John 12:24 says that Christ's death is as one unique grain falling to the ground to die and multiplying into many grains -
"much fruit".
The Son of God and the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, was unique among all human beings. His death was the only way in which others like Him could be produced by God.
What was concealed within Him could only be released by Him dying. The divine life within was released from the shell of His humanity to produce more sons of God.
He was driven to accomplish this multiplication which was to come from His redemptive death, His falling into the ground to die.
But that death needs to include something very awful. That is for God to make Him sin on our behalf. He was made sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I believe that that was the bitter cup which He prayed about.
This involved being judged by God as if He were the very source and embodiment of the Satanic poison of sin. This supernatural scheme surpassed any regular human execution for a good cause.
For God to make Him sin must have been Christ as sin in reality, though He knew no sin.
"Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." ( 2 Cor. 5:21)
It is also a reality that He carried up our sins in His body unto the tree.
"Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed." (1 Pet. 2:24)
Watchman Nee put it well in
"The Gospel of God." [my bolding]
https://www.ministrybooks.org/books.cfm?n
unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone. A man like the Lord Jesus was just one grain before God. Only after He has died is there many grains. Salvation begins with the cross. Although we must have Bethlehem before we can have Golgotha, we are saved through Golgotha, not Bethlehem. The Son of God is absolutely righteous. He was the one righteous grain. But His righteousness cannot save us. It cannot be imputed to us. God does mention the righteousness of Christ in the Bible. But He never says that Christ's righteousness is to be ours. The Bible says that Christ is our righteousness. It never says that Christ's righteousness is our righteousness. I would like to bring this out, for this will exalt the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Christ is our righteousness. Christ Himself is our righteousness. We go to God in Christ. Christ is our righteousness.