Woland's image

Messire Woland is the most powerful actor novel. He has enormous power over the inhabitants of the real and afterlife worlds, and his power is constantly emphasized by members of his retinue. Immediately after his appearance in Moscow, life is turned upside down, and no one can resist him, including people from the “relevant authorities.” Woland is capable of recklessly controlling people's destinies at his own discretion, making a person unhappy or happy.

Bulgakov's Woland, like his assistants, is not a bearer of evil in the novel. He is not a representative of a force opposing God, but rather his assistant, doing his dirty work. Good, the embodiment of which is the Master and Yeshua Ha-Nozri, is depicted by the author as weak and defenseless. The role of Woland and his retinue is to protect the forces of good from evil. Thus, these characters bring justice to the earth. Woland is in the novel a symbol of retribution according to deserts, a symbol of the highest justice. Thus, he punished Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny for their lack of faith.

The main characters of the novel, the Master and Margarita, are the only ones whom Woland did not punish, but rewarded. For this, Margarita had to endure serious tests: having committed a fall, maintain her pride, having made a promise, not abandon it, even sacrificing herself. Satan rewards the master without tests - only for the novel he wrote and for the suffering suffered because of this novel. He returns the burned novel to the Master, convincing him that “manuscripts do not burn.”

In Bulgakov's portrayal, Jesus Christ is neither God nor the son of God. Both in behavior and appearance, and in his thoughts there is almost nothing from the hero of the gospel legend. This is a completely earthly, ordinary person, a wandering preacher named Yeshua and nicknamed Ha-Nozri. Yeshua is a physically weak person, experiencing pain and suffering, he is afraid that he will be beaten and humiliated, he is not so brave and not so strong. But at the same time, he is a highly developed individual. He is a man of thought, lives “with his own mind.”

Yeshua was brought as a criminal to the procurator Pontius Pilate, one of the most powerful men in Judea. Pontius Pilate gets into this weak person, the defendant, with great sympathy and respect, because he gave completely sincere answers to all questions, was an interesting conversationalist, and did not give up his convictions in order to save his life.

Yeshua Ha-Nozri is convinced that “ evil people not in the world." In addition, he argued that “the temple of the old faith will collapse.” It was for these words that he was sentenced to death, since they undermined the power of the high priest Caiaphas.

Bulgakov's Christ is sincere, kind, honest, wise and weak, i.e. possesses purely human traits. It seems that there is nothing divine at all in the preacher and philosopher. However, there is one feature in his character due to which people declared Yeshua a saint. This trait is mercy, which stemmed from his amazing kindness and belief that “there are no evil people in the world.” Ha-Nozri did not judge anyone for their actions and even for the evil done to him.

In the image of Yeshua Ha-Notsri, Bulgakov portrayed not just a person, he showed him with the best side, the way he should be, an ideal, an example to follow. Yeshua was executed - and at the same time was able to allow himself to forgive his tormentors and executioners. And these same torturers and executioners repented of their crime. This main feature Bulgakov's hero: the ability to make people better, cleaner, happier with the power of words.

Most people have read Bulgakov's incredible novel The Master and Margarita. Critics had different opinions about the work. And people who read it react ambiguously to the book, at the same time, each person experiences completely contradictory feelings and emotions.

The uniqueness of Bulgakov's novel

Today, readers have the opportunity to watch a film based on the novel “The Master and Margarita”, as well as attend a performance in the theater. For quite a long time, critics tried to determine the type of work, to understand what idea it should convey to the reader, but they never succeeded. This is because the book written by Bulgakov combined many genres and various elements. Surprisingly, the mythical novel was not published during the writer’s lifetime, as it was considered mediocre and hopeless. But exactly twenty-six years have passed since the death of the book’s creator, many became interested in it, and it was published in 1966. What’s incredible is that all this long time Bulgakov’s wife kept the manuscript and believed that one day it would become a real bestseller.

Favorite hero

Many people, reading the novel "The Master and Margarita", have their favorite characters. Yeshua Ha-Nozri is considered especially interesting. The writer identifies him with Jesus Christ and gives him a particularly sacred appearance. Nevertheless, the plot twists in such a way that Yeshua is completely different from the image of the gospel saint.

