Jesus is the Fatted Calf

Here in the story of the prodigal son, the fatted calf represents Jesus Who took the prodigal son’s place of sin so that the prodigal son can come back to the father

Also, it being a calf signifies that Jesus died young so that the prodigal son who represents all of us who’ve fallen short of God’s glory can have a long satisfactory life (Psalm 91:16).