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If Thou Be the Son of God

Pressure lines that start with “if,” a hometown that couldn’t see past a label, and comeback lines that actually work

  • 🔥 Youth 14–16
  • Week 5
  • 📅 Sunday, January 31, 2027
🤔 Forehead Guess🏆 Showdown
💡 The big idea

Jesus knew who He was and whose He was, so neither Satan’s “ifs” nor His hometown’s labels could move Him, and knowing who I am as a child of God and a disciple of Christ helps me stand too.

I can answer pressure the way Jesus did: with the truth about who I am and what God has said.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 4; Luke 4–5 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 4; Luke 4–5)
Know the chapters

Right after His baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and, as the Joseph Smith Translation puts it, “to be with God” (JST Matthew 4:1). The JST footnotes also clarify that it was the Spirit, not the devil, who took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and the high mountain; the devil came to Him there. Notice how Satan opens two of the three temptations: “If thou be the Son of God” (Matthew 4:3, 6). Before he asks for anything, he pokes at identity. Every time, Jesus answers with scripture: “It is written” (4:4, 7, 10), quoting Deuteronomy. The manual shares a prophet’s summary of three kinds of temptation: appetites and passions, pride and vanity, and a hunger for riches or power. Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. Being tempted is not a sin, and your youth need to hear that plainly.

Back home in Nazareth, Jesus stood in the synagogue, read Isaiah’s prophecy of the Anointed One (Luke 4:18–19; Isaiah 61:1–2) and said, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:21). The crowd admired His words and then shrank Him down to a label: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (4:22). When He reminded them that God had blessed outsiders like the widow of Sarepta and Naaman, they tried to throw Him off a cliff, and He walked right through the middle of them (4:28–30). Hometown crowds, group chats and old reputations can do the same thing to teenagers: freeze them as who they used to be.

In Luke 5, tired fishermen who had caught nothing all night obey a strange instruction, “Launch out into the deep,” and their nets break with fish. Simon Peter falls to his knees and says, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (5:8). Jesus answers, “Fear not” and gives him a new identity: a fisher of men (5:10; Matthew 4:19). Satan says “if.” Jesus says “fear not.” That contrast is the heart of this lesson for 14–16-year-olds, who are constantly told who they are by feeds, friends and their own worst moments.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:16–30. Open with “The Pressure Starts with If” (no supplies), run the Nazareth reader’s theater in Teach Mode, then play Comeback Lines out loud. Close by having everyone silently finish the sentence “God says I am…” and bear a short testimony.

What to bring2 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. Read Matthew 4:1–11 and Luke 4:16–30 once. You will read Jesus’s words in the reader’s theater; no youth plays the Savior.
  2. Text one youth on Saturday and ask them to lead the “Three Pitches, Three Answers” step. Send them Matthew 4:1–11 and the three questions from that step.
  3. Add your class names in the My Class tab so the Name Spinner can pick speakers.
  4. Think of one honest example of a label someone put on you as a teen, or one you put on yourself. You will share it briefly in the discussion.

If your class is wild

  • Teens can smell a lecture. Let them name the real pressure lines they hear; don’t supply cheesy ones.
  • In the freeze-frame wiggle, ban anything that mocks a real person in the room or a real post they’d recognize.
  • The Nazareth crowd gets loud when they “rise up.” Keep the cliff scene slow-motion so it stays dramatic, not chaotic.
  • If one youth takes over every discussion, use the Name Spinner for the next few answers.
  • Keep the testimony cards private. Nobody reads anyone else’s.

The 25-minute plan24 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 Pressure Starts with “If”

3 min

Youth feel how much pressure hides in the word “if” before they see Satan use it on Jesus.

  1. Everyone stands. Say: “I’ll read a line. Show me with your fingers how much pressure it would put on someone your age, one to five.”
  2. Read: “If you were really my friend, you’d send it.” “If you actually had a testimony, you’d never have questions.” “If you were confident, you wouldn’t care what anyone says.” “If you were fun, you’d come.” “If God really loved you, this wouldn’t be happening.”
  3. After each, ask one person: “What is that line really attacking?” (Loyalty, faith, confidence, belonging, God’s love.)
  4. Ask: “Does anyone have a real one you’ve heard?” Take one or two.
  5. SAY“Satan used this exact move on Jesus. Listen to how he opens.” Read Matthew 4:3. Say: “Before he asked for anything, he went after who Jesus was.”
🌪️ If they start shouting out edgy lines, say, “Real, but keep it class-safe,” and move to the next one.