Yeshua Ha-Nozri means Jesus in Hebrew. The meaning of the unusual nickname is still unclear. Unique name was not invented by Bulgakov, he only borrowed it from one of the characters in Chevkin’s play. The writer wanted him to be considered and be the main character of the novel. Nowadays, many people think that the main place in the book is occupied by the Master and Margarita themselves, as well as dark forces.

The Making of the Hero Yeshua

Mikhail Bulgakov spent a lot of time thinking about the image of the hero he so wanted to describe. As a basis, he took some chapters from the Gospel, which passed his own verification and careful processing of the information contained in them. Thus, the writer wanted to make sure that he was right. This is how Yeshua Ha-Nozri arose, whose image many, and Bulgakov himself, compared with the personality of Jesus.

In addition to information from the Gospel, the writer drew some plots and details from works of fiction. Perhaps this is why “The Master and Margarita” has an undefined genre, since it is based on fantasy, satire, mysticism, parable, melodrama and much more.

Mikhail Bulgakov, creating the image of Yeshua, first of all relied on his preferences, thoughts about a full-fledged, morally healthy person. He understood that society was filled to the brim with dirt, envy and other negative emotions. Therefore, Yeshua is the prototype of a new man who is true to his convictions, fair and honest by nature. In this way, Bulgakov decided to influence society and each individual separately.

Characteristics

Bulgakov focuses on Yeshua Ha-Nozri great attention and specifically emphasizes the significant difference between the beloved hero and Jesus Christ. The similarities between the characters are reflected in some aspects. For example, Yeshua was also betrayed by Judas and crucified on the cross, but otherwise he is a completely different person. He looks like an ordinary tramp who likes to philosophize and may have a natural fear of physical pain. Jesus is shrouded in mysticism and depicted as a deity, something holy and inaccessible to an ordinary mortal.

Mikhail Bulgakov tried to create a completely different Yeshua Ha-Nozri. The character's characterization is quite simple, but extremely interesting. This was a man from Nazareth who called himself a wandering philosopher. The heroes themselves, namely the Master, who was working on his own novel, and Woland, described Yeshua as a prototype of Jesus Christ. Thus, Yeshua Ha-Nozri and Jesus have some similarities, a similar fate. But otherwise they are too different from each other.

The place of Yeshua Ha-Nozri in the novel

The key character in the novel is a symbol of Light and Good. He is the complete opposite of Woland, who is considered the Lord of Darkness. Yeshua is present in almost everyone storylines. Bulgakov writes about him at the beginning, he is also mentioned in the main text and at the end of the book. The bottom line is that Ha-Nozri does not act as God. In general, throughout the entire novel, Bulgakov never wrote about heaven or hell. All this is relative for the creator of the book, and there is no talk of one God at all.

The ideology taken as a basis is more similar to Gnostic or Manichaean. In this regard, the parties are clearly divided into good and evil. As they say, there is no third option. At the same time, it is clear that representatives of both spheres act in the book. From the side of good is Yeshua Ha-Nozri, the representative of evil is Woland. They are completely equal in rights and have no right to interfere in each other’s existence and activities.

Unpredictable plot

It was noted above that good and evil cannot interfere in each other's affairs. But in the novel you can find a moment when Yeshua begins to read the Master’s book. He really likes the work and decides to send Matthew Levi to Woland. Yeshua's request is to free the Master and Margarita from evil and reward them with peace. Yeshua Ha-Nozri, whose image seems to be woven from goodness, decides to take an unpredictable act, because an agreement on non-interference in each other’s affairs was concluded many years ago. Thus, Good takes risks and opposes active Evil.

Yeshua's abilities

In addition to the fact that Yeshua Ha-Nozri, whose quotes were memorized by almost all people, was an excellent philosopher, he had great power. This is clearly reflected on the pages of the novel, when the philosopher cured Pilate of a headache. Yes, he had a real gift, but at the same time he was an ordinary person, which Mikhail Bulgakov emphasizes. In the novel “The Master and Margarita” everything was described completely differently than in the Bible. This is evidenced by the scene that occurred in the plot: Yeshua looked into Matthew’s manuscripts and was horrified, because almost everything that was indicated there was untrue. Some events coincided with reality, but only half. So Bulgakov wanted to convey to people that the Bible is not a standard and, perhaps, half of what is written there is a lie.

