Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 23:14

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows` houses, even while for a pretence ye make long prayers: therefore ye shall receive greater condemnation." — Matthew 23:14 (ASV)

The second “woe” was supported by two most serious accusations, which our Lord would not have uttered if they had not been true, you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer. Either of these sins by itself would have been very grievous—the two together were sufficient to sink those who were guilty of them to the lowest hell. The men who had defrauded widows would have to answer for their misdeeds to the widows’ Judge (Psalms 68:5).

Those who had sought to cover their crimes with the cloak of superior sanctity deserved to be stripped before the people they had deceived and to hear the King’s righteous sentence, Therefore you shall receive the greater damnation. These words prove that there are degrees of punishment, as there are gradations in glory. All the ungodly will be judged and condemned by the Righteous Judge, but “the greater condemnation” will be reserved for the hypocrites who have for a pretense made “long prayers” while, behind the mask, they have been devouring the property of widows and the fatherless.