The tone of the pseudo-Biblical passages differs greatly from that of the Moscow narrative. Whereas Moscow seems to be full of hijinks and foolishness, the Yeshua narrative is told in a somber, but not reverential style. Bulgakov, while not a practicing Christian for obvious reasons, nonetheless appears to be communicating the moral seriousness and somewhat divine qualities of Yeshua through the prose he uses to describe him. In contrast, Woland is a figure without a clearly defined purpose, and consequently the Moscow chapters take on a kind of picaresque, satirical air.