He Is Risen

The most important week in history, a footrace to an empty tomb, and the witnesses who saw Him alive

  • 🧭 Youth 11–14
  • Week 13
  • 📅 Sunday, March 28, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus Christ suffered for our sins, gave His life, and rose again with a glorified body, and because many witnesses saw Him alive, I can know He lives and live like it.

I can follow the last week of the Savior’s life, learn from the witnesses of His Resurrection, and become a witness that He lives.

Know the chapters

The manual’s Easter lesson walks day by day through the Savior’s last week, while noting that we don’t know the exact day of every event. Sunday: crowds wave palm branches and shout “Hosanna” as He rides into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–11). Monday: He clears the moneychangers out of the temple, calling it a house of prayer (21:12–16). Tuesday: He teaches parables like the king’s wedding feast (22:1–14). Wednesday: He teaches that serving “the least of these” is serving Him (25:31–46). Thursday: the Last Supper, where He introduces the sacrament, and His suffering in Gethsemane (Matthew 26). Friday: the Crucifixion, where a Roman centurion says, “Truly this was the Son of God” (27:54). Saturday: while His body lies in the tomb, He ministers to the spirits of the dead (1 Peter 3:18–20; Doctrine and Covenants 138). Sunday: He is risen (Matthew 28).

Today’s drama is Easter morning from John 20:1–18, with the earthquake and angel from Matthew 28:2–4. Mary Magdalene finds the stone rolled away and runs to Peter and John. The two race to the tomb; John, who wrote the account, can’t resist mentioning that he outran Peter (John 20:4). They find the linen grave clothes lying there and the head cloth folded by itself. Mary stays behind, weeping. Two angels ask why she’s crying; then a man she takes for the gardener asks the same question. He says one word, her name, and she knows Him. She becomes the first to tell the Apostles that she has seen the Lord (John 20:18).

The manual invites us to study the witnesses of the Resurrection and ask what each one adds: Mary; the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, whose hearts burned as He opened the scriptures (Luke 24:13–35); Thomas, who wanted proof and heard, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29); Paul’s list of witnesses, including more than five hundred at once (1 Corinthians 15:3–8); the multitude in the Americas who came forward one by one to feel the prints of the nails (3 Nephi 11:14–15); and today’s Apostles in “The Living Christ.” For youth, the point is that they can become witnesses too, by the Holy Ghost.

For 11- to 14-year-olds, be honest about the Crucifixion without being graphic; they can handle the truth that He suffered and died because He loves them. Connect Thursday to Sunday for your deacons: the bread and water they pass every week began at that Last Supper. Two truths to leave with them: because He suffered for us, we can repent and be clean; because He rose, everyone will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:22). Some youth have lost grandparents, parents or friends. Paul’s question in 1 Corinthians 15:55, “O grave, where is thy victory?”, is the manual’s title and the best news you can give them.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read John 20:1–18 and Matthew 28:1–8. Ask the “most important week” question, race to put the Holy Week events in order, let Teach Mode carry Easter morning (you read Jesus’s words), run the Race to the Tomb relay, send teams into the Witness Files, teach Matthew 28:6, and close quietly with your testimony that He lives. Brought nothing? Tap “I brought nothing”: youth become the timeline cards and you read the witness passages aloud.

What to bring3 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Make two identical sets of eight cards, one event per card, no days written on them: Palm branches and “Hosanna” · Clearing the temple · The king’s wedding feast parable · “Ye have done it unto me” · The Last Supper and Gethsemane · The Crucifixion · Preaching to the spirits in prison · The empty tomb. Keep an answer key (Sunday → Sunday) on your phone.
  2. Read John 20:1–18 and Matthew 28:1–8. Choose a calm, reverent youth to be Mary Magdalene, and two quick ones to be Peter and John for the race.
  3. Text four youth before Sunday, one witness each: Mary (John 20:11–18), the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13–35), Thomas (John 20:24–29), and the multitude in the Americas (3 Nephi 11:8–15).
  4. Add names in the My Class tab so you can hand out roles with one tap.
  5. Prepare a short testimony of the living Christ: how you came to know He lives. You’ll share it at the end.

