Master. In the early version of the novel, when the image was still not 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 - was clarified.
The master is a tragic hero, in many ways 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 [Homeless. — V.K.] lowered his legs from the bed and peered. From the balcony, a shaven, dark-haired man with a sharp nose, anxious eyes, and a tuft of hair hanging down over his forehead, a man of about thirty-eight years of age, cautiously peered into the room ... Then Ivan saw that the newcomer was dressed in sick leave. He was wearing linen, shoes on his bare feet, a brown robe thrown over his shoulders.
- Are you a writer? the poet asked with interest.
“I am a master,” he became stern and took out a completely greasy black cap with the letter “M” embroidered on it in yellow silk from the pocket of his dressing gown. He put on this cap and appeared to Ivan both in profile and in front, to prove that he was a master.
Like Yeshua, the Master came into the world with his truth: it is the truth about those events that happened in antiquity. M. Bulgakov, as it were, is experimenting: what would happen if the God-man again came into the world today? What would be his earthly fate? 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 conflict, dramatic situation: the authorities 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 the Master, and this brings him closer to the Creator — the creator, the artist-architect, the author of the expedient and harmonious arrangement of the world.
But the Master, unlike Yeshua, turns out to be untenable as a tragic hero: he lacks the spiritual, moral strength that Yeshua showed both during interrogation by Pilate and at his death hour. The very title of the chapter (“The Appearance of the Hero”) contains a tragic irony (and not just a high tragedy), since the hero appears in a hospital gown, as a patient in a psychiatric hospital, and himself declares to Ivan Bezdomny about his madness.
Woland says about the Master: "He was treated well". The tormented Master renounces his novel, his truth: "I no longer have any dreams and no inspiration either ... Nothing interests me around, except for her [Margarita. - V.K.] ... They broke me, I'm bored, and I want to go to the basement ... I hate it, this novel ... I I've experienced 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 Kaifa, "the acting president of the Sanhedrin, the high priest of the Jews." Kaifa 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 from Kiriath received his 30 tetradrachms; Aloisy Mogarych - the 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. The image of Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Comparison with the gospel Jesus Christ
- 3.2. Ethical problems of the Christian doctrine and the image of Christ in the novel
- 3.4. Yeshua Ha-Nozri and the Master
The personality of Jesus Christ is timeless and has been actively discussed among people for more than two thousand years: from great scientists to ordinary believers. His name justified the murder of millions of people, conquered countries, forgave sins, baptized babies and healed the seriously ill.
Bulgakov, as a mystic and as a writer, could not be indifferent to such a person as Jesus Christ. He created his hero - Yeshua Ha-Nozri. This character walked with a light and almost ghostly step throughout the novel The Master and Margarita.
However, at the very end of the novel, it is Yeshua who becomes the one who decides the fate of the Master.
It is interesting that in the novel, Woland himself begins the storyline about Jesus. At Patriarch's Ponds, he tells a fascinating story to the skeptical atheists Mikhail Alexandrovich Berlioz and Homeless Ivan.
Yeshua looks and acts like an ordinary person of 27 years old, without a family and a permanent place of residence.
He comes from Galilee, believes in God, in goodness and has the ability to heal. By removing the intolerable headache of Pontius Pilate, he evokes a respectful attitude towards himself. And after conversations about truth and truth, he wins his trust.
He sees, first of all, the light in each person. I am deeply convinced that a conversation even with Mark Ratslayer, a cruel warrior who does not know a drop of mercy, can change his dark life.
Yeshua addresses any person: "A good person." By this he, as it were, emphasizes that good lives in the heart of everyone.
Undoubtedly, Yeshua is not an easy believing fanatic. Ha-Notsri is a creative person with a philosophical mindset, doing good consciously. He is smart and gentle in communication, but firmly convinced in the power of only the Creator.
Yeshua was loved. People followed him, listening to his every word. There were those who recorded for him. For example - Levi Matthew. When Ha-Nozri looked at the scrolls written by Levi Matthew, he was horrified by the amount of what he did not say.
One thing is known for sure - Yeshua accepts only the power of God and preaches about the Truth. Truth, truth, mercy and morality - that's what Yeshua's words were about.
Yeshua himself is turned to the light and does not show aggression towards human vices, even towards the most important, in his opinion, cowardice.
