Benefactor

BENEFACTOR (εὐεργέται, those who work well). A title sometimes assumed by kings (as Ptolemy III, 247-242 b.c., and Ptolemy VII, 147-117 b.c.) and sometimes conferred by them upon outstanding men as a reward for some unusual service. When a dispute arose among the apostles as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest, Jesus rebuked them, saying that those in authority over the Gentiles were called benefactors, but that the apostles were to be humble servants of men (Luke 22:25).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

There is here a probable allusion to two kings of Egypt (Ptolemy III and VII), who had the surname "Euergetes," of whom the period of the first was 247-242 BC, and of the second, 147-117 BC. Jesus draws the contrast between worldly kingdoms, in which the title "benefactor" is given those who rule with all the splendor of earthly display and luxury, and His kingdom, in which it belongs only to those whose work is that of humble, obscure and often menial service.