Yes, Jesus of Nazareth, two thousand years ago, was crucified for teaching gnosis to the public. This great master decided to perform a tremendous sacrifice by living the cosmic archetypical drama of the Intimate Christ with his physical body. So yes, while there is a symbolic representation and application to our spiritual development, the physical Jesus was literally crucified in order to demonstrate, with great pain, honor, and glory, the path of initiation. No one taught the path of initiation like Jesus did.