In addition, the writer points out that Yeshua died without ever lying, without betraying his principles and beliefs. It was for this that all the people were grateful to him and admired the sacred personality. Yeshua became unusual only because he was real, fair and courageous. Bulgakov tries to emphasize all these qualities and convey to people: this is the ideal of a real person.

Character Execution

After a case was opened against Yeshua, I decided to deal with it without violence. In his report, he wrote that the wandering philosopher did not pose any danger and was generally considered mentally ill. As a result, Yeshua was sent to Caesarea Strato on the Mediterranean Sea. This happened because the man caused unrest in the crowd with his speeches, and they simply decided to eliminate him.

While a prisoner, Yeshua wrote a report to the procurator, in which he expressed his opinion about the actions of the authorities - that it is they who make people prisoners, and without them a person will live in a completely different world, that is, in a place where justice and truth reign. After reading the report, the procurator decided that the execution of Yeshua Ha-Nozri was inevitable. He argued this by saying that the man had insulted the ruler, and this could not be justified.

At the same time, Pontius Pilate shouted that the best, fairest and most honest government that can be on earth is the rule of Emperor Tiberius. At this point, Yeshua's case was closed. After this, the execution of the hero took place, the most terrible and difficult - he was crucified. wooden cross. With the death of Yeshua, everything around begins to plunge into darkness. At the same time, the inhabitants, whom the philosopher considered his friends and trusted them, show themselves from a completely different side. The townspeople come to admire the terrible execution; the picture they see delights some. Thus ends earthly path Yeshua Ha-Nozri, whose characteristics make it possible to appreciate all his severity.

Instead of an afterword

To form your opinion about the hero, you need to read Bulgakov’s unique masterpiece for yourself. And only after that you can watch a film based on it. The time allotted to get to know the characters of “The Master and Margarita” and their fate will not be wasted, but will bring great pleasure.

In interpreting the image of Jesus Christ as an ideal of moral perfection, Bulgakov departed from traditional, canonical ideas based on the four Gospels and the Apostolic Epistles. V.I. Nemtsev writes: “Yeshua is the author’s embodiment in deeds positive person, towards which the aspirations of the novel’s heroes are directed.”
In the novel, Yeshua is not given a single spectacular heroic gesture. He is an ordinary person: “He is not an ascetic, not a desert dweller, not a hermit, he is not surrounded by the aura of a righteous man or an ascetic who tortures himself