If your class is wild

  • Easter energy is real. Let it out in the timeline race and the relay, then use the drama to bring the room down slowly toward reverence.
  • The Peter-and-John race is funny; enjoy it. Then flip the tone fast when Mary stays behind weeping.
  • Don’t cast anyone as Jesus. You read His words; Mary turns toward the voice.
  • Some youth may be grieving. Keep the Resurrection promise personal and gentle, and don’t call on anyone to talk about a death.
  • Give jobs: a timeline judge, a relay captain for each team, and a youth to read the discussion questions.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Steps that mention Teach Mode, the Sound Board or other class games refer to the Gospel Sparks app; on the web you can play Forehead Guess and Scripture Showdown from this page.

1. Hook

The Most Important Week

2 min

Youth guess the most important week in history, which sets up a race through the Savior’s last week.

  1. Ask: “If you had to pick the single most important week in all of history, which would it be?” Take three quick answers.
  2. Share Elder Ronald A. Rasband’s words from “Hosanna to the Most High God” (see Conference quotes).
  3. SAY“Most people in Jerusalem that week had no idea what was really happening. Let’s see if you can put it in order.”

Class screen: 📅 What was the most important week in history? · Sunday → Sunday

2. Game

Holy Week Timeline Race

4 min

Two teams race to order the events of the Savior’s last week, so everyone has the whole story in their head before Easter morning.

  1. Two teams, one shuffled set of cards each. Say: “Put these eight events in order from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Lay them on the floor in a line. Go!”
  2. First team to get all eight right wins. If nobody has it perfect in ninety seconds, the team with the most in the right spot wins.
  3. Walk the correct line together, one card at a time: Sunday palms (Matthew 21:1–11) · Monday temple (21:12–16) · Tuesday wedding feast (22:1–14) · Wednesday “unto me” (25:40) · Thursday Last Supper and Gethsemane (26) · Friday cross (27) · Saturday spirit world (1 Peter 3:18–19) · Sunday empty tomb (28). Mention that we don’t know the exact day of every event.
  4. Stop on Thursday. Ask the deacons: “What did Jesus start that night that you help with every Sunday?” (The sacrament.)
🌪️ Cards stay on the floor, not in anyone’s hands, so nobody gets shoved.
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🏁 Eight events. One week. Put them in order! · Palm Sunday → Easter Sunday

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Two sets of eight index cards, each set with one Holy Week event per card (see prep), shuffled

  1. Eight volunteers stand in a scrambled line. Whisper one event to each: palm branches · clearing the temple · wedding feast parable · “ye have done it unto me” · Last Supper and Gethsemane · the cross · preaching to the spirits · the empty tomb. Each acts out their event in five silent seconds.
  2. The rest of the class directs them into order from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, against the timer.
  3. Walk the line together and give the references (Matthew 21; 22; 25; 26; 27; 1 Peter 3:18–19; Matthew 28). Mention that we don’t know the exact day of every event.
  4. Stop on Thursday. Ask the deacons: “What did Jesus start that night that you help with every Sunday?”
3. Story

Story Drama: Easter Morning

6 min

Acting out the empty tomb and Mary’s meeting with the risen Lord moves the class from Easter excitement into reverent joy.

  1. Hand out roles (tap Roles in Teach Mode). Everyone not cast is a Disciple. You read Jesus’s words yourself; Mary turns toward your voice.
  2. Read each scene and pause for the action. Let scene 3 be funny, then lower your voice for scene 5 and let the room get quiet.
  3. After scene 7, pause. Ask: “Mary didn’t recognize Him until He said one thing. What was it?” (Her name.) “What does that tell you about how He knows you?”
  4. After the last scene, ask: “Why do you think the first person He sent to announce the Resurrection was Mary?”
🌪️ If the race gets too rowdy, the Guards “come back to life” and escort Peter and John to their seats until scene 4.

