This is an important question and depending upon who you ask you will get a variety of answers. Jesus himself asked his disciples this question, Matt 16:13-17 (NAS)
"Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
           Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. This is quite a claim and it is reasonable for some one to ask why should I believe such a claim? In today's world even the term Son of God means different things to different people. So what makes Jesus any different than other religious leaders or other deities that people worship? Is there any evidence to validate such a claim? This will be the focal point of this chapter.
            Unlike some so called deities that people worship in the world today, Jesus is not a myth, but he is a historical person. Flavius Josephus was a Jewish Historian during the period of (AD 37-c.100)  His works are the principal source for the history of the Jews from the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes (BC 17-63) to the fall of Masada in AD 73. There is a very interesting statement regarding Jesus recorded in  "The Works of Josephus," Book 18 chapter 3, #63&64 (Oak Harbor, WA: LRS, Inc.) 1996.   "Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works--a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure.  He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles.  He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day. This is only one of many proofs that could be quoted to verify Jesus was indeed a real person in history. This quote also verifies parts of the gospel story. We are not talking of some myth or fairy tale, but of historical facts.

          Some people would ask, "couldn't Jesus have just been a good man and a great teacher and nothing more?" Jesus himself did not allow room for this view. Jesus claimed to be from heaven and he was the only way in which mankind could come to God the Father, Jn.3:13, Jn.14:6. A good man or a great teacher would not make such claims if he did not believe them to be true. If he made these claims knowing they were false then he would not be a good man or a great teacher, but rather he would be a liar. On the other hand, if Jesus believed these claims to be true and they were not, that would make him a crazy person. Usually people that say Jesus was merely a good man or a teacher are not willing to call Jesus either a liar or a crazy person. They simply have not thought this out very far. Jesus had to be either a liar, a crazy person, or the Son of God. He simply did not leave room in his teachings to be labeled only a great man or a teacher. He himself claimed to be much more!