A lot hangs on the answer to the question: “Who is Jesus?” Some say that he is a fictional or mythical character who never really lived; others say that he was a historical figure, a good teacher and a wise guide for a socially responsible life. Muslims say that he was a prophet, but no more than any of the other prophets. Christians agree with Peter as he is reported in Matthew chapter 16, when he said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Does it really matter who Jesus is or was? According to Christians, it does because the answer to the question of Jesus’s identity also determines our own identity. If Jesus was no more than just a man, or even worse a fictional figure, then ultimately there is nothing special about us either. If Jesus was not the “son of the living God”, then perhaps there is no God, our lives have no meaning other than what we pretend them to mean, we come from nowhere and we are destined for oblivion. Even if there is a God but Jesus was not the “son of the living God”, then God is some distant being and it seems impossible to know whether he loves us or hates us.
But if Jesus really was the “son of the living God”, then our identity is a whole lot more than a bag of bones and flesh. God showed his love for us by sending his son to die the death we deserved to die for our sins. As a result, by placing our trust in Jesus we can be transformed from being God’s enemies into being God’s friends, children of God, destined to worship and enjoy him forever.