Commentators highlight that the Pharisees' intense missionary zeal was not for God's glory or the good of souls. Instead, their motives were self-serving: to increase the size of their party, to profit financially from the new converts, and to gain public applause for their efforts. Jesus's woe is a powerful warning that religious activity, no matter how strenuous, is condemned when its foundation is hypocrisy and self-interest rather than love for God and others.