By fasting and prayers. Like all people, he suffers from pain and rejoices in being freed from it.”
The mythological plot on which Bulgakov’s work is projected is a synthesis of three main elements - the Gospel, the Apocalypse and “Faust”. Two thousand years ago, “a means of salvation that changed the entire course of world history” was discovered. Bulgakov saw him in spiritual feat a man who in the novel is named Yeshua Ha-Nozri and behind whom his great gospel prototype is visible. The figure of Yeshua became Bulgakov's outstanding discovery.
There is information that Bulgakov was not religious, did not go to church, and refused unction before his death. But vulgar atheism was deeply alien to him.
Real new era in the 20th century this is also the era of “personification”, a time of new spiritual self-salvation and self-government, the like of which was once revealed to the world in Jesus Christ. Such an act can, according to M. Bulgakov, save our Fatherland in the 20th century. The rebirth of God must take place in each of the people.
The story of Christ in Bulgakov’s novel is presented differently from the Holy Scriptures: the author offers an apocryphal version of the Gospel narrative, in which each of
The participants combine opposite traits and act in a dual role. “Instead of a direct confrontation between the victim and the traitor, the Messiah and his disciples and those hostile to them, a complex system is formed, between all the members of which relationships of partial similarity appear.” Reinterpretation of the canonical gospel narrative gives Bulgakov's version the character of apocrypha. Conscious and sharp rejection of the canonical New Testament tradition in the novel is manifested in the fact that the records of Levi Matthew (i.e., as it were, the future text of the Gospel of Matthew) are assessed by Yeshua as completely inconsistent with reality. The novel acts as the true version.
The first idea of ​​the apostle and evangelist Matthew in the novel is given by Yeshua himself: “... he walks and walks alone with a goat’s parchment and writes continuously, but I once looked into this parchment and was horrified. I said absolutely nothing of what was written there. I begged him: burn your parchment for God’s sake!” Therefore, Yeshua himself rejects the reliability of the testimony of the Gospel of Matthew. In this regard, he shows unity of views with Woland-Satan: “Who, who,” Woland turns to Berlioz, “but you should know that absolutely nothing of what is written in the Gospels actually ever happened.” . It is no coincidence that the chapter in which Woland began to tell the Master’s novel was titled “The Gospel of the Devil” and “The Gospel of Woland” in the draft versions. Much in the Master's novel about Pontius Pilate is very far from the gospel texts. In particular, there is no scene of the resurrection of Yeshua, the Virgin Mary is absent altogether; Yeshua's sermons do not last three years, as in the Gospel, but best case scenario- a few months.
As for the details of the “ancient” chapters, Bulgakov drew many of them from the Gospels and checked them according to reliable historical sources. While working on these chapters, Bulgakov, in particular, carefully studied “The History of the Jews” by Heinrich Graetz, “The Life of Jesus” by D. Strauss, “Jesus against Christ” by A. Barbusse, “The Book of My Genesis” by P. Uspensky, “Gofsemania” by A. M, Fedorov, “Pilate” by G. Petrovsky, “Procurator of Judea” by A. France, “The Life of Jesus Christ” by Ferrara, and of course, the Bible, the Gospels. A special place was occupied by E. Renan’s book “The Life of Jesus,” from which the writer drew chronological data and some historical details. Afranius came from Renan’s Antichrist into Bulgakov’s novel.
To create many details and images of the historical part of the novel, the primary impulses were some works of art. Thus, Yeshua is endowed with some qualities of Servant's Don Quixote. To Pilate’s question whether Yeshua really considers all people good, including the centurion Mark the Rat-Slayer who beat him, Ha-Nozri answers in the affirmative and adds that Mark, “truly, is an unhappy man... If only I could talk to him,” the prisoner suddenly said dreamily “I’m sure he would have changed dramatically.” In Cervantes’s novel: Don Quixote is insulted in the Duke’s castle by a priest who calls him “an empty head,” but meekly replies: “I must not see. And I don’t see anything offensive in the words of this kind man. The only thing I regret is that he didn’t stay with us - I would have proved to him that he was wrong.” It is the idea of ​​“infection with good” that makes Bulgakov’s hero similar to the Knight of the Sad Image. In most cases, literary sources are so organically woven into the fabric of the narrative that for many episodes it is difficult to say unambiguously whether they are taken from life or from books.
M. Bulgakov, depicting Yeshua, does not show anywhere with a single hint that this is the Son of God. Yeshua is represented everywhere as a Man, a philosopher, a sage, a healer, but as a Man. There is no aura of holiness hovering over Yeshua, and in the scene of his painful death there is a purpose - to show what injustice is happening in Judea.
The image of Yeshua is only a personified image of the moral and philosophical ideas of humanity, moral law, entering into an unequal battle with legal rights. It is no coincidence that the portrait of Yeshua as such is virtually absent from the novel: the author indicates his age, describes clothing, facial expression, mentions a bruise and abrasion - but nothing more: “... they brought in... a man of about twenty-seven. This man was dressed in an old and torn blue chiton. His head was covered with a white bandage with a strap around his forehead, and his hands were tied behind his back. The man had a large bruise under his left eye and an abrasion with dried blood in the corner of his mouth. The man brought in looked at the procurator with anxious curiosity.”
To Pilate’s question about his relatives, he replies: “There is no one. I am alone in the world.” But here’s what’s strange again: this does not at all sound like a complaint about loneliness... Yeshua does not seek compassion, there is no feeling of inferiority or orphanhood in him. For him it sounds something like this: “I am alone - the whole world is in front of me,” or “I am alone in front of the whole world,” or “I am this world.” Yeshua is self-sufficient, absorbing the whole world into himself. V. M. Akimov rightly emphasized that “it is difficult to understand the integrity of Yeshua, his equality with himself - and with the whole world that he absorbed into himself.” One cannot but agree with V. M. Akimov that the complex simplicity of Bulgakov’s hero is difficult to comprehend, irresistibly convincing and omnipotent. Moreover, the power of Yeshua Ha-Nozri is so great and so all-encompassing that at first many take it for weakness, even for spiritual lack of will.
