You’re right. The sacrifice and martyrdom is a huge part of being a Christian (which is likely why the cross is used). I’m not sure how I had forgotten that a huge theme among Christians is self sacrifice and Jesus dying for our sins.

But what makes Jesus special, at least from my perspective, wasn’t that he was martyred since others in the Bible were as well. It was the claim he was the son of god offering to save us from damnation, which is validated by the resurrection. Idk I think I just find the cross kind of macabre as a symbol of religion (and as a tool of punishment in general of course). Back when I was a Christian decades ago, I was also anti-cross lol

I mean, it has a little less impact if he comes back and nullifies the death. He may as well have just sipped a carton of bone hurting juice with that level of commitment

Jesus' body being taken down from the cross by people isn't proof of resurrection though. There's a lot of places jesus isn't anymore, but the tomb is the one place he was supposed to remain. I assume every body that is crucified is taken down eventually (though I may be wrong about this- I'm not sure how weary people were about the public safety risks of a rotting body near society back then). I think the cross and crucifix are used symbolically over the tomb because Christians, to see themselves in Jesus, must pair themselves to the idea that they will be tortured for their beliefs.

Christians had a ton of symbolism to choose from (rainbow, fish, tomb, donkey, feet etc.) and they chose the one that will definitely give Jesus PTSD if he has a second coming.