I have never parachuted out of an airplane. My two brothers have – but not me. I do not know what that experience is like. Don’t know – that is our word for today.
Cause and effect is a common principle. For instance, if you want to have a baby, then you have to have male fertilization of a female ovum. That is just the way it works. Now this was Mary’s argument when talking with the angel Gabriel. The angel said, “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.” But in Luke 1:34 Mary responded by asking, “How can this be, seeing I know not a man?” In other words, she had never had sex, so how could she have a baby? She was a virgin, and no virgin had ever conceived a child in her womb. “I have never known a man,” she said.
The word “know” in this verse is a word that refers to experiential knowledge. It means “to perceive, or understand,” and it is a word used euphemistically of sexual relations. The idea is that physical intimacy involves really knowing someone. Now, Mary insisted that she could not become pregnant because she had never known a man intimately.
The idea of a virgin conception has been scoffed at by unbelievers. But the one thing they have to admit is that this IS what the Bible teaches. Mary’s comment, “Seeing I know not a man” is pretty explicit. Matthew records it this way: “When as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” Now, that’s perfectly clear, isn’t it? “Before they came together” means they never had sex.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
So, remember: “Mary said, ‘How can this be, seeing I know not a man?’” The virgin birth is foundational to the Christian faith. Jesus WAS born of a virgin!
For further study, see: Born of a Virgin