However, Yeshua Ha-Nozri is not an ordinary person. Woland-Satan imagines himself with him in celestial hierarchy completely equal. Bulgakov's Yeshua is the bearer of the idea of ​​the God-man.
The tramp-philosopher is strong with his naive faith in goodness, which neither the fear of punishment nor the spectacle of blatant injustice, of which he himself becomes a victim, can be taken away from him. His unwavering faith exists despite conventional wisdom and the object lessons of execution. In everyday practice, this idea of ​​goodness, unfortunately, is not protected. “The weakness of Yeshua’s preaching is in its ideality,” V. Ya. Lakshin rightly believes, “but Yeshua is stubborn, and the absolute integrity of his faith in goodness has its own strength.” The author sees in his hero not only a religious preacher and reformer - he embodies the image of Yeshua in free spiritual activity.
Possessing developed intuition, with a subtle and strong intellect, Yeshua is able to guess the future, and not just a thunderstorm, which “will begin later, in the evening:”, but also the fate of his teaching, which is already being incorrectly stated by Levi. Yeshua is internally free. Even realizing that he is really in danger the death penalty, he considers it necessary to say to the Roman governor: “Your life is meager, hegemon.”
B.V. Sokolov believes that the idea of ​​“infection with good,” which is the leitmotif of Yeshua’s preaching, was introduced by Bulgakov from Renan’s “Antichrist.” Yeshua dreams of a “future kingdom of truth and justice” and leaves it open to absolutely everyone: “... the time will come when there will be no power either of the emperor or of any other power.” Man will move into the kingdom of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all.
Ha-Nozri preaches love and tolerance. He does not give preference to anyone; for him, Pilate, Judas, and the Rat Slayer are equally interesting. All of them are “good people”, only “crippled” by one or another circumstance. In a conversation with Pilate, he succinctly sets out the essence of his teaching: “... there are no evil people in the world.” Yeshua's words echo Kant's statements about the essence of Christianity, defined either as pure faith in goodness, or as a religion of goodness - a way of life. The priest in it is simply a mentor, and the church is a meeting place for teaching. Kant views goodness as a property inherent in human nature, just like evil. In order for a person to succeed as a person, that is, a being capable of perceiving respect for the moral law, he must develop in himself good start and suppress the evil. And everything here depends on the person himself. For the sake of his own idea of ​​​​good, Yeshua does not utter a word of untruth. If he had bent his soul even a little, then “the whole meaning of his teaching would have disappeared, for good is the truth!”, and “it is easy and pleasant to speak the truth.”
What is the main strength of Yeshua? First of all, in openness. Spontaneity. He is always in a state of spiritual impulse “toward.” His very first appearance in the novel records this: “A man with hands tied He leaned forward a little and began to speak:
- A kind person! Trust me…".
Yeshua is a man, always open to the world, “Openness” and “closedness” - these, according to Bulgakov, are the poles of good and evil. “Movement towards” is the essence of good. Withdrawal and isolation are what open the way to evil. Withdrawal into oneself and a person somehow comes into contact with the devil. M. B. Babinsky notes Yeshua’s ability to put himself in the place of another in order to understand his condition. The basis of this person’s humanism is the talent of the subtlest self-awareness and, on this basis, the understanding of other people with whom fate brings him together.
This is the key to the episode with the question: “What is truth?” Yeshua responds to Pilate, suffering from hemicrania: “The truth... is that you have a headache.”
Bulgakov is true to himself here too: Yeshua’s answer is connected with the deep meaning of the novel - a call to see the truth through the hints, open your eyes, begin to see.
The truth for Yeshua is what really is. This is the removal of the veil from phenomena and things, the liberation of the mind and feelings from any constraining etiquette, from dogmas; it is overcoming conventions and obstacles. “The truth of Yeshua Ha-Nozri is the restoration of a real vision of life, the will and courage not to turn away and not to lower one’s eyes, the ability to open the world, and not to close oneself from it either by the conventions of ritual or by the emissions of the “bottom.” The truth of Yeshua does not repeat “tradition”, “regulation” and “ritual”. She becomes alive and always fully capable of dialogue with life.
But here lies the most difficult thing, for to complete such communication with the world, fearlessness is necessary. Fearlessness of soul, thoughts, feelings.”
A detail characteristic of the Gospel of Bulgakov is the combination of miraculous power and the feeling of fatigue and loss in the protagonist. The death of the hero is described as a universal catastrophe - the end of the world: “half-darkness came, and lightning furrowed the black sky. Fire suddenly sprayed out of it, and the centurion shouted: “Take off the chain!” – drowned in the roar... Darkness covered Yershalaim. The downpour came suddenly... The water fell so terribly that when the soldiers ran down, raging streams were already flying after them.”
Despite the fact that the plot seems completed - Yeshua is executed, the author seeks to assert that the victory of evil over good cannot be the result of social and moral confrontation; this, according to Bulgakov, is not accepted by human nature itself, and the entire course of civilization should not allow it. It seems that Yeshua never realized that he had died. He was alive all the time and left alive. It seems that the word “died” itself is not in the Golgotha ​​episodes. He remained alive. He is dead only to Levi, to Pilate's servants.
The great tragic philosophy of Yeshua's life is that the right to the truth (and the choice of life in the truth) is also tested and affirmed by the choice of death. He “managed” not only his life, but also his death. He “suspended” his bodily death just as he “suspended” his spiritual life.
Thus, he truly “controls” himself (and all order on earth in general), controls not only Life, but also Death.
Yeshua's "self-creation", "self-government" stood the test of death, and therefore he became immortal.

