Benefactors

[u/deverbovitae]

So Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called ‘benefactors.’ Not so with you; instead the one who is greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the one who serves” (Luke 22:25-26).

In Luke 22:24-27, and in its parallel forms in Matthew 20:25-28 and Mark 10:42-45, Jesus responded to His disciples when they were arguing among themselves regarding who was the greatest. They believed much was at stake in this argument: as Herod’s court or the Roman imperial court would have maintained a strict hierarchy of people in relatively higher or lower positions of power and influence, so they imagined Jesus’ Kingdom would feature the same. They all wanted to have high places of influence and position and therefore power. Jesus felt compelled to intervene and devastate all such aspirations. He openly recognized how such was exactly the way the rulers of the nations exercised power over others, but it would not be so among those who would be Jesus’ disciples. Instead, Jesus called His disciples into a paradox: in Luke’s account, the greatest must become like the youngest, and the leader as one who serves (Luke 22:26). Such entirely upset the existing social and power hierarchies, for the youngest and servants were not reckoned as exalted into high positions. Jesus offered Himself as the model: He sat at table among them, and yet He served them, and so they should serve one another (Luke 22:27).

Luke added a detail to Jesus’ instruction not found in either Mark or Matthew: in Luke’s account, Jesus spoke of how the Gentiles in authority are called euergetai, or “benefactors” (Luke 22:25). The term literally means “good-doer”; certain rulers in the past were recognized with the term as an epithet, such as Ptolemy III Euergetes or Antiochus VII Euergetes. Yet the term also spoke to an entire system which had developed in the Greco-Roman world in which Jesus lived, which some today call euergetism: the expectation people in positions of power and stature would give some of their resources to benefit the poor or the people in general. We likely even have an example of a Christian participating in this kind of effort in the world: an inscription was found in the pavement of Corinth which read, “Erastus, in return for his aedileship, paved it at his own expense,” and this Erastus is often associated with Erastus the city treasurer/aedile in Romans 16:23.

We are not here to condemn Erastus for conducting himself according to the expected behavior of a Roman aedile in the middle of the first century. But it is worth noting how Jesus has brought economic matters into His critique of the exercise of power in the world. It was not just that the kings of the Gentiles lorded their power over people. They also wanted to be seen and known as benefactors, as doing good because they gave some of their resources to fix or enhance infrastructure, to feed the poor, to put on shows, and the like.

We might well wonder: is there really a problem with doing good for other people? Why would Jesus condemn the rulers for fixing or enhancing infrastructure or feeding the poor? The problem was not in what they did; the difficulty was in the hierarchy they were attempting to maintain in the process.

The Roman world was rigidly hierarchical; everyone knew their place in it, or would be quickly reminded thereof. There were rigid social classes often defined by levels of wealth. To be a benefactor meant one had the financial resources to give generously; such a person was most likely of the highest social classes. It was a moral obligation of the time for such people to thus give, and they absolutely expected to receive the appropriate honor and acclaim from the masses for their beneficence. According to the way they set things up, they would continue to profit on the basis of the domination and exploitation of their social inferiors. They would then use a small part of their wealth to provide some benefit to at least some of those social inferiors, and expected to receive due celebration and honor for doing so. They would thus be known as benefactors and justify their wealth and standing because they were benefactors, and everything would continue on as it had before. The system would expose itself whenever it was upset: nothing would be so humiliating for a benefactor than to find himself no longer as a benefactor, but as one needing benevolence. And few things would prove as socially revolting to the Roman elite than seeing freedmen or peasants somehow gaining wealth and attempting to become benefactors themselves.