Pontius Pilate admits that it was his own cowardice that led a bright and innocent man to crucifixion and a terrible death. Whatever actions Pilate did later, nothing could calm the remorse of his conscience. Even cruel revenge is the bloody death of Judas.
However, released after two thousand years of solitude, Pilate goes to meet Yeshua in the moonlight.
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 incarnation in the affairs of a positive person, to whom the aspirations of the heroes of the novel are directed.”
In Yeshua's novel, not a single spectacular heroic gesture is given. He is an ordinary person: “He is not an ascetic, not a hermit, not a hermit, he is not surrounded by the aura of a righteous man or an ascetic who tortures himself
Fasting and prayers. Like all people, he suffers from pain and rejoices at 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 course of world history” was found. Bulgakov saw him in the spiritual feat of a man who in the novel is called Yeshua Ha-Nozri and behind whom his great gospel prototype is visible. The figure of Yeshua was Bulgakov's outstanding discovery.
There is evidence that Bulgakov was not religious, did not go to church, and refused unction before his death. But vulgar atheism was deeply alien to him.
The real new era in the 20th century is also the era of “personification”, the time of new spiritual self-salvation and self-government, similar to 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 revival of God must take place in each of the people.
The story of Christ in Bulgakov's novel is not presented in the same way as in Holy Scripture: the author offers an apocryphal version of the gospel narrative, in which each of
Participants combines opposite features and acts in a dual role. “Instead of a direct confrontation between the victim and the traitor, the Messiah and his disciples and those who are hostile to them, a complex system is formed, between all members of which relations of kinship of partial similarity appear.” Rethinking the canonical gospel narrative gives Bulgakov's version the character of an apocrypha. The conscious and sharp rejection of the canonical New Testament tradition in the novel is manifested in the fact that the writings of Levi Matthew (i.e., as it were, the future text of the Gospel of Matthew) are evaluated by Yeshua as completely untrue. The novel appears as the true version.
The first idea about the apostle and evangelist Matthew in the novel is given by Yeshua's own assessment: “... he walks, walks alone with goat parchment and continuously writes, but once I looked into this parchment and was horrified. Absolutely nothing of what is written there, I did not say. I begged him: burn your parchment for God's sake! Therefore, Yeshua himself rejects the authenticity of the testimonies of the Gospel of Matthew. In this regard, he shows the unity of views with Woland-Satan: “Already someone who,” Woland turns to Berlioz, “and you should know that absolutely nothing of what is written in the Gospels never really 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 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, there is no Virgin Mary at all; Yeshua's sermons do not last three years, as in the Gospel, but at best - several months.
As for the details of the “ancient” chapters, Bulgakov drew many of them from the Gospels and checked them against reliable historical sources. 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. Barbus, “The Book of My Being” by P. Uspensky, “Hofsemane” by A. M, Fedorov, “Pilate” by G. Petrovsky, “Procurator of Judea” by A. Frans, “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. From Renan's "Antichrist" Aphranius came to Bulgakov's novel.
To create many details and images of the historical part of the novel, some works of art served as primary impulses. So, Yeshua is endowed with some qualities of a sideboard Don Quixote. To Pilate’s question whether Yeshua really considers all people kind, including the centurion Mark the Ratslayer, who beat him, Ha-Nozri answers in the affirmative and adds that Mark, “it’s true, an unhappy person ... If only we could talk to him,” the prisoner suddenly said dreamily “I’m sure he would have changed dramatically.” In Cervantes' 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 do not see anything offensive in the words of this kind man. The only thing I regret is that he did not stay with us - I would prove to him that he was wrong. It is the idea of “infection with good” that makes Bulgakov’s hero related to the Knight of the Sad Image. In most cases, literary sources are so organically woven into the fabric of the narrative that it is difficult to say for many episodes whether they are taken from life or from books.
M. Bulgakov, portraying Yeshua, nowhere shows a single hint that this is the Son of God. Yeshua is everywhere represented as a Man, a philosopher, a sage, a healer, but - a Man. There is no halo of holiness over Yeshua, and in the scene of painful death there is a goal - to show what injustice is happening in Judea.