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Master. In the early edition of the novel, when the image was not yet clear to M. Bulgakov himself, the title character was called Faust. This name was conditional, caused by an analogy with the hero of Goethe’s tragedy, and only gradually the concept of the image of Margarita’s companion, the Master, became clearer.

The Master is a tragic hero, largely repeating the path of Yeshua in the modern chapters of the novel. The thirteenth (!) chapter of the novel, where the Master first appears before the reader, is called “The Appearance of the Hero”:

Ivan [Bezdomny. - V.K.] lowered his legs from the bed and peered. From the balcony, a shaved, dark-haired man with sharp nose, with anxious eyes and a tuft of hair hanging over his forehead, a man of about thirty-eight... Then Ivan saw that the newcomer was dressed in sick clothes. He was wearing underwear, shoes on his bare feet, and a brown robe was thrown over his shoulders.

— Are you a writer? - the poet asked with interest.

“I am a master,” he became stern and took out of his robe pocket a completely greasy black cap with the letter “M” embroidered on it in yellow silk. He put on this cap and showed himself to Ivan both in profile and front to prove that he was a master.

Like Yeshua, the Master came into the world with his truth: this is the truth about those events that happened in ancient times. M. Bulgakov seems to be experimenting: what would happen if the God-man came to the world again in our days? What would his earthly fate be? An artistic study of the moral state of modern humanity does not allow M. Bulgakov to be optimistic: the fate of Yeshua would have remained the same. Confirmation of this is the fate of the Master’s novel about the God-Man.

The master, like Yeshua in his time, also found himself in a conflictual, dramatic situation: power and the dominant ideology actively oppose his truth - the novel. And the Master also goes through his tragic path in the novel.

In the name of his hero - Master 1 - M. Bulgakov emphasizes the main thing for him - the ability to be creative, the ability to be a professional in his writing and not betray his talent. Master means creator, creator, demiurge, artist, and not a craftsman 2. Bulgakov's hero is a Master, and this brings him closer to the Creator - the creator, the artist-architect, the author of the expedient and harmonious structure of the world.

But the Master, unlike Yeshua, turns out to be untenable as tragic hero: he lacks that spiritual, moral strength that Yeshua showed both during interrogation by Pilate and at his hour of death. The very title of the chapter (“The Appearance of the Hero”) contains tragic irony (and not just high tragedy), since the hero appears in a hospital gown as a patient in a psychiatric hospital, and he himself announces to Ivan Bezdomny about his madness.

