High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Prodigal Son, also known as the Lost Son and the Prodigal Father, is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in only one of the Canonical gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Luke (Luke 15:11-32) a father extravagantly gives his sons their inheritance before he dies (the word `prodigal` means `wastefully extravagant`). The younger son, after wasting his fortune, repents and returns home, where the father gives him even more in celebration of his return. While the older son, begrudging his brother, remains lost to the celebrations. It is the third and final part of a cycle on redemption, following the Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Parable of the Lost Coin.