Class screen: 🎯 “If you really were…” How much pressure is that? · Rate it 1–5 with your fingers · What is the line really attacking?

2. Scripture

Three Pitches, Three Answers

4 min

A youth leads the class through the three temptations and Jesus’s scripture-based answers.

  1. Invite the youth you asked ahead of time to lead. They split the class into three groups: Stones to Bread (Matthew 4:3–4), The Temple Jump (4:5–7), All the Kingdoms (4:8–10).
  2. Each group gets 90 seconds to answer three questions: What was Satan offering? What does that pitch look like for teens today? How did Jesus answer?
  3. Each group reports in 20 seconds. The leader connects them to three kinds of temptation: appetite (bread), pride and showing off (the temple jump), and money or power (the kingdoms).
  4. Put Matthew 4:4 on the screen. The leader teaches the motions and the class says it together once.
  5. The leader reads what Elder Jorge F. Zeballos noticed about this chapter: “He always answered Satan having scriptures in His mind, quoting them, and applying them at the right moment.”
  6. The leader asks: “Jesus answered with scripture every time. What does it take to have a verse ready when you need it?” Take two answers.

Class screen: 📜 Three pitches. Three answers. “It is written.” · 🍞 Appetite · 🏛️ Pride and showing off · 👑 Money and power

3. Wiggle break

Freeze Frame: The Modern Pitch

2 min

Groups act out modern versions of the temptations as frozen scenes, which gets bodies moving and makes the pitches concrete.

  1. Keep the three groups. Each has 20 seconds to plan a frozen photo of a modern version of their temptation (for example, pride: someone posing for a risky video; power: someone ruling the group chat).
  2. On “Freeze!” each group holds its pose while the others guess the temptation.
  3. Round two: in 10 seconds, each group reshapes the scene into the moment someone chooses the right way to answer it. Freeze again.
🌪️ Nobody acts out a real classmate. Keep it fictional and funny.
⏱️ Big Timer (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 📸 Freeze frame: show the pitch, then show the comeback · 20 seconds to plan · Hold it!

4. Story

Reader’s Theater: The Hometown Crowd

5 min

Acting out Nazareth shows youth how a label can blind people to who someone really is, and how Jesus kept going anyway.

  1. Tap Roles in Teach Mode and hand out parts. Everyone else is the Nazareth Crowd. Say: “I’ll read the Savior’s words. The Narrator runs the scenes.”
  2. At scene 2, read Luke 4:18 slowly. Ask the class to notice who Jesus came for: the poor, the brokenhearted, captives, the blind, the bruised.
  3. At scene 4, pause after Neighbor 1’s line. Ask: “What’s the label hiding?”
  4. At scene 6, let the frozen crowd hold the path open for three full seconds before anyone speaks.
  5. SAY“They couldn’t shrink Him, and they couldn’t stop Him. He knew who He was.”
🌪️ If the crowd charges too hard in scene 6, rewind and redo it in slow motion. Slower is more dramatic.

Class screen: 🏘️🎭 Reader’s theater: The Hometown Crowd · The teacher reads the Savior’s words · Everyone else is Nazareth

5. Talk it over

Is Not This Joseph’s Son?

4 min

Youth connect Satan’s “ifs,” hometown labels and Peter’s shame to how they see themselves.

  1. Sit in a circle. Say: “No church-voice answers needed. Say what you really think.”
  2. Share your own brief example of a label someone put on you as a teen, or one you put on yourself.
  3. Show one question at a time. Let two or three people answer each; skip one if it isn’t landing.
💬 Ask the class
  • Nazareth saw “Joseph’s son,” not the Messiah. What labels get stuck on people at school or online, and why do they stick?
  • Satan’s pitch was “If thou be the Son of God.” Why do you think he went after Jesus’s identity first?
  • Jesus answered every temptation with “It is written.” What truths about who you are could you answer with?
  • Peter said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man.” Jesus said, “Fear not.” When do we push the Savior away because we feel unworthy?
  • Where do you get your sense of who you are: friends, grades, followers, family, God? Which one holds up on a bad day?
🌪️ If nobody talks, answer the first question yourself, briefly and honestly. Honest teachers get honest answers.

Class screen: 🏷️ Labels, “ifs,” and who you really are · Real answers only

6. Game

Comeback Lines

3 min

Teams practice real, non-cringe answers to modern pressure, the way Jesus answered with truth.