Woland says about the Master: "He got a good finish". The tormented Master renounces his novel, his truth: “I no longer have any dreams and I don’t have any inspiration either... Nothing around me interests me except her [Margarita. - V.K.]... I was broken, I’m bored, and I want to go to the basement... I hate it, this novel... I I've suffered too much because of him."

The Master, like Yeshua, has his own antagonist in the novel - this is M.A. Berlioz, editor of a thick Moscow magazine, chairman of MASSOLIT, spiritual shepherd of the writing and reading flock. For Yeshua in the ancient chapters of the novel, the antagonist is Joseph Caiaphas, “the acting president of the Sanhedrin, the high priest of the Jews.” Caiaphas acts on behalf of the Jewish clergy as the spiritual shepherd of the people.

Each of the main characters - both Yeshua and the Master - has his own traitor, the incentive for which is material gain: Judas of Kiriath received his 30 tetradrachms; Aloisy Mogarych - Master's apartment in the basement.

Read also other articles on the work of M.A. Bulgakov and the analysis of the novel "The Master and Margarita":

• 3.1. Image of Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Comparison with the Gospel Jesus Christ
• 3.2. Ethical issues of Christian teaching and the image of Christ in the novel
• 3.4. Yeshua Ha-Nozri and the Master

With the beginning of the third millennium, all the great churches, except Islam, alas, turned into profitable commercial enterprises. And almost a hundred years ago, unsafe trends emerged in Russian Orthodoxy towards turning the church into an appendage of the state. This is probably why the great Russian writer Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov was not church man, that is, he did not go to church, he even refused to receive unction before his death. But vulgar atheism was deeply alien to him, as was savage empty holiness. His faith came from his heart, and he turned to God in secret prayer, I think so (and I’m even firmly convinced).
He believed that two thousand years ago an event occurred that changed the entire course of world history. Bulgakov saw the salvation of the soul in the spiritual feat of the most humane person, Yeshua Ha-Nozri (Jesus of Nazareth). The name of this feat is suffering in the name of love for people. And all subsequent Christian denominations first tried to forgive the theocratic state, and then they themselves turned into a huge bureaucratic machine, now - into commercial and industrial firms, if expressed in the language of the 21st century.
In the novel, Yeshua is an ordinary person. Not an ascetic, not a hermit, not a hermit. He is not surrounded by the aura of a righteous man or an ascetic, he does not torture himself with fasting and prayers, he does not teach in the bookish way, that is, in the Pharisee way. Like all people, he suffers from pain and rejoices in being freed from it. And at the same time Bulgakovsky Yeshua is the bearer of the idea of ​​the God-man without any church, without a “bureaucratic” mediator between God and man. However, the power of Yeshua Ha-Nozri is so great and so comprehensive that at first many take it for weakness, even for spiritual lack of will. The tramp-philosopher is strong only by his naive faith in goodness, which neither the fear of punishment nor the spectacle of blatant injustice, of which he himself becomes a victim, can be taken away from him. His unchanging faith exists in spite of conventional wisdom and serves as an object lesson to the executioners and scribe-Pharisees.
The story of Christ in Bulgakov’s novel is presented apocryphally, that is, with heretical deviations from the canonical text Holy Scripture. This is most likely a description of everyday life from the point of view of a Roman citizen of the first century after the birth of Christ. Instead of a direct confrontation between the apostles and the traitor Judas, the Messiah and Peter, Pontius Pilate and the Sanhedrin with Kaifa, Bulgakov reveals to us the essence of the Lord’s Sacrifice through the psychology of perception of each of the heroes. Most often - through the mouth and notes of Levi Matthew.
The first idea of ​​the apostle and evangelist Matthew in the image of Levi Matthew is given to us by Yeshua himself: “He walks and walks alone with a goat’s parchment and continuously writes, but I once looked into this parchment and was horrified. I said absolutely nothing of what was written there “I begged him: burn your parchment for God’s sake!” The author makes it clear to us that man is not able to comprehend and depict the Divine idea in letters and words. Even Woland confirms this in a conversation with Berlioz: “...well, you should know that absolutely nothing of what is written in the Gospels actually ever happened...”
