Luca 22:25

25 Ma egli disse loro: I re delle genti le signoreggiano, e coloro che hanno podestà sopra esse son chiamati benefattori.

Luca 22:25 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 22:25

And he said unto them
The disciples; that is, Jesus said to them, as the Syriac and Persic versions express: the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them;
by which our Lord would dissuade his disciples from seeking to introduce a superiority over one another, since this was the practice of the Heathens, of the men of the world, of ignorant Gentiles; whereas Christ's kingdom was a spiritual kingdom, and not of this world, and therefore, not to be managed in such a way. And they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors;
either by themselves, or by their court flatterers, to cover their ambition, tyranny, and cruelty. Two of the King's of Egypt were called by the name Euergetes ^F16; the word that is here used, and translated "benefactors"; and it was commonly given to other kings, princes, and men in power: so Cyrus was called by the Armenians; Antigonus by the Greeks; and Phylacus among the Persians: the same name was given to Mithridates king of Pontus, to Titus Aelius Hadrianus, to Menander, to Marcus Aurelius Severus, and to Cato Uticensis, and others ^F17.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Alex. ab. Alexandro Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 2.
F17 Vid. Cuper. Inscript. & Marmora. p. 283, 284.

Luca 22:25 In-Context

23 Ed essi cominciarono a domandarsi gli uni gli altri, chi fosse pur quel di loro che farebbe ciò.

24 OR nacque ancora fra loro una contesa, chi di loro paresse che fosse il maggiore.

25 Ma egli disse loro: I re delle genti le signoreggiano, e coloro che hanno podestà sopra esse son chiamati benefattori.

26 Ma non già così voi; anzi, il maggiore fra voi sia come il minore, e quel che regge come quel che ministra.

27 Perciocchè, quale è il maggiore, colui ch’è a tavola, o pur colui che serve? non è egli colui ch’è a tavola? or io sono in mezzo di voi come colui che serve.