Written as a letter to Theophilus sometime after the historical events of Jesus but before the full gospel accounts began circulating, this poem puts the veracity of the virgin birth in conversation with other eyewitness accounts of Jesus as well as with the question of the origin of life altogether. Meter: iambic, alternating between tetrameter and trimeter with each line. Rhyme scheme: ABCB.

Can e’er a seed be born but from
A seed that came before?
It’s hen or egg, Theophilus,
The riddle evermore.

‘Tis true or false that fruit bears seed
Expressly of its kind?
And further that a seed won’t sprout
Except that it first dies?

And then once it matures as fruit
Ordained to multiply,
The seeds within, are they not borne
According to their kind?

Theophilus, a seed foretold
Now spreads throughout the fold.
The blind can see. Oppressed are free.
A stream from days of old!

Gentile and Jew eyewitnesses
Affirm the realized dream,
They’ve tasted—touched—a risen fruit
No eye had ever seen.

For such a fruit to germinate,
My friend, which seed has died?
It was the lowly Nazarene
That Pilate crucified.

A human mere or man divine?
Whence came this seed to earth?
There’s only one to testify
The nature of his birth—

Some spurn a woman’s word, no less
A celibate conception,
But what she mulled for decades dawned
Upon his resurrection:

That he who breathed our world to being
Begat its infant king,
And he whose word brings life from void
Can restore anything!

And I’m convinced it’s true, despite
My training as physician.
What Mary knew and hundreds saw
Is now my chief commission,

That all who hear may know his grace—
Salvation sprouts anew,
Not male-female, not slave or free,
And not Gentile or Jew.

The record will degrade to tales
Unless we spread the news.
I’ll add these things to my account,
Lord’s will, I’ll send it soon!

© Tanner Rinke 2025

Footnotes

1. “…it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” – ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV

2. “And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.” – Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬. The first page of the Bible reveals a subtle but profound reality of nature—how fruits multiply according to their kinds, not randomly according to any kind. This law of seeds contains a myriad of lessons if we pause to observe them before brushing them off our shoes.

3. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” – ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭35‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV. Also: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” – Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

4. “Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”” – John‬ ‭20‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

5. “And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.” – ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬. While this statement from Matthew cannot be traced to a direct quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures, some believe he is referring to the Old Testament prophecy that the Messiah would be despised and rejected by mankind (Isa 53:3), as was the case with Nazarenes of the day. Another more poetic possibility is that Matthew is speaking of the messianic term “branch” (“netser”, in Hebrew) that sprouts from the ground: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” – Isaiah‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬. The name Nazareth connotes a branch, with its root word drawing from the Hebrew word netser.

6. “And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” – John‬ ‭12‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV

7. “Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” – Luke‬ ‭24‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬. Women had very low credibility in the ancient world. Most historians conclude it is implausible that Jesus’ followers intentionally fabricated the story of his physical resurrection, and one reason is their boldness to proclaim that women were primary witnesses. To be more persuasive with a lie, they would need to include men as primary witnesses. It is much more plausible that they believed the resurrection actually happened and they believed women were truly its first witnesses.

8. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”” – Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬-‭34‬ ‭ESV‬‬. Also, see from the prophet Isaiah: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

9. “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” – Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

10. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” – Colossians‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

11. “He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.” – ‭‭Job‬ ‭26‬:‭7‬ ‭ESV

12. “Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.” – Colossians‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

13. “…that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.” – 1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬. Even skeptical historians agree this was written by the apostle Paul within 20-25 years after Jesus’ death and was based on an oral creed that emerged within 5-10 years of his death. This is likely the earliest known historical writing about his physical resurrection. This is part of a strong body of evidence that the belief in Jesus’ resurrection was not a late invention or legend that grew slowly over generations of time.

14. “…but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” – ‭‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭31‬ ‭ESV

15. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” – Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭ESV‬‬