The author of this bas-relief was inspired by the Gospels which tell the preaching of John the Baptist, Jesus’s cousin, announcing the coming of the Messiah ( present in the background on the left ) in front of a crowd gathered in the judean desert.
Here are some extracts of Mathieu and Luke :
(Mt3,1-2 ;4-6)
In those days appears John the Baptist proclaiming in the judean desert :
« Convert : the Kingdom of Heaven has come ! »
…/…
John wore a camel coat and a leather belt round his waist ; He ate grasshoppers and wild honey.
Thus Jerusalem,the whole of Judée and all the Jourdain area came to him. ;
They were baptized by him in the Jourdain while confessing their sins.
(Lc 3,10-13 ;15-16,18)
The people asks him, “What are we to do, then ?”
He answered, “whoever has two shirts mus give one to the man who has none, and whoever has food must share it.”
Some tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what are we to do ?”
“Don’t collect more than is legal,” he told them.
Some soldiers also asked him, “What about us ? What are we to do ?”
He said them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force ou accuse anyone falsely. Be content with your pay.”
People’s hopes began to rise, and they began to wonder whether john perhaps might be the Messiah. So John said to them, “I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire….
In many different ways, John Preached the Good News to the people and urged them to change their ways
