What are some Biblical allusions made in The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov?

The first chapter of The Master and
Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov is a good place to start when discussing
Biblical allusions. Bulgakov uses both kinds of allusions, direct and indirect allusion.
Allusion is defined by Dictionary.com as:

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a passing or casual reference; an incidental
mention of something, either directly or by
implication

Students most
often encounter the indirect allusion such as, for example, the typical Biblical
allusion: "He said he washed his hands of the whole matter." This is an indirect
allusion relating to Pontius Pilot who disagreed with the crucifixion of Jesus and
publicly washed his hands to symbolize his detachment from and denunciation of the
crucifixion to come.

Bulgakov uses both indirect and direct
Biblical allusions starting from the first chapter. An early example of indirect
Biblical allusion is:

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His gaze halted on the upper storeys, whose panes
threw back a blinding, fragmented reflection of the sun which was setting on Mikhail
Alexandrovich for ever;

The
Biblical allusion centers on the word "sun" and is augmented by the preceding words
"blinding ... reflection." The conversation between Berlioz and Bezdomny is about Jesus
Christ, and, in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Jesus is identified as the Son
of God: “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3;22). He is also
associated with blinding light through the transfiguration recorded in the
Gospels:

he
was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became
white as the light (Matthew
17:2).

As a result, anyone
familiar with these portions of the New Testament would recognize this indirect allusion
to Jesus Christ, especially since Jesus is the topic of conversation. Incidentally, the
same quote also alludes to the end of Mikhail Alexandrovich's life through the idiomatic
cliche phrase "the sun which was setting ... forever."

When a direct
allusion is highly detailed and explicit, it is termed a reference, however, an example
of a direct allusion is:

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instead of the nativity or the arrival of the
Magi you should have described the absurd rumours about their arrival. But according to
your story the nativity really took
place!

Here, Berlioz makes
direct allusion to the recounting of the nativity, or birth, of Jesus and mentions the
Magi who were visitors after the birth. The rest of Bulgakov’s story has further
examples of Biblical allusions of both types. If one is acquainted with the Biblical
source, then these will be fairly easy to spot. The strength of allusions--the ability
to enhance the author's message or imagery--is also the weakness of allusions: The
reader must know the source or the allusion is lost upon that particular reader and
instead of clarity, the allusion produces confusion or
obscurity.