The Parable and the Painting

Based on a current book, Why Sin Matters, and a classic, The Scarlet Letter, this continuing study will look at “The Lost Son” from Luke 15 in a new way.  We will examine the consequences of sin in each character and in ourselves and the personal impact of prodigal, reckless grace.

So we will begin by learning about the characters of our stories.  I hesitate to call Luke 15, “The Return of the Prodigal”, a story because that somehow cheapens it.  It is not a story; it’s the living, breathing, word of God, but I’m afraid I will slip into that misnomer from time to time.  

I can best think about the characters from Luke 15 by looking at Van Rijn Rembrandt’s painting called The Return of the Prodigal Son.  


The original was painted in 1668 after years of study and thought by Rembrandt.  He first did an etching in 1636 and a pen and brush drawing in 1642.  So like many of us, he must have been captivated by the famous story of the father with two sons.

If you are not looking at the painting, let me describe it to you.  Rembrandt was famous for his use of light, and this painting does not fail in that area.  Two characters are shown in the most light:  a person missing a shoe, clothed in shabby dress, kneeling and leaning into the body of an older man. The older man is standing, but leaning into and embracing the other.  We are to believe these two are the father and the returning younger son or “prodigal”.  The father is garbed in a deep red cape, leading us to think that he still has a position of wealth and comfort.

Standing nearby but not caught in the bright light of the first two is another man also clothed in garments of advantage.  He too wears a cape of red over a garment that appears to bear elaborate beading or detail work.  His face is of a neutral countenance, but his arms are crossed at his waist where he holds a cane with etched detail.  He most certainly represents the older brother, who we know is very unhappy at the scene unfolding before of him.

Much of the rest of the painting is very dark.  Two other people are clearly visible, and are seen to be observers of the scene.  Nearly completely obscured is one additional person in the very back.  Who are these people?  We’ll take a look at them later.

What Rembrandt was doing with the artistic portrayal of light and dark is best left to art scholars and critics.  What this painting provides for us as believers is an opportunity to look into the scene and the lives of the characters of one of Jesus’ most famous and perhaps most important parables.

So what is a parable and what is the purpose of this one?  A parable is considered a short story or comparison told to teach a truth or lesson.   Our English word comes from the Greek word “parabole” which means “to place alongside”.  Easton's Bible Dictionary defines it as being a comparison of earthly things with heavenly things. So we can see that an earthly situation we encounter can have a heavenly meaning. Many of the parables also have a twist – an unexpected character, action or outcome which would cause the original listeners and current day readers to pause and think.

In our case, we may initially wonder why a son would leave a good life or why the father would consent to give the son what he wanted.  We may also be at first surprised by the father’s joy at his return and the fact that the older brother does not share his father’s enthusiasm.  In any case, we find ourselves thinking about the situation and the family dynamics in play.  More on this later, too.

For our work here we ask ourselves why this parable is important.  It is so on several levels:

            It addresses complex personal and family dynamics.

            It deals with the same types of sin we see in The Scarlet Letter – repentant and unrepentant sin.

            It relates God’s grace to us in a way we cannot and dare not misunderstand.