It’s a relic of Roman justice. It’s unfortunate that Christians have connected its symbol as something Godly when all it served was a vessel for Christ’s sacrifice, but it isn’t his sacrifice we should celebrate, nor even his resurrection, but his life. Christians celebrate his death and resurrection because it validates them and is a symbol of their ability to be saved from hell, but Paul did not seem to put too much emphasis on “how great it’s going to be when we all go to heaven” but rather “if it were possible I would give up my own salvation so others could be saved.” What Jesus did on the cross was a gift flawed humanity does not deserve, but it was his life, before his death and resurrection, that should be celebrated and emulated. Jesus said “I am the way, truth and the life, no man come to the father, but by me.” before he was nailed to Roman justice.
As a writer, I appreciate the parallels of dying through the practices of gentiles… for gentiles but that is not what I would celebrate if I were a Christian.