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Matthew 16 General Notes
Special concepts in this chapter
Yeast
Jesus spoke of the way people thought about God as if it were bread, and he spoke of what people taught about God as if it were the yeast that makes bread dough become larger and the baked bread taste good. He did not want his followers to listen to what the Pharisees and Sadducees taught. This was because if they did listen, they would not understand who God is and how he wants his people to live. (See: :en:ta:vol1:translate:figs-metaphor)
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Metaphor
Jesus told his people to obey his commands. He did this by telling them to "follow" him. It is as if he were walking on a path and they were walking after him. (See: :en:ta:vol1:translate:figs-metaphor)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
Background information
Matthew continues his account from chapter 15 in verses 1-20. The account stops in verse 21 so Matthew can tell the reader that Jesus told his disciples again and again that people would kill him after he arrived in Jerusalem. Then the account continues in verses 22-27 with what happened the first time Jesus told the disciples that he would die.
Paradox
A paradox is a statement that appears to describe something impossible. Jesus uses a paradox when he says, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).