How is the prodigal son explained in the contemporary time?

Answer 1

The parable of the Prodigal Son can be found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15. The parable is one of three Jesus told in reply to the Pharisees and scribes when they complained saying ........"This Man receives sinners and eats with them." Luke 15:2.

The father in the parable represents God. The youngest son represents Israel and the oldest son represents the Pharisees and the scribes.

The attitude of the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' day was like the attitude of the oldest son in the parable.

The explanation today is the same

Answer 2

The Prodigal Son lived with his father and brother in a mansion. He asked for his inheritance and left his father to go out on his own and use the money how he wished. He had a lot of friends where he went because he would always hold parties and buy people things. But when his money ran out all his friends left him and he didn't have a job. He got a job as a pig-feeder and he didn't get paid very well. He got so hungry that he actually ate the pig slop. He thought, "Even the workers in my father's house have food to spare!" so he went off to his father's house to ask to be a worker. But when his father saw him a long way off he ran out to meet him. He didn't make him a worker, he accepted him back as his son, just happy to see that he came back.

This shows that if teens offend their parents and go out on their own thinking they can fend for themselves, even when they're inevitably proven wrong the parent will take them back in and forgive them. The original story was to show that God always forgave sinners if they repented, but I guess you could use it this way.