I always thought the “prodigal Son” was more about the one who stayed home.
Could it be about umbrage taken by God's chosen people when the Apostles ministered to the gentiles? I'm not saying it is but the analogy fits.
+1
The parable must have been much more startling and shocking to the original audience, given the expectations of proper behavior by Jews living in that society at that time, than it is to the modern reader. There are things left untold as the narrative unfolds—the son never gets a chance to tell his father to treat him as one of the hired hands, and how does the older brother know that the prodigal son has spent his inheritance on prostitutes?