained religious traditions that would be significant if changed:

1) The day a religious group gathers for worship.

2) The changing of a religious rite used to enter a religious group. An example here would be doing away with circumcision as a rite of entrance into a religious community.

It is not unreasonable to believe if something big happened it would lead to a change in tradition. It must be understood, however, that traditions do not change unless there is a reason to change them. For example, it would take something significant to change the day a religious group would gather for worship if they were told to worship on a particular day (e.g., Exodus 20:10); and it would take something big to change the religious rite of passage into a group if there was already solid precedence for a particular rite (e.g., Leviticus 12:3).

Heritage

If the resurrection happened, it would have left a heritage in its wake. People would still be impacted by it. People would still gather in mass in celebration of it. People would still be psychologically changed by it. People would tell other people about it. People would… be transformed.

If the resurrection really happened…

If the resurrection happened, it would make sense that we should not be lackadaisical about it.

Do you believe Jesus rose from the dead? If the resurrection really happened, it changes everything!