The image of Yeshua is only a personified image of the moral and philosophical ideas of mankind, the moral law, which enters into an unequal battle with the legal right. It is no coincidence that the portrait of Yeshua as such is virtually absent in the novel: the author indicates the age, describes the clothes, facial expression, mentions bruises and abrasions - but nothing more: “... they brought in ... a man of about twenty-seven. This man was dressed in an old and tattered blue tunic. 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 answers: “There is no one. I am alone in the world." But what is strange again: this does not 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 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, taking in the whole world. V. M. Akimov rightly emphasized that “it is difficult to understand the integrity of Yeshua, his equality to himself – and to the whole world that he has 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 embracing 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 thinks of himself with him in the heavenly hierarchy on an equal footing. Bulgakov's Yeshua is the bearer of the idea of a god-man.
The vagabond philosopher is strong in his naive faith in the good, which neither the fear of punishment nor the spectacle of flagrant injustice, of which he himself becomes a victim, can take away from him. His unchanging faith exists in spite of ordinary 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 there is strength in the absolute integrity of his faith in goodness.” In his hero, the author sees not only a religious preacher and reformer - the image of Yeshua embodies in free spiritual activity.
Possessing a developed intuition, a subtle and strong intellect, Yeshua is able to guess the future, and not just a thunderstorm, which “will begin later, towards evening:”, but also the fate of his teaching, already now incorrectly expounded by Levi. Yeshua is inwardly free. Even realizing that he is really threatened by the death penalty, he considers it necessary to tell 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 sermon, was introduced by Bulgakov from Renan’s Antichrist. Yeshua dreams of "the 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 the emperor or any other power." Man will pass into the realm of truth and justice, where no power will be needed at all.
Ha-Notsri preaches love and tolerance. He does not give preference to anyone; Pilate, Judas, and Ratslayer are equally interesting to him. All of them are “good people”, only they are “crippled” by certain circumstances. In a conversation with Pilate, he succinctly outlines the essence of his teaching: "... there are no evil people in the world." Yeshua's words resonate with Kant's statements about the essence of Christianity, defined either as a pure faith in goodness, or as a religion of goodness - a way of life. The priest in it is just a mentor, and the church is a meeting place for teaching. Kant considers good as a property inherent in human nature, as well as evil. In order for a person to become established as a person, that is, a being capable of perceiving respect for the moral law, he must develop a good beginning in himself 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 even a little twisted his soul, then “the whole meaning of his teaching would have disappeared, for good is the truth!”, And “it is easy and pleasant to tell the truth.”
What is the main strength of Yeshua? First of all, openness. immediacy. He is always in a state of spiritual impulse “towards”. His very first appearance in the novel captures this: “The man with his hands tied leaned forward a little and began to say:
- A kind person! Trust me…".
Yeshua is a person who is always open to the world, “Openness” and “isolation” – these, according to Bulgakov, are the poles of good and evil. “Moving towards” is the essence of goodness. Withdrawal into oneself, isolation - this is what opens the way for evil. Withdrawal into oneself and a person one way or another comes into contact with the devil. M. B. Babinsky notes the ability of Yeshua to put himself in the place of another in order to understand his condition. The basis of the humanism of this person is the talent of the subtlest self-consciousness and on this basis - the understanding of other people with whom his fate brings him together.
This is the key to the episode with the question: “What is truth?”. To Pilate, who is suffering from hemicrania, Yeshua answers this way: “The truth is… that your head hurts.”
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 hints, to open your eyes, to begin to see.
Truth for Yeshua is what it really is. This is the removal of the cover from phenomena and things, the liberation of the mind and feelings from any fettering etiquette, from dogma; it is the overcoming of conventions and hindrances. “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 lower one’s eyes, the ability to open the world, and not close oneself from it either by the conventions of the ritual or by the outbursts of the “bottom”. Yeshua's truth does not repeat "tradition", "regulation" and "ritual". It becomes alive and each time full capacity for dialogue with life.
But here lies the most difficult thing, for fearlessness is necessary for the fullness of such communion with the world. Fearlessness of the soul, thoughts, feelings.
A detail characteristic of Bulgakov's Gospel is a combination of miraculous power and a feeling of fatigue and loss in the protagonist. The death of the hero is described as a universal catastrophe - the end of the world: “twilight came, and lightning plowed the black sky. Fire suddenly burst out of him, and the cry of the centurion: “Take off the chain!” - drowned in a roar ... Darkness closed Yershalaim. The downpour gushed suddenly ... The water collapsed so terribly that when the soldiers ran down, raging streams were already flying after them.
