Matthew 3:15

3:15 So Jesus replied to him, “Let it happen now, for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John yielded to him.

Matthew 16:25

16:25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”

tn Grk “Permit now.”

tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Or “permitted him.”

tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26).

sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.