  1. Split into two teams. Say: “I read an ‘if’ line. Your team has 20 seconds to build a comeback someone would actually say. Truth-based, not preachy, not mean.”
  2. Use the Name Spinner to pick who delivers each team’s line.
  3. Lines: “If you were really fun, you’d stay out later.” “If you were actually pretty, you’d post more.” “If God cared, He’d answer faster.” “If you were a real man, you’d fight him.” “If you were smart, you’d just copy the test answers.”
  4. The other team scores each comeback with fingers: 1 = cringe, 5 = I’d actually say that. Highest total wins.
  5. SAY“Jesus’s comebacks were short, calm and true. That’s the goal.”
🌪️ Ban “I’d just walk away” as a first answer. Make them find actual words.
🎡 Name Spinner (a class game in the Gospel Sparks app)

Class screen: 🥊 Comeback Lines: short, calm, true · 20 seconds to build it · 1 = cringe · 5 = I’d actually say that

7. Game

Scripture Showdown: Wilderness to Galilee

4 minBONUS

A fast team quiz reviews the temptations, Nazareth and the call of the fishermen.

  1. Keep the same teams. Tap Scripture Showdown.
  2. Teams get ten seconds to confer on each question.
  3. The losing team picks whether the last question is worth double.
▶ Play Scripture Showdown on the web

Class screen: 🏆 Scripture Showdown: Wilderness to Galilee

8. Game

Forehead Guess: Matthew 4 and Luke 4–5

4 minBONUS

A quick Heads Up–style round with the week’s people, places and ideas.

  1. Tap Forehead Guess. One person holds your phone or tablet on their forehead facing the class.
  2. Everyone else gives clues without saying the word. Tilt down for got it, up to pass. 45 seconds each.
  3. Hard mode: clues can only be scripture references.
▶ Play Forehead Guess on the web

Class screen: 🤔 Forehead Guess: Wilderness to Galilee

9. Testimony

God Says I Am

3 min

A private, reverent moment to replace a label with what God says is true.

  1. Hand out cards. Say: “On one side, write a label or an ‘if’ that gets to you. Nobody will see it.”
  2. SAY“On the other side, write ‘God says I am…’ and finish it. Child of God. Forgiven. Called. Not done yet.” Give 45 seconds of quiet.
  3. SAY“Peter felt like a sinful fisherman. Jesus saw a fisher of men. He sees more in you than Nazareth, your feed or your worst day ever will.”
  4. Share a brief testimony that Jesus Christ knows who you are and who you can become.
  5. Point to the challenge and invite a youth to give the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🪪 Flip the card: “God says I am…” · Private. Nobody sees it.

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: Index cards or scrap paper and pens, one per person

  1. SAY“Look down or close your eyes. Think of one label or ‘if’ that gets to you. Keep it private.”
  2. SAY“Now, in your head, answer it: ‘God says I am…’ Child of God. Forgiven. Called. Not done yet.” Give 30 seconds of quiet.
  3. SAY“Peter felt like a sinful fisherman. Jesus saw a fisher of men. He sees more in you than Nazareth, your feed or your worst day ever will.”
  4. Share a brief testimony that Jesus Christ knows who you are and who you can become. Invite a youth to give the closing prayer.

Class screen: 🪪 In your head: “God says I am…”

Story drama

The Hometown Crowd

Luke 4:16–30 ↗

Parts to hand out

  • NarratorReads each scene from the shared screen while the teacher reads the Savior’s words.
  • Synagogue AttendantHands over the scroll of Isaiah in scene 2 and takes it back in scene 3.
  • Neighbor 1Says the label out loud in scene 4: “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
  • Neighbor 2Leads the grumbling in scene 5 and the slow-motion rush in scene 6.
  • Sound TechRuns the Sound Board: knock, rumble, crash and whoosh on cue.
  • Nazareth CrowdEveryone else: listens, whispers, stares, then rises up in slow motion.

Scenes

  1. 🏘️🕍 Back home in Nazareth

    After the wilderness, Jesus came home to Nazareth, the small town where He grew up. Everybody there knew Him. They knew His family, His house, His childhood. On the Sabbath He went to the synagogue, like He always did, and stood up to read.

    🎬 The crowd sits in rows like a congregation. They nudge each other: “Hey, it’s Him.”

  2. 📜✨ He reads Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah

    He was handed the scroll of Isaiah. Jesus found the place and read Isaiah’s prophecy about the One God would anoint to heal the brokenhearted and set captives free.