Class screen: 🎭 An earthquake, an empty tomb, and one word: “Mary.” · John 20:1–18

4. Wiggle break

Race to the Tomb

2 min

A Team Peter vs. Team John tapping relay gets the wiggles out before the quiet witness work.

  1. Split into Team Peter and Team John. Tap Tug of War. Each team lines up about ten steps from your phone or tablet.
  2. One runner per team at a time: tap for five seconds, walk-sprint back, tag the next runner. Relay captains call the switches.
  3. Winners shout, “He is risen!” The other team answers, “He is risen indeed!” Everyone sits.
  4. No phone or tablet? Teams race by passing a hand squeeze down their line; the last person in line jumps up and shouts “He is risen!”
🪢 Tug of War (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🏃 Team Peter vs. Team John: race to the tomb! · John 20:4 says John won. Rematch?

5. Scripture

The Witness Files

5 min

Teams investigate different witnesses of the Resurrection and report what each adds, so youth see how much evidence the Lord has given.

  1. Give each team (or prepared reader) one witness file: Mary (John 20:11–18) · the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13–16, 30–34) · Thomas (John 20:24–29) · Paul’s list, including more than five hundred at once (1 Corinthians 15:3–8) · the multitude in the Americas (3 Nephi 11:8–15).
  2. Each team finds: Who saw Him? What did they experience? What does this witness add that the others don’t? Two minutes.
  3. Each team reports in thirty seconds. Point out Luke 24:32: the Emmaus disciples felt their hearts burn before they recognized Him. Say: “That’s how most of us become witnesses: by the Holy Ghost. That’s what Jesus meant in John 20:29.”
  4. Teach Matthew 28:6 with the motions. Say it twice together, then once in a whisper with motions.

Class screen: 🗂️ Who saw Him alive? What does each witness add? · Mary · Emmaus · Thomas · 500+ · the Americas

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Scriptures: Bibles, a quad, or Gospel Library on phones (one per team of two or three)

  1. Read each witness passage aloud from your scriptures or Gospel Library, briefly: John 20:16–18 · Luke 24:30–32 · John 20:27–29 · 1 Corinthians 15:5–8 · 3 Nephi 11:14–15 (summarize: the multitude came forward one by one and felt the prints of the nails).
  2. After each, a different team says in one sentence what that witness adds.
  3. Point out Luke 24:32 and John 20:29: most of us become witnesses by the Holy Ghost.
  4. Teach Matthew 28:6 with the motions. Say it twice together, then once in a whisper with motions.
6. Talk it over

Witness Talk

3 min

Honest questions help youth connect the Resurrection to their own faith, the sacrament and people they miss.

  1. Stay seated and keep it calm. A youth reads each question from your phone or tablet and picks who answers. Anyone can pass.
  2. Keep answers short so more voices get in, and add one honest answer of your own.
💬 Ask the class
  • Thomas wanted proof before he would believe. Is that a bad thing? What did Jesus do for him?
  • Which witness of the Resurrection do you relate to most: Mary, Peter, the Emmaus disciples, Thomas, or someone else? Why?
  • The sacrament started on Thursday of that week. How does knowing the whole story change what it means to pass or take the bread and water?
  • How does knowing Jesus rose change the way someone your age might face death, a hard mistake, or a bad day?

Class screen: 💬 Witness talk

7. Testimony

I Know That He Lives

3 min

The lesson ends quietly with the teacher’s witness of the living Christ and an invitation for youth to become witnesses themselves.