Despite the fact that the plot seems to be 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, should not be allowed by the entire course of civilization. One gets the impression that Yeshua never realized that he was dead. He was alive all the time and left alive. It seems that the very word “died” is not in the episodes of Golgotha. He stayed alive. He is dead only for Levi, for Pilate's servants.
The great tragic philosophy of Yeshua's life is that the right to truth (and to choose to live in truth) is also tested and affirmed by the choice of death. He "managed" not only his life, but also his death. He "hung" his bodily death just as he "hung" his spiritual life.
Thus, he truly “governs” himself (and the whole order on earth in general), governs not only Life, but also Death.
Yeshua's "self-creation", "self-management" passed the test of death, and therefore it became immortal.
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>Characteristics of the heroes Master and Margarita
Characteristics of the hero Yeshua
Yeshua Ga-Notsri is a character in the novel by M. A. Bulgakov “The Master and Margarita”, as well as the main character written by the master of the novel, ascending to the gospel Jesus Christ. According to the Synodal translation of the New Testament, the nickname Ga-Nozri can mean "Nazarene". It is believed that "Yeshua Ha-Notsri" is not an invention of Bulgakov, since it was previously mentioned in the play by S. Chevkin. Being one of the key characters in the novel The Master and Margarita, he is the master of the forces of Light and the antipode of Woland.
Just like Christ, Yeshua was betrayed by Judas and then crucified. However, unlike the biblical character, he was not shrouded in a halo of mysticism and acted as an ordinary person, fearful of physical violence and endowed with an unseemly, but ordinary appearance. At the beginning of the novel, he appears before the procurator of Judea and talks about his origins. He was a poor philosopher from Gamala with no permanent residence. The city of Gamala is not mentioned by chance. It was this city that appeared in Henri Barbusse's book Jesus Against Christ. Yeshua did not remember his parents, but he knew that his father was a Syrian. Being a kind and literate man, he possessed great strength, with the help of which he cured Pilate of a headache.
Despite the fact that all the forces of light are concentrated in it, the author emphasized that everything was not exactly as it is written in the Bible. When Yeshua looked into the notes of his disciple Levi Matthew, he was horrified, because there was not at all what he said. He also noted that this confusion could continue for quite some time. As a result, the hero died innocent, without betraying his beliefs. And for this he was awarded the Light.
Having met the reader at the Patriarch's Ponds, Bulgakov leads him through Moscow of the twenties, along its alleys and squares, embankments and boulevards, along the alleys of gardens, looks into institutions and communal apartments, into shops and restaurants. The wrong side of theatrical life, the prose of the existence of the literary fraternity, the life and cares of ordinary people appear before our eyes. And suddenly, with the magical power given by talent, Bulgakov takes us to a city hundreds of years distant, thousands of kilometers away. Beautiful and terrible Yershalaim... Hanging gardens, bridges, towers, hippodrome, bazaars, ponds... And on the balcony of a luxurious palace, bathed in hot sunlight, stands a short man of about twenty-seven and bravely makes strange and dangerous speeches. “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. This is Yeshua, the wandering philosopher, the image of Christ rethought by Bulgakov.
Yeshua Ha-Notsri, this is how Jesus Christ was called in Jewish books (Yeshua literally means Savior; Ha-Notsri means “from Nazareth”, Nazareth is a city in Galilee where Saint Joseph lived and where the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary about the birth of her Son took place Jesus, Mary and Joseph returned here after their stay in Egypt, where Jesus spent his childhood and adolescence). But further personal data diverge from the original source. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, spoke Aramaic, read Hebrew and possibly spoke Greek, and was put on trial at 33. And Yeshua was born in Gamala, did not remember his parents, did not know Hebrew, but also knew Latin, he appears before us at the age of twenty-seven. It may seem to those who do not know the Bible that Pilate's chapters are a paraphrase of the gospel story of the trial of the Roman governor in Judea, Pontius Pilate, over Jesus Christ and the subsequent execution of Jesus, which took place at the beginning of the new history of mankind.
Indeed, there are common features between Bulgakov's novel and the Gospels. Thus, the reason for the execution of Christ, his conversation with Pontius Pilate and the execution itself are described in the same way. It can be seen how Yeshua is trying to push ordinary people to the right decision, trying to direct them to the path of truth and truth: “Pilate said to Him: so You are the King? Jesus answered: You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is from the truth hears my voice” (Gospel of John 18:37).