    🎬 The Attendant hands over an imaginary scroll. Teacher reads Luke 4:18 aloud. The crowd listens very still.

  3. 👀🪑 “This day is this scripture fulfilled”

    He rolled up the scroll, handed it back and sat down. Every eye in the room was fastened on Him. Then He said it plainly: this prophecy was being fulfilled today, in front of them. He was telling His hometown who He really was.

    🎬 The Attendant takes the scroll back. Everyone stares silently at the front for three seconds. Teacher reads Luke 4:21.

  4. 🏷️🧓 “Is not this Joseph’s son?”

    At first they were impressed by His gracious words. Then they asked, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” Imagine the whispering: Isn’t this just the carpenter’s kid? We watched Him grow up. They couldn’t fit the Messiah into the label they already had for Him.

    🎬 Neighbor 1 says loudly: “Is not this Joseph’s son?” The crowd whispers and shrugs to each other.

  5. 😠🔥 Outsiders believed, so the crowd got angry

    Jesus reminded them that in Elijah’s day a widow from another country was blessed, and in Elisha’s day a foreign general named Naaman was healed. Outsiders believed when insiders didn’t. That hit a nerve. The whole synagogue was filled with anger.

    🎬 Neighbor 2 starts grumbling. The grumble spreads until the whole crowd is muttering and folding their arms.

  6. ⛰️🚶 He passed through the midst of them

    They rose up, pushed Him out of town and up to the edge of a cliff, meaning to throw Him off. But He passed right through the middle of them and went His way. They could not make Him into who they said He was, and they could not stop His mission.

    🎬 In slow motion, the crowd rises and edges toward the front. Everyone freezes, then parts down the middle to open a clear path. Hold the silence.

Key verse

Matthew 4:4 ↗
“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
In plain words: Starving and alone, Jesus didn’t argue or panic. He answered with what God had already said. We can too.
🙌 “It is written”: tap an open palm like a book. “Not by bread alone”: hold up an imaginary loaf, then set it aside. “Every word”: sweep a finger across an invisible page. “Out of the mouth of God”: point upward.

More verses

Matthew 4:3 ↗
“If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
In plain words: Satan’s first move was to make Jesus prove who He was. Pressure often starts with “If you really were…”
Luke 4:22 ↗
“Is not this Joseph’s son?”
In plain words: His hometown shrank Him to a label. People who knew you at eight don’t get the final word on who you are.
Luke 5:10 ↗
“Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.”
In plain words: Peter felt unworthy. Jesus didn’t argue; He gave him a bigger future than Peter could see.
Hebrews 4:15 ↗
“was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
In plain words: Being tempted isn’t a sin. Jesus knows exactly what it feels like, and He knows the way through.

Forehead Guess words16 words

  • 🏜️ Wilderness
  • 🍽️ Fasting
  • 🐍 Tempter
  • 🍞 Stones to Bread
  • 🏛️ Pinnacle
  • 📜 It Is Written
  • 🏘️ Nazareth
  • 🕍 Synagogue
  • 📖 Isaiah
  • ⛰️ Cliff
  • 🎣 Simon Peter
  • 🕸️ Nets
  • 🌊 Launch Out into the Deep
  • 🐟 Fishers of Men
  • 🏷️ Label
  • 💪 Fear Not
Clues for each word
  • Wilderness: Where Jesus fasted forty days
  • Fasting: Going without food to be close to God
  • Tempter: Opened with “If thou be the Son of God”
  • Stones to Bread: The first temptation, about appetite
  • Pinnacle: The very top of the temple
  • It Is Written: How Jesus began every answer
  • Nazareth: Jesus’s hometown
  • Synagogue: Where Jesus stood up to read on the Sabbath
  • Isaiah: The prophet whose scroll Jesus read
  • Cliff: Where the angry crowd took Him
  • Simon Peter: Said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man”
  • Nets: So full of fish they broke
  • Launch Out into the Deep: Jesus’s strange fishing advice
  • Fishers of Men: What Jesus said the fishermen would become
  • Label: What “Joseph’s son” was
  • Fear Not: What Jesus told Peter
▶ Play Forehead GuessFull screen, 60-second timer, works on any phone.

Scripture Showdown9 questions

  1. How did Satan begin two of his three temptations?
    • A. “If thou be the Son of God”
    • B. “Behold, I bring gifts”
    • C. “Nobody will know”
    Show answer

    ✅ A. “If thou be the Son of God” Matthew 4:3, 6. He went after Jesus’s identity before asking for anything.