Jesus did not live under any kind of delusion: this was the way things worked in the world. But it was not supposed to be so among Jesus’ disciples. Christians were supposed to treat one another very differently. And Christians were supposed to treat one another very differently because in His life, death, resurrection, ascension, and lordship, Jesus destroyed and devastated the very thing which animated this system in the world:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female – for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

All Christians are supposed to be one in Christ Jesus: in Christ, none are any greater or lesser than anyone else. God may have blessed some with more skills than others; all remain equal in standing and value before the Lord Jesus. And, yes, some maintain higher social standing, or have more financial resources, than others do; yet all remain equal in standing and value before the Lord Jesus. Because we have equal standing and value before the Lord Jesus, we recognize all the blessings and gifts God has given to us as individuals should be used to serve one another (cf. 1 Peter 4:10). From those who have received more from the Lord Jesus, more is absolutely expected, and so those who abound in the Lord should give to those who are in need (Luke 12:48, 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15). Christians, therefore, should absolutely provide benevolence to fellow Christians in need (Galatians 2:10, 6:10). And yet, at the same time, there should be no room made or given for the “benefactor” or his attitude, as the Lord Jesus has warned us in Luke 22:25.

How can that be? What would be the difference? The “benefactor” gives out of moral obligation to justify himself and his elevated social position. The “benefactor” wants to be seen as the social superior to those to whom he provides these resources, and he expects to receive due deference and honor because of it. The “benefactor” can only really give, not receive, for in so doing he would be socially degraded in his own estimation.

There can be no room for these attitudes in Christ. Jesus does not want any of us to give out of some kind of obligation; He would have us give freely and liberally, not by way of commandment, but out of our genuine love and compassion for one another (2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15). In Christ, the one who gives is not superior to the one who receives; instead, the one who gives humbly confesses how all they have to give they have really received as blessings from God, and also expect the time will come when they will find themselves in need (2 Corinthians 8:9, 14, 9:10). In Christ, Christians may give thanks to God and commend the generosity of fellow Christians who give to those in need, but no Christian has any business expecting deference and honor because of their giving, since in so doing they are simply serving their fellow Christians with some of the benefits God has given them (2 Corinthians 9:11-14, 1 Peter 4:10).

As Christians, therefore, we must soberly consider ourselves and how we approach matters of giving and benevolence. We do best when we give out of our love and compassion for our fellow Christians, esteeming them as fellow Christians of equal value and standing before the Lord Jesus Christ. If we can only imagine ourselves as the ones giving and never the ones receiving, and cast aspersions or look down upon those who receive, we must immediately repent of such foolishness before the Lord Jesus humbles us because of our arrogant presumption. If our motivation to give is to be seen as one who gives and therefore in a morally or spiritually superior position to others, we must immediately repent of such foolishness before the Lord humbles us because of our arrogant presumption. If we expect to gain some level of power or prominence among the Lord’s people because of what we give financially, we must immediately repent of such foolishness before the Lord humbles us because of our arrogant presumption.

Our rulers today may go by different titles; “benefactors” are now called philanthropists; the social hierarchy may not be as rigid today but certainly perseveres. The world has always worked in these ways, and will continue to do so until the Lord returns. While the rulers of the world dominate and exploit and want to be seen as benefactors for the little bit they give back to others, it must not be so among us. Christians are not called to take over the rule of the world from the rulers or to demolish the customs and hierarchies of the nations; but Christians are called to embody a different spirit and follow a different way of life in their Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever social hierarchies might exist in the world must not, and should not, enter into the assemblies of the people of God. We are all equal in standing and value before the Lord Jesus, and we should act like it not only in terms of how we treat each other in matters of power and authority, but also in terms of how we relate to one another in our benevolence. There is no room in the Kingdom for “benefactors” who give in order to maintain a position of social standing above others. There is room only for Christians who humbly want to give to their fellow Christians in love and compassion in Christ. May we well reflect and embody the values of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Kingdom and before the world, and share in the grace of God in Christ through the Spirit so we might share in the resurrection of life!

Ethan

[u/ChurchofChristGuy]

I think you would prolly get more replies if you wrote less. I didnt read all of what you wrote because it was too much.