Luke 22:25

‘And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles have lordship over them, and those who have authority over them are called Benefactors.” '.

So Jesus gently pointed out that their attitude was abysmal. It was the same as that of the Gentiles. Among the Gentiles their kings took up a position of lordship and expected men to bow down and submit to them. And they loved to be looked on as ‘Benefactors' (this was specifically so of certain Ptolemaic and Seleucid kings who took this very title, as did later Trajan in Rome. Compare also 2MMalachi 4:2 of Onias the High Priest). They wanted to be seen as those who graciously bestowed benefits on their subjects. It is an interesting fact of history that even the most evil of kings still wanted to be thought of as ‘good', and as benefactors. They were constantly declaring all the wonderful things that they had done for the people whom they had enslaved. So the more authority they had, the more they wanted to be able to exert it, and yet at the same time they wanted to be thought well of. While their whole thoughts were on power and prestige and position, they still wanted to be appreciated. Indeed they very often did feel that their subjects owed them a great deal. There are none as blind as those who have a high opinion of themselves and of their own importance. It was indeed a sad day for the church when the bishops began in exactly the same way to see themselves as ‘benefactors'. The more they did so the more arrogant they became.