The Master and Margarita: Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

The stranger’s story is set at the Palace of Herod in Yershalaim, approximately two millennia ago. It is the eve of Passover. Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea, has been suffering from a headache all day which seems to be linked to the pervasive smell of rose oil exuding from the garden.

A male prisoner, Yeshua Ha-Nozri, is brought before the procurator. He has been preliminarily sentenced to death for inciting “the people to destroy the temple of Yershalaim”—but the authority who had been meant to confirm the sentence had refused and sent Yeshua to Pilate for the final decision.

Yeshua, dressed in a white cloth and looking like he has been recently beaten, tries to deny the charge, addressing Pilate as “good man.” Taking offence at Yeshua’s apparent lack of respect for his authority, Pilate has his burly guard, Mark “Ratslayer,” whip Yeshua. Pilate insists on being called “Hegemon.”

Pilate interrogates Yeshua. The latter claims to be “alone in the world” and to have no “permanent home.” He tells Pilate that he can speak Greek, which he uses to insist that he would never desire the destruction of the temple building. He says that “the people” have wrongly interpreted his words, mostly because Matthew Levi, a devotee who follows him around, often writes down what he says “incorrectly.”

Pilate asks Yeshua to state accurately what he did say about the temple. Yeshua replies: “I said, Hegemon, that the temple of the old faith would fall and a new temple of truth would be built. I said it that way so as to make it more understandable.” Pilate asks angrily what right Yeshua has to talk about “truth.”

To Pilate’s shock, Yeshua tells him that he, Pilate, has an insufferable headache and would rather just be hanging out with his dog (Banga) than dealing with a prisoner. Yeshua advises Pilate to take a stroll and predicts a coming storm. He goes on, telling Pilate that it’s clear to him that Pilate has “definitively lost faith in people” and that “one can’t place all one’s affection in a dog.” Pilate’s secretary can’t believe what he is hearing.

Pilate orders Yeshua’s hands to be unbound. He suspects Yeshua of being a “physician,” which the prisoner denies, now speaking in Latin. Pilate asks Yeshua if he knows “such men as” Dysmas, Gestas, or Bar-Rabban. Yeshua replies that he does not know these “good people.” Explaining why he refers to everyone as “good,” Yeshua states that “there are no evil people in the world.”

Pilate suggests that Ratslayer is a counter-example to Yeshua’s theory, but Yeshua says that Ratslayer’s cruelty is down to his hard life; Yeshua believes he could change Ratslayer if he could speak privately with him.

Just then, a swallow lands nearby. Pilate asks his secretary if Yeshua is accused of anything else. Reading Yeshua’s other charge, Pilate becomes disorientated, thinking “raced, short, incoherent and extraordinary” thoughts about being lost—and an “unendurable” immortality. 

Gathering himself together, Pilate asks Yeshua if it is true that he has said anything bad about the emperor, Tiberius Caesar. Pilate questions Yeshua privately on whether he knows “Judas from Kiriath” and if Yeshua said what he was reported by Judas to have said. Yeshua readily admits what he told Judas: “All authority is violence over people, and a time will come when there will be no authority of the Caesars … Man will pass into the kingdom of truth and justice, where generally there will be no need for any authority.” Instantly upon saying these words, Yeshua explains, he was arrested.

Pilate angrily insists on Tiberius’ ultimate authority, shouting that the “kingdom of truth” will never come. He tells Yeshua to pray to his God. Yeshua, surprisingly, asks “why not let me go?” Pilate’s eyes follow the swallow now fluttering nearby. He confirms Yeshua’s death sentence, ordering that Yeshua be kept separate from the other prisoners and, furthermore, that no prison guard is allowed to talk to him.

With Yeshua gone, Pilate is visited by Joseph Kaifa, the high priest of the Jews. In honor of the great feast Passover, the Sanhedrin (the Jewish council) are to choose a prisoner to set free: either Bar-Rabban, who has preached in favor of rebellion and killed a guard, or Yeshua. Joseph Kaifa informs Pilate that they have chosen Bar-Rabban. Pilate seems reluctant about this idea, and asks a further two times, receiving the same answer. They quarrel over the decision, with Pilate implying that the High Priest’s choice not to save Yeshua, “a peaceful philosopher with his peaceful preaching,” will prevent the Jewish people from having peace. Joseph Kaifa thinks that, to the contrary, Pilate wants Yeshua freed in order to prevent their peace.

Pilate apologizes to Joseph Kaifa for getting “carried away.” With their entourage in tow, they head to the Yershalaim stadium, where a huge crowd has gathered.

At the stadium, Pilate climbs the stand and addresses the crowd. He names the four criminals who are set for execution: Dysmas, Gestas, Bar-Rabban, and Yeshua Ha-Nozri. He announces to the crowd that, in honor of the feast of Passover, one criminal will be set free: Bar-Rabban. Announcing this seems to cause Pilate pain. The people in the crowd “roar” and “shriek,” dissatisfied with the Sanhedrin’s choice. The three remaining prisoners are led to Bald Mountain, where they will be crucified, and Pilate returns to the palace.