  1. Wait for real quiet. Say: “We’ve heard from Mary, Peter, John, Thomas and a multitude in the Americas. I want to add one more witness.”
  2. Bear your testimony simply: that Jesus Christ suffered for us in Gethsemane and on the cross, that He rose on the third day, that He lives today, and how you came to know it.
  3. SAY“Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. You can be a witness too. Ask Heavenly Father this week whether He lives, and watch for the burning the Emmaus disciples felt.”
  4. Introduce the challenge. If you brought a treat, pass it out quietly as a reminder of Easter joy. Ask a youth to pray.

Class screen: 🌅 He is not here: for he is risen. · Matthew 28:6

8. Game

Forehead Guess: Holy Week

4 minBONUS

A quick team review of the people, places and events from the Savior’s last week and Easter morning.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. One youth holds your phone or tablet on their forehead facing the class.
  2. Hard mode: clue-givers can’t say the word or any word in the hint.
  3. Keep clues respectful for Gethsemane and the cross. Teams alternate 45-second turns.

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: no words from the hint!

9. Game

Scripture Showdown

5 minBONUS

A team quiz reviews the week from Palm Sunday to the empty tomb and the witnesses who saw Him.

  1. Keep the same teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Read each question aloud; teams get ten seconds to decide, then point.
  3. Bonus point if the winning team can name the verse.

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown!

Story drama

Easter Morning

John 20:1–18; Matthew 28:1–8 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • Mary MagdaleneComes to the tomb in the dark, runs for help, stays weeping, then turns at the sound of her name.
  • PeterRaces to the tomb, loses to John, then barges right in without stopping.
  • JohnWins the race, stops at the door and peeks in, then goes in, sees and believes.
  • The AngelsTwo youth: sit calmly where the body had lain and gently ask Mary why she is weeping.
  • The GuardsTwo youth: stand stiffly at the tomb, then shake and collapse like dead men at the earthquake.
  • The DisciplesEveryone else: grieving and hiding, then jumping up when Mary bursts in with the news.

Scenes

  1. 🌑 Sunday, before sunrise: the earth shakes

    Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, there was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled the stone away from the tomb, and sat on it. His face was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The soldiers guarding the tomb shook with fear and fell down like dead men.

    🎬 The Guards stand stiffly, then shake and collapse. Everyone else rumbles the floor with their feet.

  2. 🪨 Mary finds the stone rolled away

    Mary Magdalene came to the tomb in the dark, heartbroken, and saw that the huge stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She didn’t go in. She turned and ran.

    🎬 Mary walks slowly, stops, stares at the open tomb, and runs to the Disciples.

  3. 🏃 The race to the tomb (John wins)

    Mary found Peter and John and told them someone had taken the Lord out of the tomb. The two of them took off running. John was faster and got there first, and when he wrote this down years later, he made sure to mention it.

    🎬 Peter and John race across the room. John wins and throws a tiny victory fist. Everyone laughs.

  4. 🧺 Grave clothes lying there. No body.

    John stooped and looked in but stopped at the door. Peter caught up and went straight inside. The linen burial clothes were lying there, and the cloth that had been around Jesus’s head was folded up in a place by itself. Then John went in too, and he saw, and he believed.

    🎬 Peter barges in. John peeks, then steps in slowly. They look at each other in silence.

  5. 😢 Mary stays behind, weeping

    Peter and John went home, but Mary stayed outside the tomb, crying. When she stooped to look in, she saw two angels in white sitting where His body had been, one at the head and one at the feet. They asked her, “Woman, why weepest thou?” She said, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.”

    🎬 Mary kneels at the tomb. The Angels speak gently. Everyone else is completely still.

  6. 🌿 “Whom seekest thou?” She thinks it’s the gardener.

    She turned around and saw a man standing there, but she didn’t recognize Him. He asked why she was weeping and whom she was looking for. Thinking He was the gardener, she begged Him: if you moved Him, tell me where, and I’ll take Him away.

    🎬 Mary turns toward your voice but looks past you, wiping her eyes. Keep the room silent.

  7. 💛 “Mary.” “Rabboni!”