In The Master and Margarita, Yeshua also tries in a dialogue with Pontius Pilate to answer the question of what truth is: “The truth is, first of all, that your head hurts, and it hurts so badly that you cowardly think about death. Not only are you unable to speak to me, but it is difficult for you to even look at me. And now I am unwittingly your executioner, which saddens me. You can't even think of anything and only dream of your dog coming, the only creature you seem to be attached to. But your torment will now end, your head will pass.
This episode is the only echo of the miracles performed by Jesus and described in the Gospels. Although there is one more indication of the divine essence of Yeshua. There are such lines in the novel: "... dust caught fire near that pillar." Perhaps this place is designed to be associated with the 13th chapter of the Bible book "Exodus", which refers to how God, showing the way to the Jews in the Exodus from Egyptian captivity, walked before them in the form of a pillar: "The Lord walked before them in the daytime in a pillar cloudy, showing them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, shining for them, so that they can go day and night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from the presence of the people.”
Yeshua does not show any messianic destiny, much less justifies his divine essence, while Jesus clarifies, for example, in a conversation with the Pharisees: he is not just the Messiah, the Anointed of God, He is the Son of God: "I and the Father are one."
Jesus had disciples. Only Levi Matthew followed Yeshua. It seems that the prototype of Levi Matthew is the Apostle Matthew, the author of the first Gospel (before meeting Jesus, he was a publican, that is, just like Levi was a tax collector). Yeshua met him for the first time on the road to Bethphage. And Bethphage is a small settlement near the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. From here began, according to the Gospels, the solemn procession of Jesus to Jerusalem. By the way, there are also differences with this biblical fact: Jesus, accompanied by his disciples, enters Jerusalem on a donkey: “And as he rode, they spread their clothes along the road. And when he approached the descent from Mount Elernskaya, all the multitude of disciples began to joyfully publicly praise God for all the miracles that they saw, saying: Blessed is the King, the coming of the Lord! peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Gospel of Luke 19:36-38). When Pilate asks Yeshua whether it is true that he entered the city “through the Susa gate on a donkey,” he replies that he “has no donkey either.” He came to Yershalaim exactly through the Susa gates, but on foot, accompanied by Levi Matvey alone, and no one shouted anything to him, since no one in Yershalaim knew him at that time.
Yeshua was a little familiar with the man who betrayed him - Judas from Kiriath: “... The day before yesterday I met a young man near the temple who called himself Judas from the city of Kiriath. He invited me to his house in the Lower City and treated me ... A very kind and inquisitive person ... He showed the greatest interest in my thoughts, received me very cordially ... ”And Judas from Carioth was a disciple of Jesus. Christ himself proclaimed that Judas would betray him: “When evening came, He lay down with the twelve disciples; and as they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad, and began to say to Him, each of them: Is it not I, Lord? He answered and said, He who dips his hand with me into the dish, this one will betray me; However, the Son of Man goes as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed: it would have been better for this man not to have been born. At the same time, Judas, betraying Him, said: Is it not I, Rabbi? Jesus said to him: You said (Gospel of Matthew 26:20-25).
At Pilate's first trial in God's Law, Jesus behaves with dignity and looks like a real king: “Pilate asked Jesus Christ: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus Christ answered: "You say" (which means: "yes, I am the King"). When the chief priests and elders accused the Savior, He did not answer. Pilate said to Him, "You don't answer anything? You see how many accusations are against You." But even to this the Savior did not answer, so that Pilate marveled. After that, Pilate entered the praetorium and, calling Jesus, again asked Him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus Christ said to him: "Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about me?" (i.e. do you yourself think so or not?) "Am I a Jew?" - answered Pilate, - "Your people and the high priests delivered you to me; what did you do?" Jesus Christ said: "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants (subjects) would fight for me, so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here." "So You are the King?" Pilate asked. Jesus Christ answered: "You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is from the truth listens to My voice." From these words, Pilate saw that before him stood a preacher of the truth, a teacher of the people, and not a rebel against the power of the Romans. And in the novel, Yeshua behaves insignificantly and looks completely defenseless and, as Bulgakov himself writes, “his eyes became meaningless” and “expressing with his whole being his readiness to answer sensibly, not to cause more anger.” Also important here is another point. “When they brought Jesus Christ to Calvary, the soldiers gave him to drink sour wine mixed with bitter substances in order to alleviate suffering. But the Lord, having tasted it, did not want to drink it. He did not want to use any remedy to relieve suffering. He voluntarily accepted these sufferings upon Himself for the sins of people; therefore I wished to endure them to the end,” – this is exactly how it is described in the Law of God. And in the novel, Yeshua again shows himself weak-willed: “Drink,” said the executioner, and the water-soaked sponge at the end of the spear rose to Yeshua's lips. Joy flashed in his eyes, he clung to the sponge and greedily began to absorb moisture ... ".
