Acceptance, Forgiveness, and Hope: The Parable of the Prodigal Son Explained In the first century AD, Jesus told a parable to the Pharisees, who believed they were better than the common sinners of the world. This has since come to be referred to as The Parable of the Prodigal Son. In this parable, Jesus tells of a family consisting of a father and his two sons. The older son appears to be very well mannered and level headed, while the younger seems somewhat rebellious. Jesus uses this story to try to teach a lesson to the Pharisees that e ....