    Then Jesus said one word: Mary. Just her name. She turned and knew Him instantly, and cried out, Rabboni, which means Master. The Savior she had watched die on Friday was standing in front of her, alive.

    🎬 Mary turns, gasps, and falls to her knees with joy. The Angels stand.

  8. 📣 Mary tells the disciples

    Jesus sent her to tell His disciples that He was going to His Father and their Father, His God and their God. Mary ran to the disciples with the greatest news anyone had ever carried: she had seen the Lord.

    🎬 Mary runs to the Disciples and reads John 20:18 aloud. The Disciples jump to their feet.

Key verse

Matthew 28:6 ↗
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
In plain words: The tomb is empty. Jesus rose from the dead, just like He promised. Come and see.
🙌 “He is not here” = shake your head, palms open · “for he is risen” = both hands rise from low to high · “as he said” = touch your lips · “Come, see” = wave someone in, then point · “the place where the Lord lay” = lay one hand flat, gently.

More verses

John 20:29 ↗
“blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed”
In plain words: Jesus was talking about us: people who believe without having seen Him with our eyes.
Luke 24:32 ↗
“Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?”
In plain words: The Emmaus disciples felt the Spirit before they recognized Him. That burning is a witness too.
1 Corinthians 15:22 ↗
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
In plain words: Because Jesus rose, everyone who has ever died will live again.
1 Corinthians 15:55 ↗
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
In plain words: Death doesn’t win. Jesus did.

Forehead Guess words18 words

  • 🌴 Palm branches
  • 🙌 Hosanna
  • 🫏 Donkey
  • 💰 Moneychangers
  • 🍞 Last Supper
  • 🥖 Sacrament
  • 🫒 Gethsemane
  • 🪖 Centurion
  • ✨ Spirit world
  • 🪨 Tomb
  • 🌋 Earthquake
  • 🛡️ Guards
  • 👩 Mary Magdalene
  • 💛 Rabboni
  • 🧺 Linen clothes
  • 🛣️ Emmaus
  • ✋ Thomas
  • 🌅 Resurrection
Clues for each word
  • Palm branches: Waved as Jesus rode into Jerusalem
  • Hosanna: What the crowds shouted on Palm Sunday
  • Donkey: What Jesus rode into the city
  • Moneychangers: Their tables got overturned in the temple
  • Last Supper: Where Jesus introduced the sacrament
  • Sacrament: Deacons pass it every Sunday
  • Gethsemane: Garden where He prayed “not as I will”
  • Centurion: Said “Truly this was the Son of God”
  • Spirit world: Where Jesus preached while His body lay in the tomb
  • Tomb: Found empty on Sunday morning
  • Earthquake: Shook the ground as the angel came
  • Guards: Shook and fell like dead men
  • Mary Magdalene: First to see the risen Lord
  • Rabboni: Means Master; Mary’s answer
  • Linen clothes: Left lying in the empty tomb
  • Emmaus: Village road where two disciples walked with Him
  • Thomas: Wanted to see the prints of the nails
  • Resurrection: Spirit and body reunited, never to die again
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown10 questions

  1. What did the crowds shout as Jesus rode into Jerusalem?
    • A. “Crucify him”
    • B. “Hosanna”
    • C. “Peace, be still”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “Hosanna” Matthew 21:9. Days later, some in Jerusalem would shout something very different.

  2. What did Jesus call the temple when He drove out the moneychangers?
    • A. The house of prayer
    • B. The house of gold
    • C. The house of David
    Show answer

    ✅ A. The house of prayer Matthew 21:13. The temple is a holy place.

  3. What did Jesus introduce at the Last Supper?
    • A. Baptism
    • B. Fasting
    • C. The sacrament
    Show answer

    ✅ C. The sacrament Matthew 26:26–28. Deacons help carry on what He started that night.

  4. What did Jesus pray in Gethsemane?
    • A. “Save yourselves”
    • B. “Not as I will, but as thou wilt”
    • C. “Take me home now”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “Not as I will, but as thou wilt” Matthew 26:39. He chose His Father’s will, for us.