  2. How did Jesus answer every temptation?
    • A. He ran away
    • B. With scripture: “It is written”
    • C. He stayed silent
    Show answer

    ✅ B. With scripture: “It is written” Matthew 4:4, 7, 10. He quoted Deuteronomy each time.

  3. What does the JST say Jesus went into the wilderness to do?
    • A. Hide from Herod
    • B. Find His disciples
    • C. Be with God
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Be with God JST Matthew 4:1. He fasted to be close to His Father before His ministry.

  4. What did Satan offer if Jesus would worship him?
    • A. All the kingdoms of the world
    • B. A crown of gold
    • C. Twelve legions of angels
    Show answer

    ✅ A. All the kingdoms of the world Matthew 4:8–9. Money and power, the third kind of pitch.

  5. Whose scroll did Jesus read in the Nazareth synagogue?
    • A. Moses
    • B. Jeremiah
    • C. Isaiah
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Isaiah Luke 4:17–19. A prophecy about the Anointed One, fulfilled that day.

  6. What label did Nazareth put on Jesus?
    • A. “The rabbi’s student”
    • B. “Joseph’s son”
    • C. “The fisherman”
    Show answer

    ✅ B. “Joseph’s son” Luke 4:22. They couldn’t see past who they thought He was.

  7. What did Nazareth try to do to Jesus?
    • A. Crown Him king
    • B. Throw Him off a cliff
    • C. Send Him to Egypt
    Show answer

    ✅ B. Throw Him off a cliff Luke 4:29–30. He passed through the midst of them and went His way.

  8. What did Peter say after the nets broke with fish?
    • A. “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man”
    • B. “Let’s sell these!”
    • C. “Do it again tomorrow”
    Show answer

    ✅ A. “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man” Luke 5:8. He felt unworthy; Jesus answered, “Fear not.”

  9. What did Jesus say Peter and Andrew would become?
    • A. Kings of Israel
    • B. Rich fishermen
    • C. Fishers of men
    Show answer

    ✅ C. Fishers of men Matthew 4:19. They left their nets straightway and followed Him.

▶ Play Scripture ShowdownTeams take turns on one screen.

From general conference

“He always answered Satan having scriptures in His mind, quoting them, and applying them at the right moment.”

— Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, “Building a Life Resistant to the Adversary,” October 2022

Read in the “Three Pitches, Three Answers” step, just before the class says Matthew 4:4 together.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    The manual points to this hymn for the call of the fishermen; it’s about following Him every day, not just once. Find it ↗

  • I Need Thee Every Hour Hymns, no. 98

    A quiet prayer for strength when temptation comes. Good for the testimony moment. Find it ↗

This week’s challenge

Have Your “It Is Written” Ready

Pick one pressure you face this week. Find one verse that answers it (Matthew 4:4, 1 Corinthians 10:13 or one you choose), and put it somewhere you’ll see it: your lock screen, your mirror, your notes app. When the “if” comes, answer with it.

Text the parents

This week in class we talked about how Satan tempted Jesus with “If thou be the Son of God,” how His hometown reduced Him to “Joseph’s son,” and how Jesus told a discouraged Peter, “Fear not.” Your teen is picking one verse to have ready for a pressure they face. A good question to ask: “What labels do people your age get stuck with, and what does God say instead?”

📝 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?

🎣 Launch Out into the Deep · 5 min

  1. Read Luke 5:1–11 together. Point out that Peter was a professional who had worked all night and caught nothing.
  2. Ask: “Why might Peter have doubted a carpenter’s fishing advice?” Then read verse 5: “nevertheless at thy word.”
  3. Discuss: “What’s something the Lord asks that doesn’t make sense to you yet? What would ‘nevertheless’ look like?”
  4. Share the manual’s idea in your own words: people who turn their lives over to God find He can make far more of them than they could alone.

🍽️ Why Fast? · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 4:1–2 and the JST footnote: Jesus went into the wilderness “to be with God.”
  2. Ask: “How could going without food help someone feel closer to God?”
  3. Invite youth to share (only if they want) an experience with fasting, and suggest a purpose for next fast Sunday.

📜 Jesus’s Mission Statement · 4 min

  1. Read Luke 4:18–19. List the five groups Jesus came to help.
  2. Pairs pick one group and name someone in their school or ward who fits it, without using names.
  3. Ask: “How could we join His mission this week?”

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 14–16 lessons