parable · New Testament parable
A younger son takes his inheritance, spends it, and comes home expecting to be hired as a servant; his father runs to meet him. The elder brother's refusal to go in is the half of the parable that gets forgotten, and the one Luke leaves unresolved. No parable has been painted more often — Rembrandt's late canvas of the kneeling son is among the most reproduced religious images in the world.