  5. Who said, “Truly this was the Son of God” at the cross?
    • A. A Roman centurion
    • B. Peter
    • C. Pilate
    Show answer

    ✅ A. A Roman centurion Matthew 27:54. Even a Roman officer recognized Him.

  6. What did the angel say to the women at the tomb?
    • A. “Go home”
    • B. “Wait here”
    • C. “He is not here: for he is risen”
    Show answer

    ✅ C. “He is not here: for he is risen” Matthew 28:6. Just as He said.

  7. Who got to the tomb first in the race?
    • A. Peter
    • B. John, the other disciple
    • C. Thomas
    Show answer

    ✅ B. John, the other disciple John 20:4. John wrote it down, of course.

  8. How did Mary finally recognize Jesus?
    • A. He showed her a sign
    • B. An angel told her
    • C. He said her name
    Show answer

    ✅ C. He said her name John 20:16. “Mary.” He knows each of us by name.

  9. What did the Emmaus disciples feel as He opened the scriptures?
    • A. Their hearts burned
    • B. They fell asleep
    • C. They were afraid
    Show answer

    ✅ A. Their hearts burned Luke 24:32. The Holy Ghost witnesses of Him.

  10. Who does Jesus call blessed in John 20:29?
    • A. Those who saw Him
    • B. Those who have not seen, yet believe
    • C. Only the Apostles
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Those who have not seen, yet believe That’s us. We can believe and become witnesses by the Spirit.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“Nearly 2,000 years ago, Palm Sunday marked the beginning of the last week of the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ. It was the most important week in human history.”

— Elder Ronald A. Rasband, “Hosanna to the Most High God,” April 2023

Share in the hook, right after the youth guess.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • I Know That My Redeemer Lives Hymns, no. 136

    The Easter testimony every witness in today’s lesson could sing. Find it ↗

  • He Died That We Might Live Again Children’s Songbook, p. 65

    A simple Easter song that holds the whole week, Friday to Sunday, in one idea. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Become a Witness

Read one witness account each day this week (John 20; Luke 24; 1 Corinthians 15; 3 Nephi 11) and ask Heavenly Father in prayer to help you know for yourself that Jesus Christ lives. Next Sunday, when the sacrament is passed, think about Thursday, Friday and Sunday of that week. Memorize Matthew 28:6.

Text the parents

This Easter in class we raced to put the events of the Savior’s last week in order, acted out Easter morning, when Mary Magdalene heard the risen Lord say her name (John 20:1–18), and studied the witnesses who saw Him alive, from Thomas to the people in the Americas. Ask your youth: which witness of the Resurrection do you relate to most, and why?

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🌴 Hosanna to Crucify · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 21:8–11 and Matthew 27:22–23. Ask: “How could the same city shout ‘Hosanna’ on Sunday and ‘Let him be crucified’ on Friday?”
  2. Ask: “What makes a person’s loyalty to Jesus last when the crowd changes?”
  3. Each youth thinks of one way to stay steady when friends turn against what they believe.

🛣️ The Road to Emmaus · 5 min

  1. Pairs walk slowly around the room while one reads Luke 24:13–27 aloud to the other.
  2. Then read Luke 24:28–35 together. Ask: “When did they recognize Him? What had they already felt before that?”
  3. Ask: “When have you felt your heart burn while reading or hearing about Jesus?”

✨ Saturday in the Spirit World · 4 min

  1. Read 1 Peter 3:18–19 and 1 Peter 4:6. Ask: “What was Jesus doing while His body lay in the tomb?”
  2. Explain that Doctrine and Covenants 138 is a latter-day revelation about this, showing He organized messengers to teach the gospel to the spirits of the dead.
  3. Connect it to temple baptisms for the dead: “When you do baptisms at the temple, you’re part of the work Jesus started that Saturday.”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

All Youth 11–14 lessons