The novel “The Master and Margarita” itself seems to continue a series of apocryphal gospels written in Aesopian language in later times. Such “gospels” can be considered “Don Quixote” by Miguel Cervantes, “Parable” by William Faulkner or “The Scaffold” by Chingiz Aitmatov. To Pilate’s question whether Yeshua really considers all people good, including the centurion Mark the Rat-Slayer who beat him, Ha-Nozri answers in the affirmative and adds that Mark, “truly, is an unhappy person... If I could talk to him... I I'm sure he would change dramatically." In Cervantes' novel, the noble hidalgo Don Quixote is insulted in the Duke's castle by a priest who calls him "an empty head." To which he meekly replies: “I shouldn’t see, and I don’t see, anything offensive in the words of this kind man. The only thing I regret is that he didn’t stay with us - I would prove to him that he was wrong.” And the incarnation of Christ in the 20th century, Obadiah (son of God, in Greek) Kallistratov experienced for himself that “the world... punishes its sons for the purest ideas and impulses of the spirit.”
M.A. Bulgakov nowhere shows even a single hint that before us is the Son of God. There is no portrait of Yeshua as such in the novel: “They brought in... a man about twenty-seven years old. This man was dressed in an old and torn blue chiton. His head was covered with a white bandage with a strap around his forehead, and his hands were tied behind his back. Under his left eye The man had a large bruise and an abrasion with dried blood in the corner of his mouth. The man brought in looked at the procurator with alarming curiosity.”
But Yeshua is not exactly the son of man. When asked by Pilate if he has relatives, he replies: “There is no one. I am alone in the world,” which sounds like: “I am this world.”
We do not see Satan-Woland next to Yeshua, but we know from his dispute with Berlioz and Ivan Bezdomny that he stood behind his back all the time (that is, behind his left shoulder, in the shadow, as expected evil spirits) in moments of sorrowful events. Woland-Satan thinks of himself in the heavenly hierarchy as approximately equal to Yeshua, as if ensuring the balance of the world. But God does not share his power with Satan - Woland has power only in the material world. The kingdom of Woland and his guests, feasting on the full moon at the spring ball, is night - fantasy world shadows, mysteries and ghostliness. The cooling light of the moon illuminates him. Yeshua is accompanied everywhere, even on the way of the cross, by the Sun - a symbol of life, joy, true Light.
Yeshua is not only able to guess the future, he builds this future. The barefoot wandering philosopher is poor, wretched, but rich in love. Therefore, he mournfully remarks to the Roman governor: “Your life is meager, hegemon.” Yeshua dreams of a future kingdom of “truth and justice” and leaves it open to absolutely everyone: “... the time will come when there will be no power of either an emperor or any other power. Man will move into the kingdom of truth and justice, where there is no no power will be needed."
For Pilate, such words are already part of a crime. And for Yeshua Ha-Nozri, everyone is equal as creations of God - Pontius Pilate and the Rat Killer, Judas and Matthew Levi. All of them are “good people,” only “crippled” by one or another circumstance: “...there are no evil people in the world.” If he had bent his soul even a little, then “the whole meaning of his teaching would have disappeared, for good is true!” And “it’s easy and pleasant to tell the truth.”
Yeshua's main strength lies primarily in his openness to people. His first appearance in the novel occurs like this: “The man with his hands tied leaned forward a little and began to say: “Good man! Trust me..." Introverted person, an introvert, always instinctively moves away from the interlocutor, and Yeshua is an extrovert, open to meeting people. “Openness” and “closedness” are, according to Bulgakov, the poles of good and evil. Moving towards is the essence of good. By withdrawing into oneself, a person somehow comes into contact with the devil. This is the key to the episode with the question: “What is truth?” Yeshua answers Pilate, who is suffering from hemicrania: “The truth... is that you have a headache.” Pain is always a punishment. Only “God alone” punishes. Consequently, Yeshua is the truth itself, and Pilate does not notice this.
And a warning about the coming punishment is the catastrophe that followed the death of Yeshua: “... semi-darkness came, and lightning furrowed the black sky. Fire suddenly splashed out of it... The rain poured out suddenly... The water fell so terribly that when the soldiers they fled downwards, raging streams were already flying after them.” It's like a reminder of the inevitable Last Judgment for all our sins.