The lesson here is that we must begin to associate our heroes and our truths with energy. Present his turning over the money changers' tables, his power and energy in multiplying the loaves and fishes, and so on. Likewise, make a point to show that evil is often lazy, uncreative, predatory, tired, recycling the same old boring temptations, etc. etc. Think about a group of young people in a baseball game. The very things that motivate them to work hard and do well playing baseball can be adapted to the classroom.
Humans are gregarious and like being around each other.
Young people and adults usually like working as a team. Yet often the learning activities we assign call for individual effort. Young people especially complain that they don't like doing homework alone, yet we often insist that it be done that way. By designing more team assignments, we can exploit the benefits of teamwork, where the weaker students will learn by having others help. And, of course, since teaching someone something is the best way to learn, the students who teach each other will learn better than if they were learning alone.