Exodus 11:4–7, 12:29–32, “The Death of the Firstborn”

The firstborn stands as the representative of the whole, showing that all humanity is implicated in sin and justly under judgment, for God does not owe life to anyone. Yet the same God who judges also provides a substitute: his own Firstborn, Jesus Christ, who bears the judgment we deserve so that death might pass over us. The story of Egypt’s firstborn ultimately points us to the cross, where justice and mercy meet, and where those who are in Christ move from condemnation to life.