Matthew 22:41-46 This is a passage for all those who try to claim that Jesus never claimed to be God. And here, Jesus blows that ridiculous claim to bits. Here he is trying to tell them that the Christ was going from the line of David and was being considered a son of David. Son of David is a title given specifically to the one who will be the Messiah. The Pharisees had just failed the three tests they attempted to test Jesus with, by asking a question that they believed he couldn't answer . So here, Jesus flips the script and asks the Pharisees, whose son is the Christ? They answer “the son of David”. It is the title ascribed to the Messiah going back to the days of King David. So Jesus posits this, if the Messiah is rightly called the ‘son’ of David, why does David refer to his son as “Lord”. And He quotes Psalm 110:1 [1] The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Psalm 110 was King David explaining that this individual known as the Son of David was the Messiah to come from whom all things are expected. Later in the Psalm, David calls this same person a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. So the Messiah is both the son of David but also commands respect as a holy priest and David Himself calls him Lord. The surge of protests claiming that Jesus never demanded worship as God is increasing. More groups try to equate Jesus with a “good teacher” and try to say our opinions of Jesus's identity are irrelevant to our salvation. That all we have to do is just appreciate that Jesus was a standup guy, a faithful human. Let's make this clear. From Genesis to Revelation the identity of Jesus is always as God. From the appearance as 3 men to Abraham to His claim to be the Alpha and Omega In Revelation Jesus tells us that He is God. And in John 8:24 Jesus removes all doubt. John 8:24 [24] I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” What he's saying is this, “Unless you believe that I AM THAT I AM, You will die in your sins.” So absolutely yes, our belief in who Jesus is is 100% essential to our salvation. So a God fearing Jew who accepts 99% of his faith's Religious precepts but does not believe that Jesus is God ends up eternally in the same place as the murderer and liar. It matters who you say He is. It's a reason He put in place Himself, and I have no room to argue or debate. The Pharisees couldn't answer truthfully because to do so would force them to answer why they weren't submitting to Him. Any demotion of Jesus from the triune god hood is a movement that sends people to Hell. Jesus is Jehovah. He is God the Son. But who do you say He is? 41] Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: [42] “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” [43] He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, [44] ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies under Your feet” ’? [45] Therefore, if David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” [46] No one was able to offer Him a word in answer, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him any more questions.