At the trial of Jesus, described in God's Law, it is clear that the chief priests conspired to condemn Jesus to death. They could not carry out their sentence, because there was no guilt in the actions and words on the part of Jesus. Therefore, the members of the Sanhedrin found false witnesses who testified against Jesus: “We heard Him say: I will destroy this man-made temple, and in three days I will raise another, not made by hands” (Law of God). And Bulgakov is trying to make a prophet out of his hero at the trial at Pilate. Yeshua says: “I, hegemon, said that the temple of the old faith would collapse and a new temple of truth would be created…”
The essential difference between Bulgakov's hero and Jesus Christ is that Jesus does not avoid conflicts. “The essence and tone of his speeches,” S.S. Averintsev believes, “are exceptional: the listener must either believe or become an enemy ... Hence the inevitability of a tragic end.” And Yeshua Ha-Nozri? His words and deeds are completely devoid of aggressiveness. The credo of his life lies in these words: "Telling the truth is easy and pleasant." The truth for him is that there are no evil people, there are unfortunate ones. He is a man who preaches Love, while Jesus is the Messiah who affirms the Truth. Let me clarify: the intolerance of Christ is manifested only in matters of faith. In relations between people, He teaches: “... do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Gospel of Matthew 5:39).
The Apostle Paul clarifies these words in this way: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good,” that is, fight evil, but do not multiply it yourself. In The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov gives us his interpretation of the commandment of Jesus Christ. Can we say that the words of the Apostle Paul are applicable to Yeshua Ha-Notsri, Bulgakov's Christ? Of course, because throughout his life he does not deviate a single step from his goodness. It is vulnerable, but not despised, perhaps because it is difficult to despise those who, not knowing you, believe in your kindness, are disposed towards you, regardless of anything. We cannot blame him for inaction: he is looking for meetings with people, he is ready to talk with everyone. But he is completely defenseless against cruelty, cynicism, betrayal, because he himself is absolutely kind.
Nevertheless, the same fate awaits the non-conflicting Yeshua Ha-Nozri as the “conflicting” Jesus Christ. Why? It is possible that here M. Bulgakov tells us: the crucifixion of Christ is not at all a consequence of His intolerance, as one might assume when reading the Gospel. The point is something else, more important. If we do not touch on the religious side of the issue, the reason for the death of the hero of The Master and Margarita, as well as his prototype, lies in their attitude to power, or rather, to the way of life that this power personifies and supports.
It is common knowledge that Christ strongly distinguished between "Caesar's" and "God's". Nevertheless, it is the earthly authorities, secular (the governor of Rome) and church (the Sanhedrin), that sentence him to death for earthly crimes: Pilate condemns Christ as a state criminal, allegedly claiming the royal throne, although he himself doubts this; The Sanhedrin - as a false prophet, blasphemously calling himself the Son of God, although, as the Gospel specifies, in fact the high priests wished him death "out of envy" (Gospel of Matthew 27, 18).
Yeshua Ha-Nozri does not claim power. True, he publicly assesses it as “violence against people” and is even sure that someday she, the power, may not exist at all. But such an assessment in itself is not so dangerous: when else will it be so that people can completely do without violence? Nevertheless, it is precisely the words about the “non-eternity” of the existing power that become the formal reason for the death of Yeshua (as in the case of Jesus Christ).
The true reason for the death of Jesus and Yeshua is that they are internally free and live according to the laws of love for people - laws that are not characteristic and impossible for power, and not Roman or any other, but power in general. In M. A. Bulgakov's novel Yeshua Ha-Nozri and in the Law of God, Jesus is not just free people. They radiate freedom, are independent in their judgments, sincere in expressing their feelings in a way that an absolutely pure and kind person cannot be sincere.
