I have never thought of him specifically as a type of Christ..but rather it was an opportunity to peek into a fathers heart...David loved him inspite of his murder and later betrayal.
While we were yet sinners...
David was a man after Gods own heart:>)
Absalom means "Father of Peace." He was the son of David. He was the rightful heir to the Throne of Israel. He died the death of the accursed, hanging from a tree. He was pierced in the side with Joab's dart as he hung there.
His death quelled the rebellion of Israel and saved Israel.
(Ah, but this just goes to show that types are figurative. Absalom's death saved national Israel just as the Lord's death saved spiritual Israel. But national Israel and spiritual Israel are not the same thing any more than Absalom and Christ are the same person. As I said earlier, the type and the antitype are spiritually connected, but they are different.)