When someone comes from a wounded background, it is not always easy for that person to forge a direct link with God. Therefore, the need for intercessors and intermediaries may be appropriate. We often see ourselves as somehow lacking when we need to ask for help, but in truth, we are all lacking at times...and we do need help.
As an individual is in the midst of deep pain, their own natural capacity to reach straight up to their sense of God may be impaired. They have been weakened. It is at that time that the idea of a savior is very helpful...whether it be a religious figure or someone who is a point of balance and light to the person. The other acts as the conduit...the battery charger...that helps the wounded soul find their way back to union with God. And often it is more accessible and personal for someone to find a living light or to put their faith in someone they can identify with who has been human at one time. It is far more abstract to move into direct union to a God that has no human form. So...the Christ, the gurus, the many conduits to God are valid. They hold a place of importance in the process of reunion. And they do not indicate weakness...but become a framework for identification that allows the wounded soul to replace wounding parents or care givers with someone from whom they feel unconditional love and in whom they can have unconditional trust.
This is one of the reasons why people are so distraught when a religious figure or teacher "falls"...for they have taken over a role of perfected being. When they give in to the same human weaknesses that the devotee has, it becomes an act of betrayal that jeopardizes the link between heaven and earth. It is a serious breach of trust.
In this sense...the concept of a Christ who was crucified is the perfected vision of a savior, because he withstood all temptation and allowed himself to be nailed to the cross as a final act of redemption for all humankind. In this image, there is no room for disappointment. The ultimate sacrifice was given...one's life...for the future light in the world. The Christ became a living light through crucifixion and redemption...and that he moved in full form after death was a reminder of his indestructible nature. For Christ in essence AND form became a pure living light. And it is the purity of that image that allows followers to hold on to his example without fear of disappointment. There is nothing to disappoint. Christ became the ultimate conduit to God.
The notion that Christ is the only conduit to God is simplistic. He is the only recorded example of a full sacrifice in love to God. The human sacrifice became a divine sacrifice, because in essence, God was saying to humans..."you may feel crucified by me, but here I give you my own Divine child and crucify him as well." It isn't personal. It isn't selective. Crucifixion becomes part of the life experience...the earthly heritage. And yet, we are shown that beyond crucifixion...there IS resurrection... and we are born into a body of light, not gross form.