The heart of the passage is in Luke 9:20 the question, “But who do you say that I am?” And with that question, Jesus confronted His apostles with the most critical issue that ever faced them, or ever faces any human being, the question of the identity of Jesus Christ. Getting it right is critical to one’s eternal destiny. Heaven or hell is the result of the right answer and the right response to the answer to that question. It’s not just an issue that affects your belief. It’s not just an issue that affects your lifestyle. It affects your eternal destiny. And all souls that live on this planet are accountable to God for their answer to that question. Even if they don’t yet know the answer, they are accountable to the answer. The wrong answer or no answer damns forever. The right answer opens the door to eternal life and joy. It is the question of all questions. Philosophers have offered answers. Theologians have offered answers. False religions have their answers. Secularists have answers. Atheists have answers. Humanists have answers. Sadly their answers are wrong. This is one you don’t want to get wrong. Too much is at stake. Eternal heaven or eternal hell depends on the answer.  ~ John MacArthur
  

You would think it’s a complex question.  You would think that it’s difficult to answer, since there are endless books and endless articles and endless discussions and treatments on the question of the identity of Jesus.  Libraries are full, literally, of tens of thousands, if not millions of books that have been focused addressing this question in one way or another. Articles appear in journals and magazines, papers are written, discussions are held, symposiums, etc., etc.  The plethora of this assault, as it were, on the issue of the identity of Jesus Christ might seem to convince us that this is a very complex and difficult question that cannot be answered easily.  In fact, the consensus might indicate to us that it doesn’t have any real answer, it’s just something you sort of work on with no hope of resolution.  Millions and millions of pages exist, giving testimony to what some would conclude as the utter impossibility of coming to the right conclusion.  But the fact of the matter is: It’s a very easy question to answer.  It’s only hard if you reject the Bible.  So anybody who comes up with the wrong answer about who Jesus is has rejected the clear testimony of Scripture.  In favor of that, they have placed their own rational thinking.  In favor of that, they have placed the writings of some other religious false prophet.  In place of that, they have substituted human wisdom.  Whatever it might be, the answer to the question is straightforward, simple and absolutely cil…clear if you accept what the Bible says.  If you don’t accept what the Bible says, then you are hopelessly lost in your search for the real Jesus.  In fact, all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, unambiguously answer the question of who Jesus is.  John writes — the purpose really not only for his own gospel, but all the others, when he says — “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” Jesus is the Christ, He the Son of God.  If you believe in Him, you’ll have eternal life in His name.  That’s who He is, that’s what comes by believing in Him.  That is not ambiguous, that is not obscure. That does not take some kind of scholastic machinations to sort out.  It is clear, precise information revealed on the pages of the Scripture, most clearly indicated in the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. ~ John MacArthur